The Baiga Tribe of Madhya Pradesh
In this article I had discussed about the Baiga tribe which is the most backward tribe of Madhya Pradesh. This article covers a lot of information about this tribe like their Sub casts, social formation, system of marriage, religious belief, clothing, housing, dance and their occupation.
Baiga tribe is the most backward tribe of Madhya Pradesh. Baiga tribe is the sub casts of Gond tribe. Baiga tribe is the primitive casts of Munda & kol. The people of this tribe are generally found in the following areas of Madhya Pradesh: Eastern Satpura, Mandla, Dindori, Balaghat, Baghelkhand, Sidhi Janpads, Bilaspur and even in the sarguju area of chhatisgarh state. Sub Casts
Baiga tribe has the following sub casts: Social Formation
Developed people of Baiga tribe got a special title and are known as "Bizwar or Jamindar". Those people of Baiga tribe who offers prayers to Hindu gods are called as Bharia. Most of the Baiga people use to live in Forests. System of Marriage
Baiga people do not marry within the same Gotr. They even don't marry in those Gotr where Gods and Goddesses are worshipped in same number in their comparison. People of this tribe do not prefer the child marriage. The proposal of marriage is send from the girl's side. In this tribe Groom is purchased by the Bride's parents. Widow Remarriage is also allowed in this tribe. There are 6 systems of marriage in Baiga tribe and they are: Religious Belief
Baiga tribe mainly worships "Burha Deo" but they also worship below mentioned gods:
The people of Baiga tribe worship their gods and offer cock, coconut and wine. Thakurdev is considered to be the God of land. Tribesmen also worship Snakes as the gods. Clothing
Baiga men wear truss and cover their head with a piece of cloth, on the other hand women wear dhoti to cover their body. This tribe is extremely poor that's why they pass their nights by sleeping around burning fire due to the reason that they do not have enough cloth to cover their body. During special occasion men use to wear Haptos & Patka i.e shirt and langot, Jacket and also cover their head with Turban. On special occasion women wear sari and are very fond of ornaments. Generally children use to be naked. Housing
The houses of Baiga's are 6 to 7 feet in height and are made of Bamboos and soil, roof are made from dried grass and leaves. Dance
Baiga tribe has many traditional dances and they are: Occupation
Baiga tribes mainly depends upon agriculture, they consider earth to be their mother hence they do not use to plough the land as they believe that ploughing will torn the breast of mother earth. They use to do the Shifting Cultivation due to which the land become barren that's why the government of India banned this practice and now this practice is only allowed in mandla, Shahdol, Gadhi Chhahar and is some part of Sidhi district. They are very good archer and use to hunt animals and also do fishing. They use to collect things from forest and sell it in the market to earn their livelihood.
Baiga tribe is very old and art loving but it is the most backward tribe of Madhya Pradesh.
Very interesting information about Baiga tribe of Madhya Pradesh and the article has proved very helpful for my project too.