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[replace with] Pahari, The term
[replace with] Paharia is an Indo-Aryan word reffering to people
[replace with] living in hills or mountains. There are
[replace with] different tribal groups having the tradition of living in hills, mountains
[replace with] and forests. In order to distinguish their people from other tribals on
[replace with] hills, the Sauria Paharias called their group "Maler" in their native Malto
[replace with] language meaning "hill people". As a matter of fact, the Paharias claim
[replace with] Rajmahal Hills in southern Bihar as their place of origin.
[replace with] In the early days, the
[replace with] Paharias were well-known as bandits and dacoits who were said to be mean and
[replace with] savage in plundering the neighboring areas in the plain or cargo boats in
[replace with] the Ganges. So their neighbors in the plain and East India Company called
[replace with] them "those hill men".
[replace with] Geographically, the Paharias
[replace with] in India are mainly found in Bihar and West Bengal. In census report (India)
[replace with] of 1971 the Kumar Paharias are not shown separately, but counted together
[replace with] with the Mal. Their total numerical strength in Bihar and West Bengal is
[replace with] 79,654, whereas the Sauria population in India is over 129,000.
[replace with] In Bangladesh the census does
[replace with] not have any separate count for different tribal groups, nor is there any
[replace with] tribal census as such. For quite sometime, the tribal number is shown all
[replace with] together as estimated. So we have no way of knowing actually how many
[replace with] different tribal groups we have in the country. Moreover, these estimated
[replace with] figures are far too incorrect and misleading. Just to give an example, a
[replace with] socioeconomic survey in greater Rajshahi District found 29 different tribal
[replace with] groups (small and large) with a total tribal population of more than
[replace with] 100,000, whereas the estimated figure for the same period provided by the
[replace with] Bureau of Statistics was only 30,000.
[replace with] The Paharia population in
[replace with] Bangladesh is, of course, a small one - only 7,361 by house to house count.
[replace with] They are mainly concentrated in greater districts of Rajshahi and Dinajpur;
[replace with] they are also found in greater districts of Bogra and Pabna.
[replace with]
[replace with] Historical Background:
[replace with] The earliest accounts we have
[replace with] of the Rajmahal Hills of Southern Bihar date back to 1795 and 1810 (Shaw and
[replace with] Hamilton as reported in Dalton). There the Paharias are described as
[replace with] illiterate.
[replace with] They were both cultivators
[replace with] and gatherers. They practiced a slash-and-burn cultivation, which even today
[replace with] is popular especially in "high hilly village". In the jungle of Rajmahal
[replace with] Hills there were plenty of wild fruits and game, as well as edible roots and
[replace with] wild potatoes. So they never thought of serious settled cultivation. At the
[replace with] time of food shortage, they
[replace with] depended on theft, plundering and looting. Under the Muslim Rule especially
[replace with] they were the terror of the surrounding country. They were wild and backward
[replace with] and were always ready for invasions into the plains and missed no chances
[replace with] either. They took revenge in the form of raids and plunder, in addition to
[replace with] demanding compensation. Both Hindu and Muslim authorities found it
[replace with] impossible to control them. The British Government would not tolerate their
[replace with] disorderly behavior, and used a corps of Light Infantry to keep such
[replace with] mountaineers in order. This paved the way for their submission to Mr.
[replace with] Augustus Cleveland, a Collector of Bhagalpur who died in 1785. Mr. Cleveland
[replace with] reduced the Paharias to order. By making their chiefs salaried, he kept the
[replace with] subordinates under control. He utilized the energy of the youths by forming
[replace with] a regiment of archers, and later on, as armed Bhagalpur Hill Rangers. After
[replace with] Mr. Cleveland we have no records of British attention to the group. They
[replace with] were, of course, disarmed after the Mutiny of 1857.
[replace with]
[replace with] As early as 1872 Census, Hunter records 7,076 Adivasis in Rajshahi District
[replace with] among whom 72 were recorded Paharias and only 5 Santals. He also noted that
[replace with] the immigration by aboriginal tribes was carried on from the Rajmahal Hills
[replace with] principally into the thinly populated forest areas of Gudagari and Munda in
[replace with] the north of Rajshahi District. A large number of them had permanently
[replace with] settled and were employed in agriculture, as laborers in indigo factories or
[replace with] plantations, and also as fishermen. He further noted that many visited the
[replace with] district annually as read makers or day laborers, but they usually returned
[replace with] to their homes as soon as they made a little money.
[replace with]
[replace with] Social System:
[replace with]
[replace with] Lifestyle: As we have
[replace with] noted, the Paharia community in
[replace with] Bangladesh is rather small-only
[replace with] about 7.361 in all. Nomadic tribal
[replace with] life became difficult as pressure on
[replace with] land built up with the increased
[replace with] population growth in the region and
[replace with] elsewhere. They were pressed to
[replace with] adopt settled life. But with such a
[replace with] small number dispersed in the vast
[replace with] region of Northwestern Bangladesh,
[replace with] Paharia way of living retaining its
[replace with] own identity became difficult. They
[replace with] are not a cohesive group. So in the
[replace with] midst of non-tribals, maintaining
[replace with] the Paharia identity became a
[replace with] problem. For example, the Mal-Paharia
[replace with] kinship terminologies are completely
[replace with] Hinduized.
[replace with]
[replace with]
[replace with] Language: It was found
[replace with] out that in some places the Paharias
[replace with] forgot their own language. It is not
[replace with] written language but spoken only.
[replace with] Even those who speak the language
[replace with] were observed at weddings singing
[replace with] BangIa lyrics.They say they know no
[replace with] Paharia songs and the songs they
[replace with] sing are mostly taken from cinema.
[replace with] At Christian weddings some of the
[replace with] songs were Christian religious
[replace with] hymns.
[replace with]
[replace with]
[replace with] Culture: The Paharia
[replace with] dance is mostly performed by
[replace with] young men. Their dance looks a lot
[replace with] like the "twist", rhythmically
[replace with] western or modern, and not at all
[replace with] like the dancing which some older
[replace with] Paharias describe. In the older
[replace with] forms of dancing, when the people
[replace with] had consumed a considerable amount
[replace with] of rice beer, young girls used to
[replace with] dance together with increasing gusto
[replace with] and evident receptivity to
[replace with] invitations to trysts. Everyone
[replace with] would become exuberant yet relaxed;
[replace with] but now the Paharias are a bit stiff
[replace with] and self-conscious when outsiders
[replace with] come, not to participate but to ogle
[replace with] and exploit.
[replace with]
[replace with]
[replace with] Social Structure: The Paharias
[replace with] in Bangladesh are one of the two Dravidian speaking tribal groups, the other
[replace with] being the Oraons. There is no clan division among them. Most Paharias
[replace with] considered themselves to be just Paharias. From the literature and census
[replace with] reports we know the tribe is divided mainly into two divisions - Sauria
[replace with] (also known as Maler) and Mal. The Kumar or Kumarbhag is an offshoot of the
[replace with] Mal, but most census reports do not show them separately. In Bangladesh the
[replace with] Mal Paharias are extremely few in number. The Sauria and Kumar Paharias say
[replace with] the Mal Paharias are not clean, and they keep aloof from them.
[replace with] The Sauria consider
[replace with] themselves asal (genuine) Paharias because they have no die!ary
[replace with] restrictions. They consider the Mal Paharias including the Kumar their
[replace with] "blood" brothers, but ostensibly because the Saurias are omnivorous and the
[replace with] Mal and the Kumar do not eat certain foods and have been under more Hindu
[replace with] influence, they deny any consanguinal relations with them (Saurias). This is
[replace with] why they consider the Saurias who eat beef or meat of animals that die a
[replace with] natural death as cete or of very low caste. [Father Stephen Gomes]
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