Presentation on

TRIBAL COMMUNITY

Najid SVP
`
INTRODUCTION
 FEATURES OF A TRIBE
 Each caste has a distinct name of its own through which it is
distinguished from others.
 Tribes generally occupy common geographical areas.
 Members of one tribe speak the same language. Each tribe has its
own dialect, if not the script.
 Each tribe has prescribed patterns of behaviour and festivals and
deities to worship.
 Each tribe has the practice of marrying members within their own
tribe.
Political organization: All tribes have their own political organization. They have councils of elders
which control members.

 As regards the nature of work, against 73 per cent national average, 91 per cent tribal workers are
engaged in agriculture. About 3 per cent tribals are engaged in manufacturing (against 11% of general
population) and 5 per cent in servicing (tertiary) sectors (against 16% average of general population).
About 1 per cent tribals are engaged in forestry and food-gathering.

Most of them live in isolated terrains; the main sources of their livelihood are agriculture and gathering of
forest produce.

 They do not cultivate for profit; they still largely rely on barter system.

 They spend a greater part of their earnings on social and religious ceremonies
 Structure and features of a Tribal Society
1. History: A tribal society is a primitive society which lived in early period of human history but can be found in
large number of groups in all countries including India. There has not been any change of tribes in their belief,
life style and religion which prevent them from mixing with any outsider or educated community whom they
greatly dislike.

2. Economic structure: Tribal people live within nature and absolutely clean environment and this determines
their economic activity which consists of hunting small animals and look for food like roots and wild fruits. They
have their own social functions and festivals where they sing and dance in characteristic body movements in the
same dress by girls, the males playing on musical gadget like drums, metallic gongs, flutes etc.
They hardly have any transaction because nobody has any currency or coins and do not have any knowledge
and experience of organizing market.

3. Social Life: The life style of tribal society is primitive, and depends entirely on their characteristic ways of
non-monetary transacted life. The families live within themselves, without knowing about their neighbours in the
country who are educated, developed, move in cars, have modern dress etc whom they hate and consider them
enemy. The domestic division of labor depends only on age and sex.
 PROBLEMS OF TRIBAL COMMUNITIES
 Land Alienation: Forest land and its resources provide the best means of livelihood for the tribal people
and many tribes including the women engage in agriculture, food gathering and hunting they are heavily
dependent on the products of the forest. Therefore when outsiders exploit the tribe's land and its resources
the natural life cycle of tribal ecology and tribal life is greatly disturbed.
 Poverty and Indebtedness: Majority tribes live under poverty line. The tribes follow many simple
occupations based on simple technology. Most of the occupation falls into the primary occupations such as
hunting, gathering, and agriculture. Hence there per capita income is very meager much lesser than the
Indian average. Most of them live under abject poverty and are in debt in the hands of local moneylenders
and Zamindars. Indebtedness is almost inevitable since heavy interest is to be paid to these moneylenders.
 Health and Nutrition: Malnutrition is common and has affected the general health of the tribal children
as it lowers the ability to resist infection, leads to chronic illness and sometimes leads to brain impairment.
The ecological imbalance like cutting of trees have increased the distances between villages and the forest
areas thus forcing tribal women to walk longer distances in search of forest produce and firewood.
 Education: Educationally the tribal population is at different levels of development but overall the formal
education has made very little impact on tribal groups. There are many reasons for low level of education
among the tribal people: Formal education is not considered necessary to discharge their social obligations.
Superstitions and myths play an important role in rejecting education.
 TRIBAL GROUPS IN INDIA
 The Tribal groups in India have distinct cultural patterns. They form the indigenous group are also
called ‘upajati’ in some regions of India.
 A large chunk of Indians belong to Tribal group (Tribal community) – Adivasis, as they are called,
they occupy distinct regions, especially in the hilly and forested areas.
 Scheduled Tribes in India form the largest proportion of the total population in Lakshadweep and
Mizoram followed by Nagaland and Meghalaya.
 The list of names of Important tribal groups and Communities) are:
 Abors: Arunachal Pradesh  Gonds: Madhya Pradesh. Also in Bihar,  Mikirs: Assam
 Aptanis: Arunachal Pradesh Orissa and A.P.  Mundas: Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal
 Badagas: Nilgiri (TN)  Gujjars: Himachal Pradesh  Nagas (Angami, Sema, Ao, Tangkul, Lahora):
 Baiga: Madhya Pradesh  Jarawas: Little Andamans Nagaland, some in Assam and NEFA region.
 Bhils: Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan,
 Khas: Jaunsar-Babar area in U.P.  Oarons (also called Kurukh): Bihar, Orissa & Bengal.
some in Gujarat and Maharashtra  Khasis: Assam, Meghalaya  Onges: Andaman and Nicobar islands
 Bhot: Himachal Pradesh  Kol: Madhya Pradesh  Santals: Birbhum region in Bengal, Hazaribagh, Purnea in
 Bhotias: Garhwal and Kumaon regions
 of
Kotas:
U. P. Nilgiri (Tamil Nadu) Bihar, Orissa
 Chakma: Tripura  Kuki: Manipur  Sentinelese: Sentinel Island, Andaman and Nicobar
 Chenchus: Andhra Pradesh, Orissa Lepchas: Sikkim  Shompens: Andaman and Nicobar
 Gaddis: Himachal Pradesh  Lushais: Mizoram  Todas: Nilgiri (Tamil Nadu)
 Garos: Meghalaya  Murias: Bastar (Madhya Pradesh)  Uralis: Kerala
 Warlis: Maharashtra
 THE NAGA TRIBE
The Naga people are an ethnic group
conglomerating of several tribes native
to the North Eastern part of India and
north-western Burma. The tribes have
similar cultures and traditions, and form
the majority ethnic group in the Indian
state
of Nagaland, with significant
population in Manipur, Arunachal
Pradesh and some small population
in Assam.
ART
CULTURE
 The Naga tribes are expert craftsmen. Their dwellings are made of wood and straw and these are ornately
carved and arranged. Weaving of colourful woollen and cotton shawls is a central activity for women of all
Naga tribes. Naga jewellery is an equally important part of identity, with the entire tribe wearing similar
bead jewellery.
FESTIVALS
 The various Naga tribes have their own distinct festivals. To promote inter-tribe interaction, the
Government of Nagaland has organized the annual Hornbill Festival since 2000. Another inter-tribe
festival is Lui Ngai Ni.
FOLK MUSIC AND DANCE
 Folk songs and dances are essential ingredients of the traditional Naga culture. The oral tradition is kept
alive through the media of folk tales and songs.
 Folk dances of the tribes are mostly performed in groups in synchronized fashion, by both men andwomen,
depending on the type of dance. Dances are usually performed at festivals and religious occasions. War
dances are performed mostly by men and are athletic and martial in style. All dances are accompanied by
songs and war cries by the dancers.
 SOCIAL LIFE
 The community life of the Nagas has a unique feature. They work in group, eat in group, sleep
in group and wooing in group. There is no individual cultivation, harvesting, house building.

 Every work should be completed within the stipulated time. A family could not complete a work in time
due to sickness, there the whole community will come to help it.

 The philosophies of the Nagas were very close to communist principle "He who does not work,
neither shall he eat" is a Naga principle too. There is no place for idle man in the Naga community.
 Morungs were the early schools where the youths were moulded and impart them education,
develop personalities,build their character and learn various social activities, tactics of games
and sports, the skill of hunting's, agriculture, buildings of houses crafts and looms, know each
others life and thus begins love at the dormitory and choose partner of the right kind of would be
wife or husband.

 Marriage is both exogamous-i.e. marriage with the same clan is forbidden and outside
marriage was also forbidden in the past. The marriage is arranged through parents
concern in proper negotiation.

 Man folk are valued more, due respect is given to man. The animal butchered for the feast
of merit, marriage or any other feast, the meat are given only to man share. The status of
man in the society is very high. To be born as male
in the society is a great privilege but on the other hand he has a great responsibilities.
 SOCIETY
The Naga tribes have an egalitarian society. The village is a closely knit unit, consisting of intermarried households of
different clans.

THE VILLAGE
 Villages were divided into a certain number of clan territories or khels..The Naga traditionally live in
villages.
 The village is a well-defined entity with distinct land demarcation from neighbouring villages.
 Each has a dialect, which fosters a strong sense of social solidarity within the village.
 The people of the village are held together by social, economic, political and ritual ties.
 The villages have their own identities, but not in isolation, as there are interdependent relationships with
neighboring villages.
 THE FAMILY
o The family is the basic unit of the Naga society.
o Marriages are usually monogamous and fidelity to the spouse is considered a high virtue. Marriage
within the same clan is not permitted, as it is considered to be incest.
o The family is the most important institution of social education and social control.
o There is deep respect for parents and elders in the Naga society. Material inheritance, such as land and
cattle, is passed on to the male offspring, with the eldest son receiving the largest share.

STATUS OF WOMEN
o The traditional Naga society was a patriarchal society with a strong warrior tradition values the birth
of boys.
o A Naga woman is traditionally expected to be obedient and humble.
o Her roles are complex and varied: wife, mother, child bearer and rearer, food producer and
household manager.
o She supplements the household income by weaving and selling colourful shawls, an activity done
exclusively by women.
o Women are traditionally not included in the decision-making process of the clan or the village.
 INGROUP BIAS AMONGST NAGAS
 Social categorization into ingroup and outgroup is said to be one of the important contributors to the
development of discriminatory intergroup behaviour.

 According to the Social Identity Theory, individuals derive a sense of social identity from their membership to a
group which is one basic reason for social categorization. Individuals then begin to compare their ingroup with
relevant outgroups in their social environment leading to ingroup biases and intergroup differentiations.

 One distinctive basis for social categorization amongst the Nagas is tribal membership.

 The Naga community is comprised of many tribes that share the same racial identity, have a common religion,
and is considered as an egalitarian society in that there is no class distinction amongst them.

 It may be mentioned that one distinct characteristic of the Naga society is the strong tribal identity that members
of each tribe share with one another. Since the tribes speak different dialects, have different traditional cultures
and costumes, and occupy different geographical territories, tribal identity has become a primary social identity
for tribe members and social categorization into ‘us’ and ‘them’ is done largely in terms of tribal membership.