Tibals of District Dungarpur

"Any tribe or tribal community or part of or group within any tribe or tribal community as are deemed under article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purpose of Constitution". Thus, the groups which are in the scheduled list of the President of India are defined as Scheduled Tribes. There is a procedure for including tribal groups in the Scheduled list. The President may, after consulting with the governor of a state, by public notification, specify the tribes which would deemed to be Scheduled Tribes is relation to that state.

The Mina, and the Bhils, along with their sub-groups, Damor, Garasia and Seharia constitute the major tribal groups of the district. They are major because they have a numerical strength and their concentration is in a definite pocket. As a matter of fact, racially and historically there are two major stocks of tribals, namely, the Minas and the Bhils. If some hierarchy of the tribal groups in the district were made in terms of socio-cultural and demographic variables, the Bhils would occupy the first rank among tribal groups.

Among the scheduled Tribes, the highest concentration is noticed, according to 1981 census, in Dungarpur district where their proportion to the total population of the districts comes to 64.44 per cent.

When a girl menstruates for the first time, no ceremony is observed, Neither is she considered to be polluted. She is allowed to do all the household work. If a woman is barren she has no status in the family, tribe and village. Every married girl expects to conceive and give birth to a child preferably a male one. When a woman conceives, then also no ceremony is performed whether it be first pregnancy or not. The pregnant woman is not allowed to do hard labour after the first month of pregnancy nor is she permitted lto go near a Mahuva, Khakhtra, Khejra, pipal or sam trees lest she should be affected by evil spirits which are supposed to reside in them.

When a child is born, mother is given goat's milk. After the birth, the umbilical cord (mely) of the infant is cut with a sharp dagger, by the woman in attendance. Umbilical cord and the placenta are placed in an earthen pot and put in a deep hole dug by the siter of the woman's husband (Bhua). On the twelfth day, the woman who has attrended at the time of delivery and on subsequent days, dresses the infant after giving it a bath and ties a red or blue string around its waist. Food is then distributed amont five women, five boys, and five girls. The odd number five is considered auspicious by the villagers. The mother of the newly born child is not given salt or chillies. She is fed on bread of wheat and porridge with milk. She is also given ghee in her food according to the economic circumstances of the household.

On the first Holi after the birth of a first child, whether it be a male or a female, the maternal uncle-mama brings some clothes, toys, etc. for the baby. A feast is also given on this occasion. A daughter is not unwelcome to the family as she brings bride-price; but it is the birth of a son which is a matter of joy and happiness because he perpetuates the progeny. No special ceremony is observed on thbe occasion of naming ceremony. ?The name is proposed by the father, bhua, or some relative when it is about one year old.

Dead bodies are cremated except in the case of those, who die in infancy or of small-pox or leprosy, in which case they are buried. If a woman dies after fifth month in pregnancy, the foetus is taken out of the wound by the husband and cremated along with the dead body of the mother. If the husband of the woman is not present this is done by some near relative.

When a person dies, the body is first given a bath and dressed in new clothes. A takti made by tiring seven small pieces of bamboo is prepared. The corpse is tied to the takti. In the case of the male white cloth is used for the shroud, while that of female it is red. Water is now sprinkled on the dead body with a small twing of jambua tree and then it is brought to the cremation ground. All the rituals which are performed by the caste Hindus are gone through on the occasion of a Bhil death. What is peculiar about the Bhil death is that on the festivals of Holi and Divali following the death, the women of the family of the deceased cry aloud early in the morning in remembrance of the dead persons.

The Tribal family does not represent in any way the joint family system of the Hindus. When a grown-up son marries, he is separated from his parents and establishes a new family. The separation is complete in that the son and the father do not work on the common farm but a separate piece of land is allotted to the son for his maintenance on which he along operates. The Tribal family, therefore, is essentially a family of procreation. It consists of a male head, his wife or wives and unmarried children. It is governed by the father or the eldest male member of the family in the absence of father.

The position of a daughter-in-law in the family creates a problem of accommodation. As the consequence of the exogamous nature of marriages, and Tribal villages being clusters of one or two or three clans, she usually comes from a different family of a different village and is, therefore, confronted with altogether new sets of social interactions. Unlike caste Hindus who normally live in joint family, the Tribal daughter-in-law is subjected to lesser difficulties of adjustment, for she remains in her in- laws' house only for a short period. As soon as her husband is able to plough the fields independently, she shifts to another house made by her husband.

An unmarried daughter is supposed to be sacred, for she symbolizes fertility and thus, because of the symbolization, is potent with enormous powers. At the time of crops she is always given the first raw grains, for it is supposed to result in prosperous fields. During marriage celebrations she welcomes the bride-groom; she carries an earthern pitcher over her head on the occasion. She also ties and unties the garments of the newly wedded couple during the marriage rites. Her crossing a street is, to a man going for some important work, a good omen.

The position of the wife conforms to the form of the marriage. In a polygamous family, the position and status of a wife are accorded in relation to the degree of preference she gets from her husband. However, if she be the senior most, she enjoys a better say in family affairs relating to rites and ceremonies and other social matters, for otherwise she often quarrels with the husband or with her other co-wives. The relationship between co-wives is often strained. For the wife who receives greater affection from her husband exercises greater dominance in relation to domestic matters. As mother, her position is happy and strong. The father is usually busy in the field and it is she who controls the children. No family ritual can be performed in her absence. At the time of marriage when the bridegroom strikes the toran- the wooden arch- she goes with pitchers on her head and taking the bridegroom's garments in hands, drags him to mandva - the marriage place. Actually all rites from birth to death are performed by her. She is highly revered by her children and more so by the daughter, to whom she imparts most secret things of her life.

For a woman, the widows do not have to suffer for they take to remarriage (natra) after the period of mourning. Only old women who do not remarry, remain as widows. As a widow, she is revered by the family. Often she is given the place of a family counseller. The traditional Hindu attitude towards widow is absent among Tribals and she is not considered to be inconspicuous. She joins marriage parties and attains all ceremonies.

A persons having no male issue may adopt a son to perpetuate his line of succession. The act of adoption is completed with a religious ceremony. It is officiated at by the Brahmin who offers oblations to fire. It confers upon the adoptee the same rights and privileges in the family of the adoptor as those of the legitimate son including the right of inheritance. All his rights and liabilities are terminated in the natural family of his birth.

The kinship may be related through the members of the family, namely, father, mother, brother, sister and other blood descendents. Among the Tribals the addressive terms are limited and the other terms are mere extensions of these terms to denote various relationship through them. They show the following relationship:

Ba	(Father)
Aii	(Mother)
Kako	(Uncle)
Mota Ba	(Grand father)
Baba	(Maternal grand father)
Bhai	(Brother)
Maho	(Mother's sisters husband)
Mamo	(Mother's Brother)
Phupho	(Father's sister's husband)
Soro	(Son)
Hau	(Mother-in-law)
Haharo	(Father-in-law)

Marriage among Tribals is not a sacrament, Like the Hindu marriage it is not indissoluble. For a Tribal, both male and female, getting married is a mark of adulthood and maturity. As agriculturists they require the assistance of helpers whom they get in the form of wife and children. Young or old, a Bhil must have a wife and he does obtain one either through a negotiated marriage or through nata or though elopement. Economic harships which abound in his life, never prove to be unsurpassable hurdles to cross in the way to matrimony, for be never hesitates to run into debt to procure a wife. House, wife and children stand for one's prospects in the Bhil way of life and tradition. They also bestow on him an enhance status which every Bhil endeavours to attain through marriage.

The Bhils pay first consideration to the amount of bride price. After having decided this there are several other considerations which receive their attention. The status of the family carries immense weight. For Tribals, the status of a family consists in its economic and social well being. the family should be in a position to serve guests and fulfill other obligations. In the selection of a girl, importance is attached to a few of the qualities of her body and to her ability do house hold and other work properly. A beautiful girl is supposed to be one who is like the flames of the Holi-hori-ni-jhar or the lightening of the clouds - bijali, A girl of medium stature is liked more and a tall one or one of short stature-dubli is supposed to be dishonest and worthless. Further, long face is preferred to the flat-head and black and large eyes to the blue. A person with green-yellow eyes-majari is considered mischievous and full or power of magic. A long nose is given preference and a hairy body is looked upon with disfavour. The Tribals do not attach any importance to the virginity of the girl.

Normally, a Tribal resorts to marriage by purchase or exchange for service. Other forms of marriage are not recognised by the society. Should an unengaged girl take a fancy to run away with some man, her father and brothers, as soon as they find out her whereabouts, either attack the man and his family or put his house on fire. The same procedure is followed by a husband if his wife has eloped with some one. Elopement leads to enmity and even to murder. If the injured side is weak the quarrel is settled not by the sword but through the mediation and realization of compensation from the offender. There are cases of marriage by capture; most of them with the full consent of the bride, but all against the will of her father or husband. In such cases war- drums are beaten to announce the abduction of the woman or girl. All available men of village assemble with bows, arrows and swords to capture or track down the offender. If they succeed in capturing the culprit he is beaten black and blue and the abducted woman is recovered. If he is found out, he must pay over twice the amount of "the would have been" bride-price of the girl in question, but this is never realised without a great deal of talking, threatening and quarrels.

Yet another kind of marriage widely prevalent among Tribals is the marriage with the deceased elder brother's wife. It is called Dewar Vatta or marriage with the husband's younger brother (Devar). A wife is the possession of the family, especially entrusted to the husband. In case her husband dies, it, however, in no way affects the ownership . The family would like to see her remarriage to the deceased's younger brother. This marriage would not mean any loss to the family. However, it shows the property concept involved in woman.

Quite unlike the high caste Hindus, another Tribal form of marriage is Natra or marriage by a widow or a woman who has left her husband or has been abondoned by him. The Tribal widow marry after the mourning period of the deceased husband is over. The natra is solemnised without the usual pomp and show and the bride-price taken is not very high. Normally it varies from Rs.1000 to 2000. The amount of bride-price is divided between the parents, widow and the relatives of the deceased husband.

The houses in the district are built of mud and bricks, and are plastered with cement or mortar according to the means of the person. The houses of the well-to-do are pucks and others including those in the villages are kacha.

Tribals love to live in huts either set up on a hillocks, overlooking their fields or where hunting and fishing is possible. Formerly their indulgence in anti-social activities like committing thefts, lifting animals and molesting women, motivated them to live in isolated houses. A Tribal living in a hilly country is called Palwi Bhil. The Tribal houses have low roofs, hardly six feet high, mostly thatched, or, in some cases, tiled, supported by four mud walls with no windows' holes or apertures for light and air. They are walled with bamboo matting. On an average, such a house measures about 19'x8'.

Charpoy (string or tape wooden beds) are the only furniture found in villages. Inside their houses people genrally sit on a carpet or duree spread on the floor. Wealthy people with urban contacts also use tables and chairs. A sofa set is very rarely seen in villages.

The clothes if "the Tribal in the past were very scanty; his long hair served as a Pagri to protect his head from sword-cuts; and to some extent concealed his nakedness and his only garment appears to have been a pair of short drawers made of the bark of a tree. The patticoat of the female was of the same materials and worn short so as not som impede her progress through the jungle while cutting grass and bamboos; while the numerious metal ornaments on her arms and legs-pejania, protected her from spear-grass, thorns and the bites of snakes". This traditional dress of a Tribal man and woman was observed during the first quarter of 20th century. There has been much transformation in the dress of both these sexes in the last three to four decades.

A Tribal male ordinarily covers his head with a turban feta. It is white coloured, in length about six to seven meters, its cost being about 35 to 50 rupees. The poorer Tribals who can not afford to wear a feta, instead put on a feti which is comparatively shorter in length. The recent change is that the persons belonging to the new generation do not wear any head dress.

The dress of a female, mainly, consists of a petticoat - ghaghara, a bodice - kapada, and a sari - hadla. This is the typical Tribal woman dress. The paticoat is made of red-coloured khadi-sapta or tool with a number of plates, and hangs from the waist to the ankles. Its circumference is large, it has many folds, and required cloth from eight-ten meters long. It lasts for many years. The colour is either red, blue, or black. The traditional petticoat has now undergone a vast change. It length has been reduced to the ordinary length of a petticoat found in vogue in the region. There is no rigidity about the colour also. This garment is found ready-made with the tailors.

The dress of a unmarried girl consists of ghaghari- a small petticoat which is made of about 3 to 4 meters of cloth. It is mostly of red, blue and black colour. The sari, - Odani is a long piece of cloth of the length of about 2-3 meters. It is of two types according to colour and design. One of these is dyed with the designs of a 25 paisa coin (pawali bhat) and the other is chirambhat which bears the print of flowers. Unmarried girls wear Odni of any of the two types.

The valuable metals the Tribals favour are silver, brass, zinc, and nickel, gold being very costly. They generally prefer these cheaper metals; and on ceremonial occasions, ornaments made of silver are often used as items of changing gifts. They do not like ornaments of very complex designs.

Traditionally, a Tribal is fond of ear-rings "on account of which the lobula of the ear is often bored along the edge, and loaded with three to four rings or sometimes with only one large ring which encircles the ear with one end fastened to the lobe". On ceremonial occasions, they adorn their wrists with silver bangles - dhoriyas.

Generally, the women attire themselves with the lac and glass bangles like the poorer Hindus. Four rings are normally worn on each arm. Besides bangles, the other ornaments common to female are hansli and murki. Bor is a forehead ornament of the size of a egg. It is fastened to a thick thread which is knitted in the hair. The hansali is a kind of thick circular bangle engraved in the middle and is worn by women of different age groups. The female ear rings are made of silver-murki.

The staple food, irrespective of caste and tribe, of the region is maize. If forms the deity of all the sections of the society of southern districts of the State. However, the high caste Hindus eat maize only for eight months in a year excepting summer, the tribal go with it all round the year. The minor millets such as Kodra, Koori and Batti are seldom taken even during the lean years, Rice (Soka) is taken only on festive occasions. By custom and tradition the Tribals are non- vegetarians. They eat mutton, flesh of hare, deer, or other animals and birds such as partridge, sand-grouse, etc. which they may catch in the forest. During rainy season, whenever opportunity is available they would go for fishing. However, the Tribals abstain from beef and venerate the cow.

The favourite weapons of a Tribal is his bows and arrows. The stave of the bow is made of a thick bamboo strip. The string is also made of bamboo strip which is slightly thicker at the ends. There are two notches at the end of the string. The string is attached to the stave with the help of sinews. A loop of the sinew is made and passed over the end of the string and it fixes up in the notches at both the ends and stave.

The bow is called tori. It is held in the left hand. The middle portion of the stave is held between the thumb and index finger in a vertical position.

Another weapon used by the Tribals is the sword, which is of ordinary cutlass type, slightly convey on the side of the edge. Daggars are also common and are found in every house. Swords are used for killing animals and in fights. The daggers are utilized for splitting bamboos and chopping meat or vegetables.

A trap known as phatkia is used for catching birds. It consists of two semi-circular strips, one of which is made of horn and the other is of bamboo. These are fastened to each other with a woolen string. In the middle of the string there is a small bamboo piece with a notch. Another small bamboo piece is fastened to it with a thread. The bamboo piece is fixed in the notch of the other bamboo piece by turning it over the bamboo piece is fixed in the notch of the other bamboo piece by turning it over the bamboo arch. A grain of maize is fixed on it with the help of gum to serve as a bait. The contrivance is then placed in the open. When a bird is attracted and attempts to pick up the maize grain, the bamboo piece gets released from the notch and the neck of the bird is entrapped between the two arches. The bird gets entangled and is killed instantaneously.

The folk literature in the Wagadi language can be divided into three categories relating to men, women, and children. /the folk literature relating to women comprise songs, riddles, and stories about fasts and festivals; that of men songs, riddles, stories and jokes; and that of children stories, riddles and lulllabys.

Folk literature and the folk-songs occupy a special place in the life of the people of the district. These songs refer to different rites between birth and death. The famous songs are about Holi and Garaba. With the change of time, film songs and the songs set to similar tunes are increasingly becoming popular.

Most of the festivals observed by the Tribals are Hindu festivals. The Holi, Deshara and Divali are celebrated by them. For the non- Bhagat Bhils these festivals provide opportunities for reveling and carousal. At all festivals the men dance gher (a ring dance). Besides the big festivals of Hindus, the Tribals observe some minor festival also. Among these may be included Amali-Egyaras, Akha Tees., and Dasa-Mata. Amli Egyaras is celebrated on the 11th day of the bright half of Phalgun. Unmarried boys and girls keep fast on this day. Akha Tees is celebrated on the third day of the bright half of Baisakh which is considered to be a very auspicious day. The villagers prepare ghoogri (boiled and sweetened wheat grain) and poridge of maize, etc. and enjoy themselves while singing and dancing. Dasa-Mata Vrat is kept on the 10th day of the dark half of chaitra. Married women keep fast on this day and worship Dasa-Mata wishing prosperity for their families. There are a few fairs attended largely by the Tribals. The Baneshwar fair is one which is attended by the Tribals of the adjoining districts. It is held once a year on the bank of the Mahi river on the full moon day in the month of Magh. Besides Tribals, other caste Hindus and traders also attend it. The fair is held at the borders of districts of Banswara and Dungarpur at Aspur Tehsil.

Education is practically non-existent, but there are a few schools in Dungarpur at which Tribal children attend and the recruits of the Mewar Bhil crops are sent to the regimental school. The last census report does not give the number of literate Tribals. Considering 1901 census as the cut off point, it may be said that the Tribals to-day have attained much in the field of education. The Tribal boys are found today prosecuting their studies at different levels of education on different faculties. One could find Tribal boys working in laboratories or sitting in libraries following different courses - engineering and medical. The frequency of Tribal students getting professional and technical education is minimal but they have realised that education has the potentiality to bring them into the national mainstream and improve their status.

Tribal girls, though in a smaller number, are also coming forward to take education. The girls are found in hostels and college and university campuses. they are also seen in the corridors of professional institutions. The trend has been set and it is belived that in near future both literacy and higher education-technical, professional and liberal would become popular with the Tribals.

The Tribals in the past as a whole have been lawless and independent earning their livelihood from forest, forest produce and game. If the Tribal did not get enough to eke out a living through the forest, he took recourse to theft or plunder. At a later stage he adopted a settled way of life and practised agriculture. Agriculture solely depended on mansoon. During times of illicit sale of forest wood was his easily available source of livelihood. Viewed from such a perspective it would be said that before the introduction of market economy the Tribals had a system of production which did not have any surplus merely kept the society barely alive.

Today the Tribals have, by and large, taken to commercial crops. There are segments among them who take three crops a year. However, those living in the interior even now continue to suffer from dire poverty. The Tribals who have some larger size of holdings and who benefit from the irrigation dams such as Mahi-Bajaj Sagar, Jakham, Som-Kamla have taken to agricultural capitalism. Those sections which are not covered under the irrigation network, constitute the lower class in the tribe.

The Tribals who have attained some level of education have taken service as a source of their occupation . One very important thing about the Tribals is that they do not have any traditional occupation of their own quite like the caste Hindus. This enables them to take to any occupation. However, no Tribal is known to have taken to the occupations of untouchables. The agricultural economy of Tribals has witnessed diversification.

A few of the Tribals have taken to entrepreneurship. AT the local level they have introduced innovations in their cropping pattern. Outside agriculture, they have adopted small-scale trading. They are running small tea-shops, cycle-repair workshops, tailoring, and small contractorship in mining and collection of tendu leaves. A few of them are employed as teachers, compounders, nurses, electricians, fitters, drivers, and masons., The new trend observable in the Tribal economy shows its diversification from agriculture. the are increasingly involving themselves in the competitive cash economy of the region. The economic classes are also emerging among them. There are rich and elite Tribals; there are Tribals belonging to middle classes. And at the lowest rung there are Tribals who are buried in dire poverty, illiteracy and backwardness. The lower stratum constitutes the vast masses of them.

The Tribals are politically quite awakened. There are instances of their participating in the freedom movement initiated by Praja Mandal lin the erstwhile princely states. They also involved themselves in agrarian movement led by Motilal Tejawat of the former Mewar state. ?The movement was against the jagirdars and thikanedars. The Tribals refused to pay land tax and other taxes.

After independence, Baleshwar Dayal, popularly known among the Tribals as Mama created political awakening. He mobilized the Bhlils to rise against exploitation, give up excessive habit of drinking liquor and part with superstitions, polygamy and bride-price. In the beginning, the Tribals were oriented to the socialist party led by Mama Baleshwar Dayal. As at present the major political parties working among the Tribals include Congress (I), Janta Dal and Bhartiya Janta Party. A general observation may be made in this respect. The Tribals have a shrewd robust common sense in their political orientation. They know it well that their sympathies with the ruling party pay them all benefits of development and, therefore, as far as possible they tend to favour the party which holds power at the state level. Even if they do not have sympathy with the ruling party,, ostensibly they do not miss any opportunity to show their fondness for the ruling party.

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