India is the only country in Asia, where people belonging to different religions and cultures live together serenely. There is a class that remains outside of the mainstream but has been in existence since the origin of civilization named the indigenous or tribal. Of the 700 tribal groups in India, one is the “Bhil” who belong to Madhya Pradesh’s western region of Vindhya hills. They live in the adjoining states of Madhya Pradesh (main habitat), Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The Bhil tribe is the 3rd largest tribe in the country and the most ancient.
There is a reference to their existence in the Hindu scriptures and the Upanishads. Indian Mythology says that Bhil women offered ber or jujube fruits to Lord Rama, when he was in the jungles of Dhandaka, searching Sita. In the history of independent India, these tribes were regarded as the fighters who were in a war against the Mughals, and Britishers. The tribe furnished the needs of kingdom of Mewar with bowmen, supplies or by guarding their families.
They believe themselves to be descendants of Lord “Mahadev”, and consider Valmiki and Eklavya as their ancestors. The word “Bhil” originated from the Sanskrit word “Bhidha” and describes as those who attack and wound. Bhils are skillful in using bows and arrows. They were primarily settled in the Kushalgarh and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan where they were referred to as Damore and served the Rajput chieftains. This is the reason that Bhils consider Rajputs to be among their ancestors.
A Bhil is typical of a whitish complexion but due to extensive exposure to sunlight, they look much darker. Compared to men, women are slightly light-skinned. Commonly, they are below 5’8’’ height with short, strong arms, eyes that are the perpetually red, thick and flat nose. Four groups – Bilala, Pattliya, Barela, Rathiya; along with Nayak, Dhanuk, Tadvi and Mankar consider themselves as descendants of Bhils.
They follow a very simple lifestyle. They require minimum appliances to maintain the house - a bamboo container that is used to store grain called ‘Kanagi’, a grinding stone called ‘Ghatti’ for grinding that grain, and ‘Supa’ to flick that grain, a bamboo basket for carrying stuff (Odai), a pew to make chappati (Khapra), a pan for curries (Tabla), “Maska” to keep chapatis, a container for storing water (Batloi), a mug for drinking water (Kalsya), and a big ladle made of silvan bottle gourd to draw water (Olkhi).
The Bhils like to build their houses on the slopes of hills in their piece of land. Generally, a group of five or more such huts at a short distance from each other are called ‘Falya’. Group of Falya make a village that is called a ‘Paal’. These self-made huts are simple in style and their building strategy differs little from one another. Walls are constructed from Bamboo and clay called ‘Kud’. They build their different outhouses to avoid any controversy and quarrel with their neighbours. Being deprived of amenities that are easily available in any town, the Bhils are forced to earn a living through manual labour. Due to which, most of their time is spent outdoors. Therefore, the importance of a house to them is limited to night shelter only.
They’re fun-loving, and very sensitive towards their rituals and traditions and celebrate these through several festivals. They are staunch believers in their traditional culture and rituals even today. Although they do not have a specific idea about formal religion and God, the Bhils love their tradition and culture intensely. The birth of a child, irrespective of gender, is an auspicious occasion among them. On the fifth day of birth of a child, the Sun god is worshipped, and only then is the women considered clean enough to enter the living premises to take part in the household works.
Their marriage tradition is quite different from mainstream society. During the marriage, the man has to pay bride-price called ‘Dapa’ and if he fails to, then he has to become “home-son-in-law” and serve his father in law for approximately 10-15 years. Whatever he earns during this period will belong to his father in law. The widows have the right to remarry with two options: she can either marry her brother-in-law whether or not he is married or she can marry anyone else of her choice. In the event of strained relations between husband and wife, particularly when a man’s two wives cannot live with one another, a Bhil woman is permitted to marry another man and is known as ‘Naatra’.
Upon death, they cremate the body and follow a custom of making a tombstone in memory of the deceased within one year of death. This memorial stone is called ‘Gaata’ or ‘Gatala’. They were earlier carved on wood but nowadays they use soft stone. The Gatalas typically show a man riding a horse and the sun and moon on the left and right side or top and bottom respectively.
Besides the traditional God of their village, they worship Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Lord Ram and Lord Krishna. Black magic is real in their society. Their belief towards black magic is connected to practical, spiritual, functional, physical and economic aspects. It can neither be concretely defined nor philosophically interpreted and, never considered profane. The community is dependent on black magic and spells particularly for their crops and to ward off diseases. It is executed by their traditional priest or ‘Barwa’ (the only man who has all the knowledge about tantra-mantra).
The Bhils celebrate the main Hindu festivals such as Holi, Diwali and Dussehra in their manner. Akhatji, Mother Hovan’s Chatawani, Mother Savan’s Jatar, Nawai, Diwasa, Navni, Bhagoria, Gaaygauri, Gal (biggest appeasement festival) and Gadh, etc. are also celebrated.
The Bhils also have several items that are meant for daily use - handcrafted items are an excellent example. The main among them are Terracota, Woodcraft, Metalcraft, Beadwork, etc. They're easily available in the local market. The main attraction in these local markets is the art of tattoo, also known as Gudna. They believe its the only ornament that remains with them even after death.
The community is famous for its expertise in tattoo and fine arts. It’s their creative expression of their faith in nature. Though mainly expressed through the religious Pithora (wall art) paintings, one also comes across varied coloured bindus (dots) in the name of their ancestors and their deities, believing they would protect them from evil spirits.
The Bhils also have a literature of their own. It is completely authentic and is replete with wisdom. It includes all genres that depict Bhil life through narratives, fiction, songs, dialogues, riddles, proverbs and idioms. Their compositions are concise enough to surprise civilized society.
The Bhils invented an aeroponic instrument with wood and animal skin. The drum is the main instrument of the community alongside aeroponic flute. They also use kundi, thali, kamadi, kannadi dhol, phepariya according to their need. They dance to the sound of these instruments. Garba, Dhar dance, Bharadi, Paali, Moorah and Ghori dances, Lahiri, Dang Solo and Meer Dang Solo, are the few forms they perform on various occasions. They believe Dance is an emblem of unity.
However, over time, there seems a threat to their traditional knowledge, culture and existence.
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