Baiga is a tribe

Tribe

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...

 found in 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....

, Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

, Chhattisgarh 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...

 states

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of India

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...

. The largest number of Baigas is found in Baiga-chuk in Mandla district

Mandla District

Mandla District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Mandla is administrative headquarters of the district. It is part of Jabalpur Division....

 and Balaghat district

Balaghat District

Balaghat District a district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. The town of Balaghat serves as its administrative headquarters.-History:...

 of Madhya Pradesh. They have sub-castes – Bijhwar, Narotia, Bharotiya, Nahar, Rai Bhaina, and Kadh Bhaina. Their population as of Census 1981 was 248,949.

Genetics

A 2010 study by the Anthropological Survey of India

Anthropological Survey of India

Anthropological Survey of India is the apex Indian organisation involved in anthropological studies and field data research for human and cultural aspects, working primarily in the fields of physical anthropology and cultural anthropology...

 and the Texas-based Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research

Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research

Texas Biomedical Research Institute , located in San Antonio, Texas, is an independent biomedical research institution, specializing in genetics and in virology and immunology...

 identified seven genomes from 26 isolated "relic tribes" (sic) from the Indian mainland, Baiga being one of them, which share "two synonymous polymorphisms with the M42 haplogroup

Haplogroup M (mtDNA)

In human mitochondrial genetics, Haplogroup M is a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup. An enormous haplogroup spanning all the continents, the macro-haplogroup M, like its sibling N, is a descendant of haplogroup L3....

, which is specific to Australian Aborigines

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

." These were specific mtDNA

Human mitochondrial genetics

Human mitochondrial genetics is the study of the genetics of the DNA contained in human mitochondria. Mitochondria are small structures in cells that generate energy for the cell to use, and are hence referred to as the "powerhouses" of the cell....

 mutations that are shared exclusively by Australian aborigines and these Indian tribes, and no other known human groupings.

Practice of shifting cultivation

The Baiga tribes practice shifting cultivation

Shifting cultivation

Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned. This system often involves clearing of a piece of land followed by several years of wood harvesting or farming, until the soil loses fertility...

 in forest areas. They say they never ploughed the Earth, because it would be like scratching the breast of their Mother, and how could they possibly ask Mother to produce food from the same patch of earth time and time again – she would have become weakened. That’s why Baigas used to lived a semi-nomadic life, and practiced Bewar cultivation (slash & burn) – out of respect, not aggression. Until fairly recently the Baigas practiced 'dahiya' cultivation, that is, slash and burn

Slash and burn

Slash-and-burn is an agricultural technique which involves cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields. It is subsistence agriculture that typically uses little technology or other tools. It is typically part of shifting cultivation agriculture, and of transhumance livestock...

. Thousands of squire miles of sal forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s have been clean destroyed by them in the progress of their dahiya cultivation, the ground being afterwards occupied by dense scrub of low sal species springing from the stumps. The Baigas are courageous woodsman and hunters.

The Baiga culture

The Baiga tribe in Madhya Pradesh is known for its unique culture. They do not interact even with other tribals like the Gond

Gondi people

The Gondi, Goindi or Gond people are people in central India, spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra , Chhattisgarh, northern Andhra Pradesh, and Western Orissa. With over four million people, they are the largest tribe in Central India.The Gondi language is related to...

s, believe in a hand-to-mouth existence, and do not try to access education, eat outside their community, or associate with others.
After a death in the family, the Baigas just leave the house and build another. They are totally dependent on the jungle, they do not engage in tendu patta collection, which is a major livelihood provider in 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....

.

Tattooing tradition amongst Baigas

One of the tribes for whom tattooing is an integral part of their lifestyle is the Baiga tribe. This tribe inhabits the dense hilly forests in the eastern part of the Satpuras, in Shahdol

Shahdol

Shahdol is a city in Shahdol district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Shahdol District.Shahdol is also the 10th Division of Madhya Pradesh state, including shahdol, anuppur, umaria, and dindori district....

, Bilaspur

Bilaspur District, Chhattisgarh

Bilaspur district is a district of the Chhattisgarh state of India. Bilaspur city is the headquarters of the district. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Chhattisgarh , after Raipur and Durg.- Etymology :...

, Rajnandgaon

Rajnandgaon

Rajnandgaon is the primary town of Rajnandgaon District, in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The population of the city is 143,727 . It came into existence on 26th Jan' 1973, by way of division of district Durg. The District headquarters of Rajnandgaon is on the Bombay - Howrah line of...

, Mandla

Mandla

-Demographics: India census, Mandla had a population of 45,907. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Mandla has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 72%. Majority of Population belongs Adivasi, so...

, and Balaghat

Balaghat

Balaghat is a city and a municipality in Balaghat district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Balaghat District. The town was originally called "Burha" or "Boora", but this name was replaced by "Balaghat", which was originally the name of the district...

 districts. The Biagas are of Dravidian

Dravidian peoples

Dravidian peoples is a term used to refer to the diverse groups of people who natively speak languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. Populations of speakers of around 220 million are found mostly in Southern India. Other Dravidian people are found in parts of central India, Sri Lanka,...

 stock and are one of eight prime tribes of M.P.

It is believed that this tribe is an offshoot of the Bhuiya

Bhuiya

The Bhuiya are a Hindu tribal found in North India, and those in Uttar Pradesh have scheduled caste status . They are also known as Roy.- Origin :...

 tribe of Chhota Nagpur. A distinguishing feature of the Baiga tribe is that their women are famous for sporting tattoo

Tattoo

A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...

s of various kinds on almost all parts of their body. The women who work as tattooing artists belong to the Ojha

Ojha

The term Ojha is a surname for Saraswat Brahmin and Saryu Pareen\Kanyakubj Brahmin castes of India and Nepal. The term is used amongst speakers of Hindi, Oriya and Bengali, as well as amongst the Santhals. This term has been derived from Sanskrit over time. Literal translations vary, but one such...

, Badni and Dewar

Dewar

Dewar may refer to:*Clan Dewar* Vacuum flask , a container with vacuum insulation; used to keep the contents hot or cold for an extended period...

 tribes of M.P., and are called Godharins. They are extremely knowledgeable about the different types of tattoos preferred by various tribes. Their mothers traditionally pass on this knowledge to them. Tattooing amongst the tribals commences with the approach of winter and continues until summer.

The demographic characteristics

P. H. REDDY and B. MODELL of Department of Obestrics and Gynaecology, University College London Medical School, London, UK have studied the demographic characteristics of the Baiga tribe, one of the most primitive of the aboriginal tribal groups of Central India. It is found that the Baiga population has grown steadily since the first anthropological study of the tribe in the 1930s. Age at menarche, age at marriage, breast-feeding, and time interval between marriage and first conception are natural. There are more females than males. Sub-tribe endogamy is common; consanguineous marriage is favoured (34% of marriages are between first cousins) and marital distance is low (mean 7·1 km). Though the mean menarcheal age is high (15·2 years), mean age at first marriage is low (16·6 years), giving a long reproductive period.

Baiga foods

The baiga takes coarse food and shows no extravagance in this aspect. They eat coarse grain, kodo

Kodo

-In Japan:* The kōdō, Japanese incense ceremony.* Kodo , a taiko drumming group based in Japan.* The Kodo Group, a yakuza criminal organization...

, and kutki, drink pej, eat little flour and are normally content with what little that they get. One of the prime foods is pej that can be made from grounding macca or from the water left from boiling rice. Local people gave testimony that this food is much more better and healthier than many other food that they eat. Also, beyond doubt they eat several items from the forest that includes primarily Chirota Bhaji, Gular leaves such as Chirota, chinch, chakora, sarroota, peepal etc. They also eat BirarKand, Kadukand and other rhizomes. Mushroom is also a delicacy. Numerous fruits such as mango, char, jamun, tendu are also eaten. They hunt as well, primarily fish and small mammals.

External links

• THE THREATENED TRIBAL:THE BAIGAS
• http://www.tribalphoto.com/pages/tribes/india,madhya_pradesh_baiga.html
• Baiga on youtube
• Sinlung – News, Discover, Share, Discuss, Connect – Northeast India