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TRIBES
Note: A part of Uttar Pradesh
mainly tribal areas with the following districts such as Dehradun, Uttarkashi,
Tehri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Hardwar, Pauri Garhwal, Bageswar,
Pithoragarh, Almora, Nainital, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar has been formed
into a new state Uttaranchal. So part of the tribal population is now in the
state of Uttaranchal.
The population of the tribal communities in the state is not large. They
constitute the weakest section of the society and form distinct ethnic groups
which have preserved their own separate culture identities in their original
environment despite the ravages of time.
The tribes live in three well-defined regions - the mountain tracts of
Garhwal, Kumaon and Uttrakhand, the terai-bhabhar area extending from Dehra Dun
to Bahraich district and the Vindhyan tracts of Mizapur, Allahabad, Varanasi and
Bundelkhand. They also live in Pithoragarh, Uttarkashi, Tehri, Banda and Jhansi
districts.
Garhwal,
Kumaon, Pithoragarh, Uttarkashi and Chamoli have the habitats of the Bora, Bhotia and Raji tribes. The Jaunsari type of tribal groups include the
Khasas of the Jamuna tract of Dehra Dun district who claim to be Rajputs and
Brahmins and the Aujis, Doms and Kolis, Koisor Koltas who are Harijans. The
Jaunsari types are also found in the adjoining areas of Rawain (Uttarkashi) and
Jaunpur (Tehri). The Bhoksas and the Tharus inhabit the Terai-bhabhar area. The
Vindhyan tracts have the largest number of tribes, including Agaria, Bhil,
Bhumiyar, Chero, Ghasia, Gond, Kol, Korwaa, Oroan, Parahiya, Panika, Pathari and
Sahariya. The Jaunsaris are numerically the largest group.
Only five of the states tribal communities have been recognised by the
central government as scheduled tribes in terms of the provisions of the
constitution. They are the Bhotia, Bhoksa, Jaunsari, Raji and Tharu tribes,
inhabiting the sensitive border area. The remaining tribes with the exception of
Bhil , Bora and sections of the polyandrous people of Uttarkashi and Tehri, are
termed as scheduled castes.
Tharus and Bhoksas are of
Mongoloid stock and the Khasas of the Himalayan
region of Indo-Aryan stock. The remaining Jaunsari types are of mixed descent.
Of the Vindhyan tribes, the Gonds and Kols belong to Munda-Dravidian stock. The
Bhils and Saharujas are of Indo-Dravidian origin.
The tribal areas suffered from poor communications and roads were unsuitable
for the major portion of the year. There was extreme scarcity of water during
summer, specially in Mirzapur and Banda districts. The Bhotias of the northern
frontier suffered a severe setback on account of sudden stoppage of trade with
Tibet. The Jaunsaris, had little land of their own and generally worked as
labourers on farms or in forests. The problems of Tharus and Bhoksas in the
terai areas were quite different. Those lands which were previously defined as
fallow land, were captured and developed by this community. The development had
already been completed, thousands of outsiders and fortune-seekers were trying
to come over and prosper at the cost of local tribes by displacing them from
their paternal land. The state governments efforts to meet the situation had met
with only partial success.
The Khasas are at the top in the Jaunsar tract and the Gonds in the Mirzapur
region. For the Khasas, the Koltas do the tilling of land while the Bajgis are
their tailors and the Lohars and Sonars their blacksmiths and goldsmiths. The
Agarias, Panikas and Ghasias do services for the Gonds, though the Gonds have
now lost their hegemony. All the tribes love liquor. The Dangwarias and
Kathawaras among the Tharus make their own brand of rice beer. The Korwas and
Rajis live on wild fruit and tree roots. The tribals now wear the same kind of
dress as non-tribals but the tribal women's weakness for gaudy dress, ornaments
and finery is pronounced. 
The tribes have their own separate pantheons but they also worship a few
Hindu gods. The Kols of Banda are devotees of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana because
of their legendary association with them during their sojourn in exile at
Chitrakut. The Sahariyas claim their descent from Shabari, the poor Bhil woman
whose hospitality Lord Rama accepted during his wandering in the Chitrakut
forests. The tribals follow the patriarchal and patrilineal order of society. Women
have a high social status. Among the Tharus of Naini Tal they play a more
dominant role than men. Polygamy is a status symbol. Polyandry is prevalent
among the Jaunsaris. The Korwas and Bhotias have a custom by which on the death
of the elder brother the younger brother can claim the widow. Song and dance are
part of the tribal way of life. Among the Jaunsaris and Bhotias, both men and
women dance. The Kols have only women dancers. For Bhoksa women dancing is
taboo, while Tharu women dance during Holi only. Bhoksas, Tharus and Sahariyas
have organized male-dancing parties.
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