Tribes of Karnataka
Introduction
The state of Karnataka in India, which is the south part of this diverse country, was once a part of several kingdoms and princely states in the Deccan peninsula. It is rich in historic, cultural and anthropological heritage. It holds home to 42,48,987 tribal people, where 50,870 are the primitive group.
But these people only represent 6.95% of the demography of the state, there are several as 50 different tribes which are notified by the Government of India. Out of those, 14 tribes are primal natives of the state.
The state is inflicted with extreme poverty and neglect for generations who left them in a poor state of health and nutrition. Despite efforts from government and non-governmental organizations, the literature available about these tribes are scarce and scanty. It is interesting to know that these tribes are the original natives of the jungles of Western Ghats.
Types of tribes
1. Adiyan tribe
The members of this tribe mostly live in Mysore and borders of districts between Kerala and they speak Kannada. There are only 758 and they are mostly agricultural laborers. They are mostly poor and have a low literacy rate. Mostly they marry among cousins.
2. Barda Tribe
There are a few members of the 266 tribals of the Barda tribe of Gujarat and Maharashtra found mostly in the northern districts. They speak Barda, similar to Marathi and Gujarati. They are mostly laborers and are endogamous.
3.Bamcha/Bavcha tribe:
The Bamcha are a group of Hindu Scheduled Tribes found mostly in Gujarat. They mostly speak the Bavachi dialect. They are 960 in number and mostly live in Ramnagar district of Karnataka.
4. Bhil tribe
The Bhils are tribes of Central India. They are divided into several endogamous territorial divisions, which have many clans and lineages. Most Bhils speak the language they reside in. Originally hunters and soldiers, the Bhils are mostly agricultural workers with hunting and gathering as a subsidiary occupation. In Karnataka, the Bhil population is 6,204.
5. Chenchua tribe
The Chenchus are an aboriginal tribe who usually speak Chenchu or Chenchwar language, which is a branch of Telugu. They live mostly in the forests of Andhra Pradesh. Among 954 in number, they inhabit the bordering districts of Karnataka. The Chenchus are among the original primitive tribal groups who are still dependent on forests.
6. The Chodhara tribe
They are a group of 117 people living in Karnataka among the 20,000 members residing in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Mostly related to the Rajputs, the language they speak is Chodri. Most of them are small farmers who grow cotton, vegetables and rice.
7. The Dubla tribe:
The Dublas are sometimes called Talavia or Halpati, are basically Hindu tribes who originate from Rajputs in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Dubla society have several groups of endogamous subgroups with agriculture as the main source of employment. They are also few in number around 264 and are scattered over the state
8. The Gamil tribe:
They are also known as Gamit, Gavit, Malvahi and Pandvi, are people who speak Gamit. They are about 516 in number who are residing in Karnataka. They are the second largest group found in the state.
9. The Gond tribe:
They are the largest tribe found in North-Western districts of Karnataka. Gondi language is related to Telugu and Dravidian languages.
10. Gowdalu tribe:
Gowdalu are 8,617 in number according to the 2011 census data. They speak Gowdalu language. They are mostly found in Chikmangaluru and Bangalore.
11. The Hakki Pikki tribe:
This is a semi-nomadic group that live in Biddadi in Karnataka. Their population is 11,892 as per 2011 census. Their main occupation is hunting.
