Cultural and Social Fabric of the Tribes of Madhya Pradesh

Baigas

Baigas are the acknowledged superiors of the other tribes, they are their priests and authority on all points of religious and temporal observances. Giving a detailed account of the Baigas, Sir G.Grierson* states in his treatise The Tribes and Castes ofCentral Provinces, that “the language of the Baigas of Mandla and Balaghat is a form of Chhattisgarhi which clearly underlines the feature of their migration from Chhota Nagpur Plateau* to their present habitats. On the other hand, certain aspects of their social culture like the use of the bamboo-plaited rain hood (Khumri) or the manner in which their men arrange the loin-cloth, their social habits and customs of puberty, marriage and burial, and the name Thakurdeo for their chief god, suggest that they migrated into Mandla* from the East-Bengal and Bihar.”

However, due to lack of anthropometrical data, one cannot be certain that the Baigas and their sub-sectsare all migrants from adjoining states and it might indeed be safer to observe that besides the erstwhile State of Rewa and Mandla district, the Baigas concentrated in portions of Shahdol, Bilaspur, Balaghat, Durg and Jabalpur districts are all not only geographically but culturally contiguous. Captain H.C.E.Ward, a faithful chronicler of their physical appearance and character, writes: “One sect, the Mundiya, is known by the head being shaven all but one lock. The Binjwars, on the other hand, wear their hair long and tie it up in a knot; so do the Bhironthiyas. In stature some are taller than Gonds and Bhils, in habits too they are superior. Some among them, however, have all the types of low civilization: flat heads, thick lips and distended nostrils, but, on the whole, the appearance of these Baigas of the Eastern Ghats* is striking as compared with that of other wilder tribes.” They are too, unlike the more aboriginal races, fearless, trustworthy and independent. This is true of both men and women; in fact, the men are far better looking than their women – strikingly handsome, with strong, slim bodies and finely chiselled features, magnificent black hair and great vitality.

Saharias

The Sahariya tribe inhabits Morena, Shivpuri, Beena, Gwalior and Vidisha districts of Madhya Pradesh. Economically, socially and educationally this community is one of the most backward among the scheduled tribes. The housing pattern of the Sahariyas is linear which is termed locally as `Sahrana’. Women generally wear ghaghra and choli. In families which are economically and educationally better, their women wear a `sari’ also. Sahariya women too are fond of tattooing and ornaments. The economy of Saharias is mainly based on animal husbandry, cultivation, fishing, construction labour and rope making. Like other tribal women, the Saharia women are involved in income-fetching activities. However, they have no participation in panchayats and propitiating deities. The nutritional and health standards among the Sahariya women and children are shockingly low.

Agarias

The Agarias live principally in the region of the Mykal Hills in the Mandla, Shahdol, Bilaspur and

Surguja districts of Madhya Pradesh. They are a caste of Indigenous iron-smelters living usually in Baiga and Gond village communities but large groups of Agaria adivasi have migrated to urban centres where they continue their traditional occupation of iron-smelting. Indeed, as Russell and Hiralal* logically conclude, “…the etymology of the caste name signifies a worker with `aag’ or fire and might even have originated from `agar’, the name applied to the local iron mines in the Rewa state or the `furnace’ in Balaghat district.” The Patharia and the Khuntia are the two main sub-sects of the Agaria, named after the manner in which they fix the bellows to the ground: the Patharia use a stone while the Khuntia employ pegs. Like the Baiga and the Gond clans, Agarias are matrilineal, have similar clan names or gotras* and, whenever their traditional occupation fails to absorb the extra hands at the kiln or the forge, they have taken to agriculture and forest labour. One can often see them living in temporary shelters working alongside roads and singing while working at the furnace:

They have no language particularly their own, so they speak the language prevalent in the region they live in. Their songs, as they work away at the fire, a symbol of life and purity for them, are full of pathos and blind faith in the fire God.

Ahirs

This is the tribe of cowherds, milkmen and cattle-breeders. Their main sub-division is known asYaduwansi*, i.e. the race of Yadavas who claim to be descendants of Lord Krishna though how they claim such linkage to the arch-god of the Hindus is yet not clear. In fact, in as much as the Ahirs regard Baradeo as their supreme deity, they might be akin to the Gonds or largely recruited from the indigenous tribes. Bhainso, Kusro and Sonwani are the other names of their sub-clans and since `Kusro’ is to be found among the Gonds, Baigas and the Agarias, its usage is either totemic or territorial in nature.

Dhobas

It is surprising to learn that although Dhobas are an offshoot of one of the most primitive tribes, they have never been separately classified as yet. The Mandla district cannot but acknowledge their existence as distinct from that of other tribes. The District Gazetteer* of Mandla states that “they are extremely ignorant and parochial and either cannot or will not give any account of their origin and relationship with other castes.” But one thing is very clear – the Dhobas do not have any connection with washermen, also known as dhobis* and are not classed by the vocation they pursue. They are a tall and fair race and might easily be confused with any north Indian caste. Their tribe is subdivided into a number of exogamous clans. These are: Bagmar, Bhoyeer, Mudiya, Chhanta, Marathia, Bag-Sanichar, Kath-Nangar, Sonwani and Painkhwar. As with the other tribes their clan – names are totemic and territorial: for example, the Bagmar clan believes in the `Bagh’ or tiger. Like the Agarias, they have no language of their own and their traditional occupation appears to be cultivation.

Muslims

Mohammedans are a sect of traders belonging to Gujarat who retain some Hindu practices. They belong mainly to the khoja sect of the Shia division of Islam and it is said that their linkage is originally from Hindus of the Lohara trading caste of Sindh who could probably be akin to khatries.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Sudha Anand Bhandari, ResearchConsultant & Expert on the Tribes of Madhya Pradesh, for her invaluable assistance andinsightful notes that greatly contributed to our research.