1

Origin
The origin of the name of Tripura is still a matter of controversy among historians and
researchers. According to the 'Rajmala", Tripura’s celebrated court chronicle, an ancient king
named 'tripur' ruled over the territorial domain known as 'Tripura' and the name of the
kingdom was derived from his name.
Many researchers explain the name 'Tripura' from its etymological origin: the word 'Tripura'
is a compound of two se words, 'tui' (water) + 'pra' (near) which in totality means 'near water'.
The geographical location of the state with it's close proximity to the vast water resources of
eastern Bengaled with the generic identity of the state's original inhabitants as 'Tipra' or
'Twipra' apparently justify this explanation of the State's name.

The early history of the kingdom of Tripura is a complex blend of history with Mythology.
According to 'Rajmala' Tripura’s royal house trace their origin to the celebrated 'lunar' dynasty,
following in the footsteps of their counterparts in the Hindu royal houses of the rest of India
who claim to have originated from the 'lunar' or 'solar' dynasty.

Bhil : Tribes of Tripura

Bhills are considered as one of the oldest tribe in India. Once they were the ruler in parts
of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. They are a cross section of great
Munda race and a wild tribe of India. Bhills could be identified as one of the Dravidian racial
tribe of Western India and belong to Austroloid group of tribes. They speak a language of
Dravidian origin. In Tripura total Bhill population is 2,336 as per 2001 Census. This tribe has
migrated to Tripura from central India mainly from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Their economy
is centralized with Tea garden, Brickfield and Agriculture. Their major concentrations in Tripura
are mainly in Akinpur of Belonia, Bagan Bazar of Khowai Sub-Division. They are also found in
North Tripura working in Tea gardens. Bhills are Hindus by religion. They appease deities of
forest and evil spirits beside pujas of Lord Shiva and Durga. Small percentages among them
follow Christianity. They cremate their dead followed series of rites as per their traditional
customs and believe. Bhills are also fond of dance and music with traditional tune of Flute and
Drum. In all family and community ceremonies they enjoy whole night by drinking and dancing.
Bhills in other part of the country are well literate and enjoy modern weave of life.

Bhutia : Tribes of Tripura

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Bhutias are Himalayan tribe and negligible in Tripura. They are similar to that of Lepchas
in terms of racial identity, Linguistic affinity and religious activities. In Tripura Bhutias once were
used to be engaged in the Royal Army for their warrior character and physical strength. But in
course of time they left Tripura to their original homeland. Presently under 2001 Census they
are only 29 persons in Tripura. Most of them in Tripura are in Govt. job like paramilitary. Few
families are however permanent residents of Tripura. Their relatives also reside outside the
State.

Chaimal : Tribes of Tripura

Chaimal is a smallest tribal group of Tripura. As per 2001 Census, their total population is
only 226 persons. Their main concentration is at Ambassa of Dhalai District. They call
themselves as "Saimar".
Chaimals belong to the Cocaso-Mongoloid origin. They speak in a language originated from
Kuki-Chin group of language. Chaimal language has no difference with that of Halams. They can
understand and speak Kok-Borok, Chaimal live on Jhum cultivation as well use plain land
cultivation.
They are Hindus and follow all rites and rituals as per Hindu customs. Due to modern
weave of life, some literate persons of this community have taken Christianity as their religion.
Like other tribes, they have separate form of dance, folk songs and music though performances
are very occasional.

Chakma : Tribes of Tripura

Chakmas are one of the major tribes of Tripura according to their population strength.
Chakmas are known to be a tribe of South-East Asia. They have first migrated to Arakan Hills of
Bruma and then Chittagong Hill Tracts to Tripura. A major part of them however migrated to
Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh in course of time from their original homeland. According to
Census Report of 2001 Chakma population in Tripura is 61,793.
Among Chakma there are 3(three) major groups like (i) Anokia, (ii) Tandugia, and (iii)
Mangla. Linguistically Chakma language is mixed with loan words of Indu-Aryan language,
Tibeto-Chainese and mainly Arakan language. Their language also be described as broken
Bengali and Assamese language. Chakma have their own script in Burmese Alpha bets, though
not in use rather Bengali script is being used and easy to learn.
Economic activities of Chakmas are centralized with jhum cultivation, plain land
cultivation and economic supporting works of vegetable growing.
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Languages of Tripura, a state in Northeast India, include Bengali as official language and many
other minority languages. As in the rest of India, English is used for official purpose. Bengali is
the most spoken language, due to the predominance of Bengali people in the state.[1]
Kokborok is the official language of the state[2][3][4] and is a prominent language among the
tribes. Languages of Tripura in 2011 Bengali (65.73%) Tripuri (Kokborok) (25.88%) Hindi (2.11%)
Mogh (0.97%) Others (5.31%) In the state of Tripura, most of the languages of India are used.
Major languages in terms of the number of speakers per 2001 census of India are as follows:[8]
Language Number Percentage Bengali 2,47,994 67.14 Kokborok 8,14,375 25.46 Hindi 53,691
1.68 Mogh 28,850 0.9 Oriya 23,899 0.75 Bishnupriya Manipuri 21,716 0.68 Manipuri 20,716
0.65 Halam 17,990 0.56 Garo 11,312 0.35

Society and culture of Tripura tribes

Tripura Society and Culture represents a fine blend of traditional and contemporary aspects.
The society of Tripura primarily comprises of a number of tribal groups. Manipuri and Bengali
communities are the other human groups that are inhabiting the land of Tripura from a very
long time.
Tripura was one of the exclusive independent units of India even in the days of
British rule. Previously, Tripura was under the dominion of the famous Manikya Empire. In fact
the rulers of Manikya Dynasty governed Tripura fro a considerable period of time. It was only in
the year 1972 that Tripura had been recognized as one of the Indian states.

The social structure of Tripura shows a harmonious co-existence of various tribal communities
and other general human groups. There are various marriage customs and property inheritance
system that showcases the inherent traits of the society of Tripura. Bengali speaking people are
known to constitute a major portion of the total population of Tripura. There are Manipuri
communities too that are living in the land of Tripura from ancient ages.

The cultural domain of Tripura is rich with a wide gamut of various multidimensional features.
Festivals, folk dance and music are the prime elements of the Tripura culture. Being one of the
oldest places of India, surrounded by hilly terrains, Tripura boasts of a number of folk dances.
Each and every tribe of Tripura has its own line of dance and music tradition.

The festivals like Kharchi Puja, Garja Puja, Durga Puja and Ker Puja are celebrated in the state of
Tripura with much fanfare. All the tribal communities, along with the Bengalis and Tripuris, join
in the festivals of Tripura that take place at different time of the year.
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Tripura Society and Culture is a manifestation of the ancient and enriching customs and beliefs
of the state.

Tripura Bengalis
Tripura Bengalis are populating the state from many past decades. The influence of the Bengali
culture in the society of Tripura proves the dominance of this particular community in the state.
Bengali speaking people are found in almost all the corners of Tripura. From the festivals to the
beliefs Bengalis have a major contribution towards the formation of today's Tripura state.

Rabindranath Tagore was known to be acknowledged for his poetry in the Royal Court of
Tripura for the first time. Ever after this event the local people of Tripura became ardent
followers of the art style Rabindranath. Till date, the artists of Tripura are known to be
immensely inspired by the artistic mastery of the Bengali Nobel Laurette - Rabindranath Tagore.
In fact the bengalis of Tripura feel proud to associate themselves with this great art personality.

Tripura Tribes

Tripura Tribes represent a range of human communities that are living in the state from quite a
long time. The Tripuri Tribe of the state constitutes a large percentage of the total tribal
population of Tripura. The Lebang Boomani and Garia are the two prominent folk dance forms
of Tripuri tribe.

Reang tribe of Tripura, although has a large population, yet it lacks sufficient educational and
economic independence. It is believed that this community is inhabiting the land of Tripura
from as early as 15th century. Chakma tribal group of Tripura belongs to the Buddhist faith.
There are various sections in which the Chakma tribe is divided in Tripura. The Mog tribes of
Tripura have come to inhabit the land in 957 AD. People of Mog community follow the ritual
customs of Buddhism.

Tripura Festivals

The Tripura Festivals comprise of both religious and cultural festivals. The cosmopolitan culture
of Tripura has resulted in the celebration of numerous festivals in the state. Since the major
part of the population of Tripura is Hindus, the festivals that are celebrated here are the
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common festivals celebrated all over India. Apart from this there are many festivals that are
unique to the state of Tripura.

All throughout the year there are a number of festivals celebrated in Tripura with great pomp
and gaeity. Some of the popular religious festivals that are rejoiced by the people of Tripura are
Ashokastami Festival Unakoti in the month of April, Kharchi Festival in July, Manasa Mangal in
August, Diwali Festival in November,
Pous Sankranti Mela in January, Rasha Festival in November, Durga Puja in
October and many more. While among the cultural festivals Rabindra and Nazrul
Jayanti in May, Orange and Tourism Festival at Jampui Hill Range in November, Book Fair at
Agartala in January are few of the names. These festivals attract large number of pilgrims and
tourists from all over India.
Dances of Tripura
The dances of Tripura are elegant and rhythmic. Music and dance forms an inseparable part of
the culture of the state. The state of Tripura has a rich cultural heritage. The cosmopolitan
culture has been continuously enriching it. It is inhabited by 19 tribal communities, Manipuris,
Bengalis and people belonging to many other communities. All the communities have their own
distinct dance forms. Most of the folk dances of Tripura are performed during festivals or on
festive occasions.

The dances of Tripura are performed by both men and women. They generally wear traditional
dresses while performing the dance. The dances of Tripura are accompanied by a number of
the musical Instruments like bamboo cymbal, Khamb, Flute made of bamboo, Khenggarang,
Dhukuk etc. The traditional essence of these dances are maintained even today.

Art and Crafts

Tripura Arts and Crafts have a rich and historical tradition. The handicrafts in Tripura are
famous all over India. Rich variety of handicraft items are made by the local people all over the
state of Tripura. The items are mostly made up of bamboo and cane.

Like any other state in India, Tripura also nurtures some special types of art and craft items that
are inseparable parts of the state's tradition. Arts and Crafts in Tripura is well known in the
country, especially the traditional bamboo craft and cane craft items.

Arts and Crafts in Tripura are integral parts of the lifestyle of the people of Tripura. This rich
tradition of the Tripura handicraft not only enriches the culture of the state and also
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contributes to the economy of the state. Tripura Arts and Crafts also adds to the tourist interest
of the state. The artifacts and handicrafts of the area depicts an honest picture of the Tripura
Society and Culture.

Languages in Tripura
Languages in Tripura comprises Bengali and the different dialects of Tripuri. The influence of
Bengali in the languages of Tripura is remarkable. The Chakma language, spoken in Belonia and
Sabrum sub-divisions, stands as an exemplar of the influence of Bengali on the languages of
Tripura.
The official language of Tripura is Bengali. Bengali, also known as Bangla, BangaBhasa, etc., is
one of the most predominant languages in Tripura. It is estimated that about 80% of the people
in Tripura speak Bengali. In fact, a large number of the population in Tripura consider Bengali as
their mother tongue. It is noteworthy that Tripuri is also written using the Bengali script.
Another major language of Tripura is Tripuri. Tripuri is the language of the community and is
mostly found in Khowai, Kailashahar, Sadar, Amarpur subdivisions. Tripuri is also spoken in the
adjoining areas of Chittagong Hill Tracts.
The mother tongue of the people is Halam and their dialect is known as Rankhal.
Rankhal is said to be an offshoot of Halam.

Food habit of Tripura Tribe

Tripura’s cultural diversity is reflected in the food habits of the tribal and non-tribal people.
Leaving aside the rich spicy food or even two or three varieties of Chinese cuisine served in
restaurants in urban centres, the non-tribal Bengalis of Tripura live on rice, fish, chicken,
mutton and pork though a small section of Muslims consume beef which is not easily available
in the state. However, the non-tribals take great pains in preparing spicy curries of a large
variety of fishes available in plenty within the state and also imported from Bangladesh. The
most popular and delicious preparation of fish is, however, the boiled ‘Hilsa’ punched with
mustard seed and green chilly.
 The traditional Chuak is the rice beer prepared by fermenting rice in water. It is drunk on social
occasions and ceremonies. Apong, a local drink is also made from millet rice.
   * Muya Awandru is a Tripuri food item which contains bamboo shoot, rice flour and Berma.
   * The Kosoi Bwtwi is made of Beans and Berma.
  * Muya bai Wahan is another food item of bamboo shoots, jackfruit, papaya,  and pork.
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   * Gudok is prepared by bamboo pipes. It has special aroma and taste. It is also made in pan
now-a-days.
* Wahan is a dish made of pork.
  * Mosdeng serma is a Tripuri chatney made of berma, red chilli, garlic and tomato

Tripuri Vegetables and seasonings

Vegetables grown in Tripuri households are mainly Khaklu (green Wax gourd), Khaklu Borok
(whitish Wax Gourd), Phool Kopi (Cauliflower), Banda Kopi (Cabbage), Muilog (Bottle gourd),
Potol (Pointed gourd), Chakumura (Pumpkin), Phantok (Brinjal), Deraso (Okra), Lubiya or Sobai
(Bean), Muly (Radish), Phoro (Zucchini), Puitha (Snake gourd), Jingga (Sponge gourd), Orai,
Kosoi (Lima bean), Khokleng, Khama, Maising, Siping, Muiching, among many others.
Seasonings and herbs grown are mainly Moso (Chilli), Donia (Coriander), Kasing Masala or Shika
Donia (Culantro), Haiching (Ginger), Swtwi (Turmeric), Banta, Milokbanta, Khundrupui,
Wuswndwi, Gunthu, Khumchak, Khumjar, Khumdaga, Khumpui, Khumtwisa.
Food containing raphides are Batema (Elephant foot yam), Muitul (Elephant ear), Mukkhi
(Taro), Thah or Thah Duk (Yam).

Mui Borok- The Traditional Cuisine of Tripura

The traditional cuisine of the state of Tripura is Mui Borok as it is affectionately called by its
people. You will always find one ingredient in the traditional food plate of Tripurian people,
Berma. Berma is dried and fermented fish which is surely a Tripura’s favourite. The dish is
cooked without any oil and hence it is considered extremely healthy. Berma will enhance up the
salty taste buds on your tongue as it a bit salty and spicy in taste. Not just Bengali food,
Tripurian people are quite a surprise when they present you a Chinese cuisine prepared in the
traditional Tripurian style. A plate of Chinese cuisine in the state of Tripura is full of spices on
the contrary to the authentic Chinese food. Providing a new look to the Chinese cuisine, the
food only tastes better for the natives.
 Authentic Chauk and Chuwarak of Tripura
Chauk as what they like to call their traditional beer. The beer is prepared by fermenting rice in
water. Chauk is a famous drink which is gulped down by the Tripurians on special occasions and
festivals. The Chuwarak is the infamous scotch and champagne of the state. It is prepared in
different styles using a variety of ingredients such as mami rice, pineapple, jack fruit etc.
Chuwarak is considered as one of the safest alcohol to drink in the world, the credit goes to the
natural ingredients and the traditional method of preparing the drink.
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The Mouth-Watering Delicacies of the State

When we are talking about the food culture of Tripura, how can we round off our list without
mentioning the picks of best dishes of the state? The plate of Tripurian food is heavier on the
non-vegetarian front with a number of meat dishes being offered in every part of the state. But,
there are also some heavenly dishes for the vegetarian you.
The spicy and tangy chutney to compliment the other dishes on the plate. Mosdeng Serma is
primarily a tangy tomato chutney prepared with berma, red chilli, and garlic to add the deep
flavours to the dish.
Bhangui
Being the lover of meat, rice is an essential part of the diet of Tripurian people. They take huge
pains to bring about the perfect aroma of rice to their plates. Bhangui is an essential rice dish
which is prepared with the sun- dried rice boiled with ghee, ginger and onion. This dish is boiled
in banana leaf to keep the nutrients of rice intact and also to bring about the unique aroma to
their dish. Tripurians love to compliment their nicely prepared rice with meat and fish.
Although Kasoi Bwtwi is prepared with Berma, but some prefer it making without the use of
fermented fish. This dish is prepared with various green vegetables to give you a punch of
healthy dish. Berma- the fermented fish, French beans, chopped onions, Green chilies, a few
tofu pieces, garlic cloves, salt and turmeric powder are the main elements of the dish.
Tripurians also use the famous khundrupui leaves to add the extended flavour to their delicacy.

Religion
Christianity is one of the lesser religions in Tripura, a state in North East India. According to the
Indian Census 2001, the population of Christians in Tripura is 107,000 or 3.2% of the population.
85% are Hindus. Christians are mostly found among the tribal communities of the state such as
the Tripuri, Lushai, etc.
The beginning of the Christian faith in Tripura dates back many centuries. Fr. Ignatius Gomes,
a Jesuit priest made the first reference to the Christians of Mariamnagar in Agartala when he
visited them in 1683. Fr. P. Barbe, the Pastor of Chittagong, visited Tripura in 1843. Holy Cross
pioneering missionaries Fr. Louis Augustine Verite and Fr. Beboit Adolphe Mercier visited
Agartala in 1856 and administered sacraments to the Christians in Mariamnagar Village. But it
was only from 1937 that priests began to take permanent residence at Mariamnagar.
The Tripura Baptist Christian Union was formed under the leadership of Rev. M.J. Eade in
December 1938 in Lakshmilunga, a village six miles from Agartala. The Baptist Mission
Compound at Arundhutinagar, Agartala was also established in the year 1938 under an official
land grant by the then King of Tripura Kingdom Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya to the
missionaries from New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society (NZBMS).[1]
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The first Roman Catholic Parish in Tripura was erected at Mariamnagar in 1939. The first
permanent Church (at present the temporary Cathedral) was blessed in 1952. Because of its
geographical proximity, the Archdiocese of Dhaka continued to cater to the spiritual needs of
the Catholics in Tripura till the erection of the new Ecclesiastical Unit in 1952, namely, the
Prefecture of Haflong. In 1969, the Prefecture was upgraded to the position of a Diocese and
Most Rev. Denzil D'Souza, DD, was the first Bishop of Silchar. At that time the Diocese
comprised the States of Mizoram and Tripura and the District of Cachar in Assam. On 11
January 1996, Pope John Paul II decreed the erection of the Diocese of Agartala. The new
Diocese of Agartala, comprising the entire State of Tripura was bifurcated from the erstwhile
Diocese of Silchar. Most Rev. Lumen Monteiro, CSC, DD, was appointed the first Bishop of the
new Diocese. He was ordained and installed on 26 May 1996.
The major denominations of Christianity present in the state are the Baptist, Presbyterian
Church of India (PCI) and the Roman Catholic Churches. There are also many churches of
the Believers' Church, Assembly of God, Evangelical and Christian Churches in the state.
Daily living

The Tripuris live on the slopes of hills in a group of five to fifty families. Their houses in these
areas are built of bamboo or ua as it is called in Kokborok and raised five to six feet height to
save themselves from the dangers of the wild animals. Nowadays a considerable section of this
community are living in the plains and erecting houses like the plains people, adopting their
methods of cultivation, and following them in other aspects of life, such as dress, manners, and
cosmetics. Tripuri women wear a scarp, called rignai, which reaches down just below the knee.
They weave in their loin-loom a small piece of cloth, which they call risa, and they use this small
piece of cloth as their breast garment.
Culture:
Culture of Tripura is similar to those of Native indigenous tribal peoples of Northeast India.
However like Assam, Manipur, Burma and Southeast Asia culture of Tripura is characterized in
small portion living in plain areas by mainstream Indian cultural influence spearheaded
by Bengali culture dominating over indigenous tribal traditional practices specially living in
those plain areas, not much extending to hill people of Tripura notably the Tripuri culture.
Tripura is a state in North East India. In the 2001 census of India, Bengalis represented almost
70% of the population and the tribal population comprised 30% of Tripura's population .The
tribal population (indigenous population) comprises several different tribes and ethnic groups
with diverse languages and cultures. The largest tribal group was the Kokborok-speaking tribe
of the Tripuri who had a population of 543,848 in 2001 census,[1] representing 16.99% of the
state population and 54.7% of the scheduled tribe population.[1] The other major tribes in
order of decreasing population were Debbarma (16.6% of the tribal
population), Jamatia (7.5%), Chakma (6.5%), Halam (4.8%), Mog (3.1%), Munda, Kuki tribes
and Garo Hajong.[1] Bengali is the most spoken language, due to the dominance of Bengali
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people in the state. Kokborok is a common language among many tribes. Several other
languages belonging to Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan families are spoken by the different
tribe.Tripura has several diverse ethno-linguistic groups, which has given rise to a composite
culture.

Dress:
The dress for women for the lower half of the body is called Rigwnai in Tripuri and for the upper
half of the body cloth has two parts Risa and Rikutu.
Risa covers the chest part and the rikutu covers whole of upper half of the body. In the
yesteryears these garments were used to be woven by the ladies by home spun thread made
from the cotton, but nowadays the threads are bought from the market and the risa is not
worn, instead blouse is worn by most of Tripuri women because of convenience. In present-day
young girls are wearing rignai with tops also

Attitude of Tripura Tribe

Attitude : Overall evaluation towards objects.... 

There are two types of attitude towards objects.

1) Positive Attitude: If evaluation is positive then attitude is positive. 
2) Negative Attitude: If evaluation is negative then attitude is negative. 

##Positive Attitude of Tripura Tribe:

Tripura people have their own culture and heritage and positive attitude towards them.
They celebrate their cultural activities very joyfully. The also have positive thought
towards others. They usually do not like any disturbance among their neighbours. They
also grow crops for their own and also for others to earn money. Although they do not
use any advanced technology to produce food but they are very hard working. So most
of the time they depend of their own farming. Tripura people have also positive attitude
toward themselves and they sometimes help each other in their problems. As maximum
tripura live in India and Bangladesh, so still they successfully maintain their own
language and their culture also heritage which is much appreciated. 

##Negative Attitude towards Tripura Tribe :

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The hill tracts of Tripura suffer from a severe food crisis during the dry spell between
November and March almost every year. Starvation deaths are very common in this
area. "But though incidents like the Gachhimpara case are rare, they are not unheard
of," says Partho Deb of Dainik Sambad, Tripura's leading newspaper.

Incidentally, the state has not received its share of pre-monsoon showers which start as
early as February. "In fact, the total rainfall in the state has been going down for the past
ten years," says Deb. "This has resulted in low intensity drought that hits the state year
after year," says Anu Mukherji, president, Tripura Adibashi Mahila Samity, an Agartala-
based non-governmental organisation (ngo). "But lack of rains is not the only reason for
the food crisis in Tripura. It is the restriction on jhum cultivation," she adds.
Jhum cultivation Tribals in Tripura traditionally depended on shifting cultivation -- locally
known as jhum. Under this system, a small patch of land was cleared in the forest and
used for cultivation. The following year, another patch was burnt and prepared for
agriculture. And this process continued. The land used earlier was not utilised,
permitting regeneration of the forest. But with more people becoming dependent on
agriculture, jhum began to affect the forests. This was because the pressure on land did
not permit regeneration as cultivation was carried out on the same land every season.
Earlier, jhum was allowed only in the protected forests of Tripura.

Emotional Patterns of Tripura tribe

The study was conducted on 60 tribal adolescents (30 boys and 30 girls) of 16-18 years
studying in senior secondary school of purposively selected “Tidi” village of Udaipur.
The level of emotional intelligence of the tribal adolescents was assessed by
administering a standardized emotional intelligence inventory - MEII (2004) by
S.K.Mangal and Shubhra Mangal. Percentages were calculated to draw inferences and
t-test was applied to assess the impact of gender on emotional intelligence of tribal
adolescents

Psychology of tribal people

To describe the psychology of tribal people we have to understand what is tribalism. Tribalism is the
state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles. Human evolution has primarily
occurred in small groups, as opposed to mass societies, and humans naturally maintain a social
network. In popular culture, tribalism may also refer to a way of thinking or behaving in which people
are loyal to their social group above all else,[1] or, derogatorily, a type of discrimination or animosity
based upon group differences

Concept evolution

Tribalism has a very adaptive effect in human evolution. Humans are social animals and ill-equipped to
live on their own.[12] Tribalism and social bonding help to keep individuals committed to the group,
even when personal relations may fray. That keeps individuals from wandering off or joining other
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groups. It also leads to bullying when a tribal member is unwilling to conform to the politics of the
collective.[13]

Some scholars argue that inclusive fitness in humans involves kin selection and kin altruism, in which
groups of an extended family with shared genes help others with similar genes, based on their
coefficient of relationship (the amount of genes they have in common). Other scholars argue that fictive
kinship is common in human organizations, allowing non-kin members to collaborate in groups like
fraternities.

Socially, divisions between groups fosters specialized interactions with others, based on association:
altruism (positive interactions with unrelated members), kin-selectivity (positive interactions with
related members) and violence (negative interactions). Thus, groups with a strong sense of unity and
identity can benefit from kin selection behaviour such as common property and shared resources. The
tendencies of members to unite against an outside tribe and the ability to act violently and prejudicially
against that outside tribe likely boosted the chances of survival in genocidal conflicts.

Modern examples of tribal genocide rarely reflect the defining characteristics of tribes existing prior to
the Neolithic Revolution; for example, small population and close-relatedness.

According to a study by Robin Dunbar at the University of Liverpool, social group size determined by
primate brain size.[14] Dunbar's conclusion was that most human brains can really understand only an
average of 150 individuals as fully developed, complex people. That is known as Dunbar's number. In
contrast, anthropologist H. Russell Bernard and Peter Killworth have done a variety of field studies in the
United States that came up with an estimated mean number of ties, 290, roughly double Dunbar's
estimate. The Bernard–Killworth median of 231 is lower because of upward straggle in the distribution,
but it is still appreciably larger than Dunbar's estimate.[15][16]

Malcolm Gladwell expanded on this conclusion sociologically in his book, The Tipping Point, where
members of one of his types, Connectors, were successful by their larger-than-average number of close
friendships and capacity for maintaining them, which tie together otherwise-unconnected social groups.
According to such studies, then, "tribalism" is hard to escape fact of human neurology simply because
many human brains are not adapted to working with large populations. Once a person's limit for
connection is reached, the human brain resorts to some combination of hierarchical schemes,
stereotypes and other simplified models to understand so many people.[citation needed]

Negative outcomes
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Anthropologists engage in ongoing debate on the phenomenon of warfare among tribes. While fighting
typically and certainly occurs among horticultural tribes, an open question remains whether such
warfare is a typical feature of hunter-gatherer life or is an anomaly found only in certain circumstances,
such as scarce resources (as with the Inuit or Arabs) or only among food-producing societies.[17][18]
There is also ample evidence that the level of violence among tribal societies is greater than the levels of
violence among Western and European societies.[19]

Tribes use forms of subsistence such as horticulture and foraging that cannot yield the same number of
absolute calories as agriculture. That limits tribal populations significantly, especially when compared to
agricultural populations.[20] Lawrence Keeley writes in War Before Civilization that examples exist with
low percentage rates of casualties in tribal battle, and some tribal battles were much more lethal as a
percentage of population than, for example, the Battle of Gettysburg. He concludes that no evidence
consistently indicates that primitive battles are proportionately less lethal than "civilized" ones.[17]

The realistic conflict theory is a model of intergroup conflict, arguing that in a real or perceived zero-sum
system, conflicts arise over shared interests for finite resources. The 1954 Robbers Cave Experiment
involved researchers putting 12-year old boys into groups, where they formed their own ingroups,
before then developing hostility and negativity towards the other group during simulated conflict over
finite resources in a zero-sum game.[citation needed]