Indian tribes
Encyclopedia
The India's tribal belts refer to contiguous areas of indigenous settlement of tribal people of India
.
, Gujarat, Maharashtra
, and Karnataka
. The tribal people of this region have origins which precede the Vedic Aryan people of the north and the Dravidian people of the south. In fact, the origins of these people are thought to stem back to the Harappan civilisation of the Indus valley, the oldest traceable civilisation of the Indian sub-continent which flourished between 3500BC and 2500BC.
The tribes of north-west India were once strong matrilineal societies. The changing fates and fortunes of these people has caused a gradual evolution to a more patriarchal code of living. These days the tribal societies generally follow the rule of patriliny. There are still, however, many strong cases of organised matriarchy
in existence today. It is the women who organise matters such as relationships and marriages, the inheritance of land, and the distribution of wealth.
in the east across the states of Madhya Pradesh
, Chhattisgarh
and Jharkhand
. It is among the poorest regions of the country. Over 90% of the Belt's tribal population is rural, with primitive agriculture
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Northwest India
The Tribal Belt of Northwest India includes the states of RajasthanRajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Gujarat, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, and Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. The tribal people of this region have origins which precede the Vedic Aryan people of the north and the Dravidian people of the south. In fact, the origins of these people are thought to stem back to the Harappan civilisation of the Indus valley, the oldest traceable civilisation of the Indian sub-continent which flourished between 3500BC and 2500BC.
The tribes of north-west India were once strong matrilineal societies. The changing fates and fortunes of these people has caused a gradual evolution to a more patriarchal code of living. These days the tribal societies generally follow the rule of patriliny. There are still, however, many strong cases of organised matriarchy
Matriarchy
A matriarchy is a society in which females, especially mothers, have the central roles of political leadership and moral authority. It is also sometimes called a gynocratic or gynocentric society....
in existence today. It is the women who organise matters such as relationships and marriages, the inheritance of land, and the distribution of wealth.
Central India
The Central India Tribal Belt stretches from Gujarat in the west up to West BengalWest Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
in the east across the states of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
and Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
. It is among the poorest regions of the country. Over 90% of the Belt's tribal population is rural, with primitive agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
.