Vanishing peoples of India

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the culture and way of living of these peoples are rapidly disintegrating, and many have lost their land to entrepreneurs, who extract coal, iron and other minerals from it. Owners of paper factories have persuaded several of the tribes to plant eucalyptus trees on their land, promising these people a large outcome from these trees. However, they omit to inform them that eucalyptus trees dry out the soil, often leading to scarcity of water in areas, which were previously covered in lush forest.

In village schools, tribal children get acquainted with modern ways, and some have begun to despise their traditional way of life. Many half-grown boys drift to the cities, where they become unskilled labour. Today, poverty and alcoholism prevail in many tribal villages.

Many tribal people still live in the states of Odisha (Orissa), Chattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. As per 2001 census, the tribal population in Odisha alone was about 8 million, which constitutes around 22% of the total population of this state and almost 10% of the total tribal population in India.

The Indian Government has classified most of these peoples with the peculiar terms ‘scheduled caste’ and ‘scheduled tribe’. However, most Hindus regard them as dalit, ranging outside the Hindu caste system, and, as such, as a lower class of people.

This page also includes some nomadic peoples of Caucasian or Mongolian descent. The major part of the pictures below were taken in 1997, or prior, when many tribal peoples had still preserved part of their traditional ways, and some were practicing animist rituals. More about this issue is found on the page Religion: Animism.

 

 

The Bhogtas were traditionally farmers, and they also produced rope and cots to sell. Today, many are day-labourers on tea plantations, others work in private and government services. (Source: joshuaproject.net)

This people is described more thoroughly on the page Travel episodes – India 1997: A thousand eye operations in one day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to a 2011 census, their number is about 126,000. They worship various local deities, but also the Hindu god Shiva. Most of their festivals are connected with agriculture.

 

 

 

 

 

For the major part of the year, the Changpa move across vast areas of the Tibetan plateau, where they graze their flocks of sheep and goats. They also raise yaks for meat, milk, and transportation, and horses for riding or carrying loads. Since the early 1970s, many have also been raising cows for milk production. Many of their goats produce the famous pashmina wool, which is one of the main sources of income for this people. In winter, they descend to lower areas.

Changpa are Mahayana Buddhists. This branch of Buddhism is presented in depth on the page Religion: Buddhism.

 

 

 

 

 

In former times, Gadaba girls would wear two white metal neck rings, and as their head grew bigger, the rings could not be removed. Only after the death of the woman, a blacksmith would remove them. The women would also wear a traditional two-piece dress, often striped in red, blue, and white, woven by the women themselves.

This tribe performs a group dance, called dhemsa. The dancers form a chain by clutching each other at a shoulder and waist, moving to the tune of traditional instruments.

Since the early 1980s, many Gadabas have been displaced from their villages by the building of hydro-electric dams and the resulting lakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1991, the Gujjar-Bakarwal were granted tribal status in Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian government.

Although the Rajaji area in Uttarakhand was declared a national park in 1993, the Gujjar-Bakarwal still live here. Foresters have pointed out that these people should be banned from grazing their animals in the park, but, ironically, they seem to benefit wildlife here, as they keep poachers away from the area. For instance, the number of wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in the park has increased in later years. The Gujjar-Bakarwal themselves do not harm wildlife, as they are vegetarians.

However, the efforts of the foresters have been successful, and it seems that the Gujjar-Bakarwal have to be relocated. How that will effect the population of elephants and other animals remains to be seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditionally, these people were animists, but today almost all are Hindus. According to a 2011 census, they number around 1.6 million.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many Koya have been displaced by development and hydro-electric projects, forcing them to work as day-labourers. The scarcity of such jobs has lead to malnutrition of children and instances of anemia in women.

The Koya practice marriage after maturity. In former days, the bride’s maternal uncle arranged the match, and marriages between cousins were common. A wealthy groom would have no problem finding a bride, but poor ones would often have to bribe the village headman to allow them to capture a bride. In the most simple wedding ceremony, the bride bent her head, and the groom would lean over her, while water was poured on their heads. Once the water had drained off the bride’s head, they were declared man and wife. They would then drink milk, eat rice, and walk around a mound of earth. After getting the blessings of the elders, they would go to their new home. (Source: The Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Nature 84 (2134): 365-367, September 1910)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The latest population census puts their number at around 350,000. Most are Hindus, a few are Christians.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They claim to have been created by the mother goddess Parvati, consort of the mighty god Shiva. According to their legend, Parvati was cleaning dust and sweat from Shiva as he meditated, and from the dirt she moulded a camel. However, it kept running away, so Parvati created the first Rabari to tend it.

 

 

 

 

 

Some Sabara still retain their traditional tribal customs and traditions. Marriages are arranged by bride capture, elopement, or negotiations. Their religion is animism. “A shaman, usually a woman, serves as an intermediary between the living and the dead. During a trance, her soul is said to climb down terrifying precipices to the underworld, leaving her body for the dead to use as their vehicle for communication. One by one, the spirits speak through her mouth. Mourners crowd around the shaman, arguing vehemently with the dead, laughing at their jokes, or weeping at their accusations.” (Source: P. Vitebsky. Dialogues with the dead. Natural History Magazine, March 1997)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Toda mythology, Ön is the supreme creator.

 

 

In Hindi, these mountains are called Nilgiri (’blue hill’), but their original Tamil name was neelakurinji, referring to a blue-flowered plant, Strobilanthes kunthiana, of the acanthus family (Acanthaceae), which only blooms at intervals of 12 years, but so profusely that entire mountain slopes become bluish. (Neela means ‘blue’ in Tamil).

In the 1800s, the Nilgiris were covered in lush monsoon forests. However, establisment of tea plantations by the British led to large-scale immigration by poor, landless people. Following the independence of India, exploitation of the forests expanded, and now large-scale planting of eucalyptus trees was carried out, to supply wood for a fiber factory. Eucalyptus seriously drains the soil, and today there is often scarcity of water in the formerly humid Nilgiris. The forest has shrunk alarmingly, almost exclusively conserved in nature reserves.

For the Todas, who had been living in these mountains for hundreds of years, the arrival of the strangers was fatal. Formerly, their culture and religion was centered around the water buffalo. They drank the milk, exchanging it with neighbouring tribes for crops, honey, metal items, and other necessities. The establishment of tea plantations, however, led to a catastrophic lack of grazing grounds, and the traditional life style of the Todas collapsed.

In the 1940s, their number had dwindled to a mere 600, partly due to the traditional killing of most newborn females to avoid overpopulation, partly due to diseases transmitted by the immigrants. Furthermore, childbirth traditionally took place in the jungle, where the woman was left alone to take care of herself. Many children died as a result, and some mothers were eaten by tigers.

A Toda woman, who had been educated as a nurse, made a huge effort to improve the health situation of the tribe, and with the blessing of the elders, the two above mentioned habits were abandoned.

Today, there are around 1,100 Todas, many of which have converted to Christianity. Some make a living by producing souvenirs for tourists.