Tribal people constitute 8.6% of the nation's total population, over 104
million people as per 2011 census. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes)
Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2013:
The bill aims at inclusion of Narikoravan, grouped with
Kurivikkaran community from Tamil Nadu, and Dhanuhar and Dhanuwar communities
from Chhattisgarh in the list of Scheduled Tribes will require a Constitutional
amendment.
Since hundreds of tribes are there in India, it becomes very difficult
for the aspirants to remember each and every tribe. I have tried to discuss
about the major tribes and tribes which are in news. Apologies if I have missed
out any major tribes.
Tribes spread across different parts of India
|
Name
|
State
|
Description
|
|
Bhils
(derived
from bow)
|
MP, Gujarat, Rajasthan,
Maharashtra and
north-eastern part of Tripura
|
·Popularly known as the bow men
of Rajasthan
·They forms the largest
tribe of the whole South Asia
·Divided into two main groups
: Central or pure Bhils and Eastern or Rajput Bhils
·They speak Bhili,
which is an Indo Aryan language
·Religion practice among the
Bhils differ from place to place
·The Baneshwar
fair is the main festival celebrated during Shivratri
|
|
Munda
( means headman of the village)
|
Mainly Jharkhand
Spread across Bihar ,WB, Chhattisgarh
and Orissa
|
·They speak Mundari, which is a Austro-
Asiatic language
·Complexion is blackish. They have short
curly hair.
·Christianity is the main religion.`
·They believe in Singbonga, which means the
Sun God
·They remained hunters for centuries. But
now they have been converted into the settled agriculturist
·Mage, Phagu, Karam, Sarhul, and Sohrai are
the few festivals celebrated
|
|
Santhals
|
West Bengal, Bihar,
Orissa, Jharkhand and Assam
|
·It is one of the largest tribe
in India
·They wagged war against the
permanent settlement of Lord Cornwallis in 1855.
· They speak Santhali,
which is a Austro- Asiatic language
·They are engaged in hunting,
fishing and cultivation for their livelihood
·They have no temples of their
own. They even do not worship any idols. Santhals follow the Sarna religion.
·They mainly celebrate
the Karam festival to please the God to increase their
wealth and free them from all the enemies.
|
|
Gonds
|
Widely spread in the Chhindwara district
of Madhya Pradesh, Bastar district ofChhattisgarh and
also in the parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa.
|
·They are the largest tribe in
Central India
·They speak Gondi language which is related
to the Telgu and the other Dravidian languages. In the northern parts Gonds
are often seen speaking the local Hindi.
·They are divided into four tribes namely -
Raj Gonds, Madia Gonds, Dhurve Gonds, Khatulwar Gonds
·They are largely influenced by the Hindus
and for the long time have been practicing the Hindus culture and traditions
·Keslapur Jathra is the
important festival of the Gonds
|
|
Khasi
|
Mainly found in the state
of Assam and the Khasi Jaintia hills in
Meghalaya
Other places are Punjab,
UP, Manipur, WB and J&K
|
·They are called by the different
names such as Khasi Pahris, Khuchia, Kassi, Khashi and Khasa
·Most of the Khasis
follow Christianity
·They speak Khasi-an
Austro- Asiatic language
·The property of the Khasis is
passed on from the mother to the youngest daughter
·The women wear silver or gold
crown on their head and men wear large earrings.
·Nongkrem is the
major festival celebrated among the Khasi’s.
|
|
Baiga
|
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and
Orissa
|
·They are the forest-dwelling aboriginals
from central India
·They do not interact with other tribal,
believe in a hand-to-mouth existence.
· Do not try to access education, eat
outside their community, or associate with others
·Tattooing is an integral part of their
lifestyle
|
|
Birhor
(means
peoples
of
jungles)
|
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa
|
·They are known as the hunter
tribe.
·This tribe is a
Proto-Australoid tribe, physically recognizable by their deep, dark-brown
skin color and wavy, curly/frizzy black hair
·The tribe is divided into two
major sub-tribes, the Jaghis Birhor(wandering, practice
shift cultivation) and Uthalu Birho(settled, follow
agro-based economy)
·Tanda: The settlement
whether permanent or temporary, which consists of usually half a dozen or
more huts
·In news because the tribe
struggles to maintain traditional lifestyle in the face of government
intervention
|
|
Chenchus
|
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
and Odisha
|
·They live in bee hive shaped tiny huts
with wattle walls
·They speak Chenchu language with the Telgu
accent
·They worship number of deities. They
mainly believe in Bhagaban taru who lives in the sky and look after
them in all their doings
·They are referred to as one of the
Primitive Tribal Groups that are still dependent on forests and do not
cultivate land but hunt for a living
·Most of them inhabit in the Nallamalai
hills of AP
|
North and North-West
|
Name
|
State
|
Description
|
|
Gaddis
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
·They mainly dwell around
Dhauladhar mountain range, Chamba, Bharmaur and the areas near to Dharamshala
·The main occupation
is shepherding and they make their livelihood by rearing and
selling sheep, goats, mules and horses.
·Most of them are Hindus and a
few Muslims
·The most attractive aspect
about this tribe is their attire.
·They speak the Gaddi Language
but for writing they use Takri and Hindi.
|
|
Pangwal
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
· They are the inhabitants of
the Pangi valley of Chamba district
·They are known for their charming faces,
fine physique and for their love of song and dance.
·They are mostly engaged in farming.
|
|
Bhutia
(Baichung
Bhutia? J)
|
Sikkim
|
·They are also known as
the Lachenpas and Lachungpas
·They are of the Tibetan origin
and migrated to Sikkim around 16th century.
·They form 14% of the total
population of Sikkim.
·They usually speak Sikkimese.
They also speak Lepcha, Bhutia, Nepali, English and Hindi.
·A traditional Bhutia house is
called a "khim" and is usually rectangular.
·Losar and Losoong are the main
festivals celebrated
|
|
Limbus/
Limboos
|
Sikkim
|
·They are one of the indigenous tribe of
Sikkim belonging to Nepali stock
· Mongoloid looking by figure having
their own language, faith, costume, culture and life style.
·Their traditional group dance called Dhannach is
famous usually performed in the marriage, death and any festive celebrations.
·They are farmers by profession and they
love enjoying their life more by singing, feasting and dancing.
·The traditional dress of the Limbus is
mekhli and taga.
|
|
Lepchas
|
Sikkim
|
·They are one of the indigenous
tribe of Sikkim
·They look fair in complexion,
shy in nature wearing generally a kind of set wear of shirt and trousers
called Hontaj Gyador.
·They call themselves Rong in
their language.
·They speak their own dialect
and they too follow the same Tibetan form of Buddhism besides their local
faith.
|
|
Buksa
|
Uttarakhand and UP
|
·They are one of the primitive tribal
groups of India
·They are indigenous people concerated in the Dehradun and Nainital in the Kumaonfoothills of
the outer Himalayas
·Major occupation are agriculture and
animal husbandry
|
North-East
|
Name
|
State
|
Description
|
|
Apatani or
Tanni
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
·They are settled
agriculturists inhabiting the valley around Ziro-the headquarters
of Lower Subansiri district.
·They practice permanent
wetland cultivation in hilly terrain by slicing the hills.
·They are loyal followers of
the Donyi-Polo faith, who pray to the Sun and the Moon
·Men of other tribes would
often steal the Apatani women, which led the Apatani men to tattoo the faces
of their women and make them wear massive nose plugs, in order to make them
less appealing.
|
|
Adis/
Bokar Lhoba
(meaning
hill or mountain top)
|
Arunachal Pradesh , Assam
|
·They have two main divisions the Bogum and
Bomis
· They by nature are democratic and
organized village council called Kebang
·Their traditional dance called Ponung is
famous in the whole of Arunachal Pradesh.
· Dances are very popular among them.
·The villages are situated generally on the
spurs of hills
·The women are very good weavers and weave
cloth with highly artistic designs.
|
|
Nyishis
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
·They are the largest groups of
people inhabiting the major part of Lower Subansiri district
·Their menfolk wear their hair
long and tie it in a knot just above the forehead
·They are Indo-Mongoloid
group of people and their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family.
·The tribe as a whole is fond
of hunting and fishing in which they perhaps excel any other neighboring
tribes
|
|
Kampti
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
·They are a sub-group of the Shan people
Lohit district.
·They posses East Asian features.
·They are followers of Theravada Buddhism
·They have adopted a script of Shan origin,
known as Lik-Tai for their language.
· They are renowned for their
craftsmanship.
|
|
Tagin
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
·They are main inhabitant of
Upper Sunansiri district.
·Their main occupation is
agriculture.
·Polygamy is customary among
them.
· Their dress is very
simple consisting of only one piece of cloth.
|
|
Angami
|
Nagaland
|
·Tenyidie is the most common
language spoken
·Population is around 12 million.
·Agriculture is the main occupation.
·Christianity is the major religion followed
·They are quite popular for their woodcraft
and artwork( producer of bamboo work, cane furniture, beds, shawls and
powerful machetes)
·Sekrenyi is the main festival
celebrated which marks the beginning of the lunar year
|
|
Rengmas
|
Nagaland
|
·They are one of the seventeen
major Naga Tribes.
·They follow patriarchal
system.
·Originally they were animist.
They believed in various gods and goddess. The Christianity is also present
among the tribe.
·Agriculture is the main
occupation. They practices Jhumming. Women are expert weavers.
·Nyada is the main
festival celebrated. This is to mark the end of the agricultural years.
·Note: A section of
them have migrated to Karbi Anglong districts of Assam
|
|
Sema /Sumi
Nagas
|
Nagaland and Assam
|
·They are one of the major tribes of
Nagaland recognized for their martial art skills.
·They mainly inhibit Zunheboto district.
·They are most united and aggressive
tribe.
·Tuluni is the major festival
celebrated.
·They follow Christianity.
|
|
Zeliang
|
Nagaland
|
·The Zeliang is the official
name of the Zemi and Liangmei people in Nagaland
· They live primarily in
the south-western part of Kohima district
·The Hega festival
is one of the most important and the biggest festival.
·They inhabit Barrail range of
hills in Manipur, Nagaland and Assam.
·They are very famous for their
sanitation and hygiene.
|
|
Konyak
(means
blackhead or human)
|
Nagaland
|
·They are the largest out of 17 officially
recognized tribes in Nagaland,
·They are known as 'those violent
headhunters with tattooed faces.'
·One of the last headhunters,
they now practice agriculture and hunt seasonally
·The most important festival is AolingMonyu which
is celebrated in spring season and the occasion is related to the sowing of
seeds.
·More than 95% of them follow Christianity.
· The men wear earrings made out
of deer horn, necklace made out of boar tusks and brass heads.
|
|
Garos
|
Meghalaya
|
·They are the second-largest tribe in Meghalaya and comprise about a third of the local population.·They are mainly Christians.·The youngest daughter inherits the property from her mother. Sons leave the parents' house at puberty, and are trained in the village bachelor dormitory. After getting married, the man lives in his wife's house.·They are a matrilineal not matriarchal society. |
|
Jaintias
|
Meghalaya
|
·They are traced in the Jaintia hills.
·They belong to the Proto Autroloid
Monkhmer race
·Basically it is a sub tribe of
Khasis and since they have been residing in Jaintia hills, they have
been named so.
·Most of them follow Christianity
·The men wear Jymphong and dhoti while the
women wrap several pieces of clothes so as to give a cylindrical shape.
|
|
Reang
|
Tripura
|
·They are the second
largest tribal community of Tripura.
·They are said to have came
first from Shan State of upper Burma.
·They belong to Indo-Mongoloid
racial stock.
·Their language is known as
"Kaubru" which have a tonal effect of Kuki language though
broadly it is Kok-Borok (language of men).
·They are still a nomadic tribe
and a large numbers among them maintain their livelihood involving Top Hill
Jhum Cultivation, food gathering, fishing & hunting.
·They follow Hindu religion.
|
|
Lushais
|
Tripura
|
·They belong to Kuki-Chin group of tribes.
·They are commonly known as Mizos.
·They live on Jhum Cultivation and hunting
of wild animal. They are also famous as orange producing community.
·They follow Christianity as their
religion.
·Their Bamboo Dance (Cheraw-dance)
is very much popular in and outside the country.
|
|
Kuki
|
Manipur
|
·An ethnic tribe spread across
vast areas of North-eastern region of India except Arunachal Pradesh,
Burma and foot hills of Chittagong hills
·They form a part of the
great Mongolian race
· They prefer to live on
the hill tops and their villages are cluster of houses closely constructed to
protect from alien raiders.
·Mainly followers of
Christianity and Judaism
|
|
Bodos
|
Assam
|
·They belong to Indo-Mongoloid family. It
is believed that their origin was Tibet and China.
·The speak Bodo language that is derived
Tibeto Burmese family of language
·Most of them are engaged in rice
cultivation, tea plantation and poultry farming. Women engage themselves in
weaving
·They are expert in bamboo and cane craft;
hence one would usually come across houses fashioned out of bamboo and wood
in places where they live in majority
·Some of them are Christians, while a
large chunk follows the precepts of Hinduism
|
|
Mishing
/Miris
|
Assam
|
·They are the second largest
schedule tribe of Assam.
·As per tradition they practice
group fishing in winter and group hunting in summer. The women
are expert weavers.
·The ‘Ali-Ai-Ligang' is
the most well-known and widely observed festival (festival of sowing seeds)
·They have their own language,
but no script: hence they use the Assamese language when the written form is
required
|
|
Karbi/
Mikirs
|
Assam
|
·They belong to the Mongoloid group and
linguistically to the Tibeto-Burman group
·They reside in hilly areas of Assam and
form the major portion of population of Karbi Anglong district.
They also inhabit places in North Cachar Hills, Nagaon and Sonitpur districts
of Assam
·Their main occupation is agriculture.
·The place of women is same as the men, and
women help their men in every step of life
·Dance and Music play an important role in
their life
·They are mentioned as Mikir in
the constitution of India.
|
|
Rahabas
|
Assam
|
·They are widely scattered but
mostly concentrated on Goalpara, Kamrup, and Darrang.
·Agriculture is the main
occupation
·Traditionally they were very
religious. Now most of them have embraced Hinduism or Christianity.
·They like to live in
compact blocks having 50-100 families.
|
|
Biate
(means worshipper)
|
Mizoram,
Assam and Meghalaya
|
·They are also one of the oldest
living tribes in the NE.
·Though they are less in term of
population, they have their own identity with a rich and distinctive history,
culture, dialect and religious heritages..
|
Central India
|
Name
|
State
|
Description
|
|
Khonds /
Dongaria Khonds
|
Orissa
|
·They are indigenous tribal
groups in Orissa.
· Their native language is
Kui, a Dravidian language written with the Oriya script.
· They are nature
worshipping forest dwellers.
·Vedanta Resources,
mining company, was set to destroy the forests, wildlife and way of life of
the Dongria Kondh people. Their four year long protests finally paid off as
the government has now banned Vedanta from mining in Niyamgiri Mountain and
in their forests.
|
|
Bonda
|
Odisha
|
·They are also known as Bondo or Remo
·They live in the isolated hill regions of
the Malkangiri district of southwestern Odisha.
·They are one among the Primitive Tribal
Groups identified by GOI.
·They are generally semi-clothed, the women
wear thick silver neck bands.
·The Gov of Orissa had setup Bonda
Development Agency (BDA) in 1977 with the aim of bringing Bonda’s into the
mainstream
|
|
Oarons
/Kurukh
|
Odisha ,Bihar, Jharkhand, WB
|
·They mainly depend on
agriculture for earning their living.
·Most of them are engaged in
the occupation of tea cultivation.
·They are considered to have
the second largest population of tribes in Bihar and Jharkhand
·They speak Kurukh language related
to Dravidian family.
·Majority of them are Hindus
and are religious minded people. They worship Gods and Goddesses
but a great number of these tribes have adopted Christianity.
|
|
Khairwar
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
·It is on the brink of extinction because
of the tribe members' inability to conceive
·They reside in a remote village called
Harrai.
·There are only about 30 families left --
all childless couples who are either old or middle-aged and past their
reproductive age.
|
|
Kol
(means
human)
|
Madhya Pradesh
Other states include Bihar, UP,
Chhattisgarh, Assam, Tripura
|
·It is one of the most ancient
tribes of India, whose mention is found in the Rig Veda and many
other mythological scriptures.
·Most of them are landless and
work on farm as laborers and sharecroppers
·They prefer to live in groups
near the villages called as Kolhan
|
|
Murias
|
Chhattisgarh
|
·They are a sub-group of the Gonds and
inhabit the forests and plains of central India. They live along the
Indrawati River, which flows through the Bastar district.
·They survive mainly by farming, hunting,
and eating the fruits of the forest.
·The ghotul, or temporary
dormitory for unmarried youth, is a significant building within the Muria
villages
|
|
Pahari
Korwa/ Korba
|
Chhattisgarh, Bihar
|
·They belong to Austro-Asiatic
family
·The Korwas are divided into
Pahari Korwa and Dihari Korwa.
·The main concentration is in
Jashpur, Sarguja & Raigarh.
·They are medium to short
height have a dark brown or black skin.
·Fishing and hunting are
practiced as occupation.
·Karma dance is very
popular dance and all the villagers participate in it.
|
|
Maria
|
Chhattisgarh
|
·Two types: Abhuj Maria and Bison
Horn Maria
·Both are sub castes of the Gond tribals.
·Abhuj Maria:
ØThey live in isolation and inhabit the
secluded enclaves of Narayanpur tehsil of Bastar District
ØThey fear mankind
ØThey are one of the few tribes that have
many to keep their quintessential culture alive and unaffected by the
vestiges of time
·Bison Horn Maria:
ØThey are found in MP and Maharashtra also
ØTheir introvert nature makes them live in
isolation in the interiors of dense forest areas
ØThey derived their name from their unique
custom of wearing a distinctive headdress, which resembles the horns of a
wild bison
|
Western India
|
Name
|
State
|
Description
|
|
Sahariya
(meaning
residents of Jungle)
|
Rajasthan
|
·Only primitive tribe of
Rajasthan residing in the Baran district
·They follow Hindu religion and
speak a dialect influenced by Hadoti.
·Faced with social ignorance,
anger, deprivation and inhuman treatment inherent in the system, the people
of this tribe are once again in the miserable condition.
· In the absence of sources
of livelihood, this tribal group is again forced to resort to migration
|
|
Mina/
Meena
(meaning
fish)
|
Rajasthan
|
· They are found in the northern part
of Rajasthan.
·Originally a nomadic, warlike people
practicing animal breeding and known for lawlessness, today most of them are
farmers.
·At the time of British rule, this
community had been acclaimed as criminal tribe
·Majority of them follow Hinduism
|
South India
|
Name
|
State
|
Description
|
|
Irulas
(meaning
darkness)
|
Tamil Nadu
|
·They are inhabitants of the
scrub jungles of Southern India belonging to the Negrito (or Negroid) race
· Hunter-gatherers by
tradition, their expertise in catching snakes is legendary
·Most of them are wage laborers
working in tea estates now.
·They are partly Hinduized, but
have their own
indigenous religious system
|
|
Badagas
|
Tamil Nadu
|
·It is one of the oldest tribal
communities in the Nilgiris.
·The main occupation of the people in this
community is agriculture. Tea plantation is the major agriculture here.
· They are socially, educationally and
even economically advanced now.
·The Badaga language is a mixture of
Kannada and Tamil and there is no script for this language.
·They are Hindus of Shiva sect.
|
|
Kota
(Ko
meaning mountain)
|
Tamil Nadu
|
·They have been living in the
Nilgiri mountains for ages
·They are found living only in
seven settlements, referred to by them as Kokkals
· They are the only artisan
community on the hills of the Nilgiris
·Most of the crafts practiced
by them are on the decline.
·The major festival is the
annual Kamatra-ya festival
|
|
Kanis
|
Kerala
|
·They belong to a traditionally nomadic
community, who now lead a primarily settled life in the forests of the Agast-Hymalai
hills of the Western Ghats
·They have an extremely rich and unique
Traditional Knowledge about the use of the resources, particularly the
biological resources around them
·They introduced Tropical Botanical Garden
and Research Institute (TBGRI) to a medicinal plant in their forest from
which a drug named 'jeevani' was isolated and commercialized
|
|
Uralis
(means
ruler of a locality)
|
Kerala and Tamil Nadu
|
·They are mostly found
on the Idukki hillsof Kerala
·Agriculture is the main
occupation.
·They worship nature as Gods
and inventor of the world.
·They have their own native
language called as Urali language
|
|
Lambada /
Banjaras/ Sugalisa
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
·They are the largest tribe
of AP.
·They live in exclusive settlements of
their own called Tandas, usually away from the main village,
tenaciously maintaining their cultural and ethnic identity.
·They are expert cattle breeders and
largely subsist by sale of milk and milk products.
|
Island Region
|
Name
|
State
|
Description
|
|
Jarawas
|
Andaman
|
·They are one of the indigenous
peoples of the Andaman Islands. They have inhabited the islands for thousands
of years
·Their present numbers are
estimated at between 250–400 individuals.
· Since they have largely
shunned interactions with outsiders, many particulars of their society,
culture and traditions are poorly understood.
|
|
Sentinelese
|
Andaman
|
·Theyare one of the Andamanese indigenous
peoples and one of the most remote tribes of the Andaman Islands.
·They inhabit North Sentinel Island.
·They are noted for vigorously resisting
attempts at contact by outsiders.
· The Sentinelese maintain an
essentially hunter-gatherer society subsisting through hunting, fishing, and
collecting wild plants; there is no evidence of either agricultural practices
or methods of producing fire.
·Their language remains unclassified.
|
|
Shompens
|
Great Nicobar Island
|
·They are one of the last
surviving stone-age tribes in the world.
·They wander in their forest
and coastal habitat in search of food.
·They are also on the brink of
extinction as the four other hunter-gatherer tribes (the Jarawa, the
Andamanese, the Onge and the Sentinelese).
·They are of mongoloid stock
unlike the other primitive tribes of the Andaman Islands which are negrito
|
|
Onges
(means ‘we
people’)
|
Little Andaman
|
· A negrito tribe with just 96
in number now. They are divided into 5 families comprising of 15 members
in all living in South Bay
·They are pure hunter-gatherers and are not
aware of agriculture
·They have no clear concept of religion but
they are animistic.
|
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