 Useful Links

Tribes in
India

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Tribes in India.

Andhra Pradesh.

Name of the Tribe Region Highlights

● Their origin can be traced

Andh Tribes Adilabad
from Satavahana Dynasty.
● The tribe is subdivided into
Vertali and khaltali.
● The Vertali group considers
themselves as superior.

Kolam Tribe NA ● They belong to a particularly

vulnerable group.
● They are agricultultural and
endogamous group.

Thoti Tribe Adilabad The Thoti speak a dialect of the

Gondi language.
Warangal
NIzamabad
Karimnagar

● Kammara people are also

Kammara Tribe West Godavari
called Konda Kammara, and
Ojas.
● Descendants are traditionally
believed to have been evan-
gelized by the apostle
Thomas.

● They are known for their

Gadaba Tribe
dance ‘Dhemsa.’
● Their socio-economic life is
based on farming and daily la-
bour.

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The rest of the tribes in Andhra Pradesh includes Savaras, Dabba Yerukula, Sugalis, Nakkela,
Pardhan, Manna Dhora and Jatapus.

Arunachal Pradesh.

Name of the Tribe Region Highlights

● This tribe is a subset

Singpho Tribes Yunnan Province of China
of Kachin people.
● They are known as
Jingpo in China.
● Singpho in India fol-
lows Buddhism.

● This tribe is listed as

Galong Tribe West Siang
Scheduled Tribe and
Lepa Rada has been named as
galong since 1950.
Lower Siang
● They are considered
as the descendents of
Abo Tani.

● Polygyny is prevalent
Nyishi Tribe Kurung Kumey
in such tribal rgoups
East Kameng to ensure the status
and strength during
Papum Pare
clan war.
● Nyokum is the festival
celebrated by the Ny-
ishi tribe.
● This tribal group was
converted into Christi-
anity in 1970.

● Their economy is re-

Abor Tribe Banks of Siang and Yamne
lied upon by the bar-
river
ter system.
● Their descent is patri-
lineal.

● They are known for

Apatani Tribe Lower Subansiri
their skills in cane and
bamboo craft.
● Myoko is the festival

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celebrated by this
tribal group.

Assam

● They mostly prefer

Khasi Tribe Also reside in Meghalaya and
monogamous mar-
Bangladesh
riage.
● They follow the matri-
lineal system in terms
of descent and inher-
itance.

● The Supreme Court

Chakma Tribe Also resides in Tripura and
granted citizenship to
Bangladesh.
the Chakma tribe in
2015.
● The festivals cele-
brated by Chakmas
are Bizu, Alphaloni
and Buddha Purnima.

● This tribe lives under

Dimasa Tribe Also reside in Nagaland
the village system
called Nohlai.
● They live in patriar-
chal society.
● Bushu is the im-
portant festival of the
Dimasa tribe.

● This tribe also resides

Gangte Tribe Also reside in Manipur and
in Chin State and
Mizoram.
Kabaw Valley of My-
anmar.

● They have an endoga-

Hajong Tribe Dhubri and Goalpara
mous marriage.
● They are rice farmers.

● This community is rec-

Chutia Tribe Upper Assam district
ognised as other back-
ward Class by the
Government of India.

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Bihar.

● Gond tribes are classi-

Gond Tribe Also reside in Odisha,
fied into Scheduled
Chhattisgarh
caste but they were
redesignated as
Scheduled Tribe in
2017.

● This tribe performs

Asur Tribe Also reside in Jharkhand
monogamous mar-
riage and widow re-
marriage is permitted.
● Their occasion con-
sists of iron-smelting.
● Earlier, they used to
rely upon hunter
gathering.

● Family is generally
Birhor Tribe They also reside in Jhar-
patrilineal.
khand, Chhattisgarh and
● They perform endoga-
West bengal.
mous marriages.

● Sohrai is the principal

Santhal They also reside in Bihar, Od-
festival of the Santhal
isha and West Bengal.
tribe.
● They used to be
hunter gatherers, but
they transitioned to
agrarian lifestyle.

● They are designated

Baiga Tribe They aso reside in Madhya
as a Scheduled Tribe
Pradesh.
in Uttar Pradesh.
● They have sub-castes
such as Bijhwar, Naro-
tia, Bharotiya and Rai
Bhain.

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Chattisgarh.

● They are designated

Khond Tribe
as Scheduled Tribe in
states such as Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Maha-
rashtra and Odihsa.
● They are divided into
hill-dwelling Khonds
and plain-dwelling
Khonds.

● They are heavily influ-

Agariya Tribe Also reside in Uttar Pradesh
enced by Hinduism
and Madhya Pradesh.
but do not worship
Hindu Gods.
● They were redesig-
nated as a Scheduled
Tribe in 2007.

The rest of the tribe includes Bhattra, Mawasi, Ngasia and Bhaina.

Goa.

● Warli paintings are

Warli Tribe Maharashtra and Goa border
the crucial part of
Warli culture.
● They are semi-no-
madic and some of
them practise
polyginy.

The other tribes include Dubia, Siddi, Dhodia and Naikda.

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Gujarat.

● As per 2013, it is the

Bhil Tribe They reside in districts like
largest tribal group in
Dhar, Jhabua, Khargone and
India.
Ratlam district of Madhya
● Its subdivision is
Pradesh.
known for Pithora
paintings.

Bamcha Tribe NA NA

Barda Tribe Mahasera Barda tribes are endogamous

but practise clan exogamy.
Ahmedabad
Surat

Other tribes include Patelia, Dhodia, Paradhi, Charan and Gamta.

Himachal Pradesh.

The tribe consists of Gujjar, Lahaulas, Khas, Pangwala and Lamba.

Jammu and Kashmir.

● They are mostly goat-

Bakharwal Tribe Also resides in Pakistan and
herd and shepherds.
Afghanistan
● They were recognised
as Scheduled tribes in
1991.

● They migrated to
Gaddi Tribe Also reside in Himachal Pra-
Brahmaur due to reli-
desh
gious persecution.

● They boast a better

Purigpa Tribe
literacy rate of 67.5
percent than the aver-
age tribal literacy rate

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in Jammu and Kash-

mir.
● In 2001, Purigpa tribes
were classified as a
Scheduled tribe im
government reserva-
tion programme of
positive discrimina-
tion.

● Most of the tribes fol-

Beda Tribe Ladakh
low the Muslim faith,
however some of
them are Biddhist.
● Their occupation is
musicianship.

The other tribes include Balti and Garra.

Jharkhand.

● They are one of In-

Munda Tribe Also reside in Odisha, Bihar
dia's largest sched-
and West Bengal.
uled tribes.
● Mundas celebrate fes-
tivals like Mage Parab,
PHagu, Karam, Baha
Parab, Sarhul and
Sohrai.
● They are patrilineal.

● They are divided into

Kharia Tribe Also reside in Madhya Pra-
Hill Kharia, Delki Kha-
desh, West Bengal, Odisha
ria and Dudh Kharia.
and Maharashtra.
● Kharia people are
skilled in the cottage
industry.

The other tribes include Bhumji, Birhors, Mundas, Santhal and Gonds.

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Karnataka.

● The community
Koraga Tribe Udupi
started campaigning
Uttara Kannada for equality with the
help of Federation of
Shimoga
Koraga Development
Associations.

● They perform monog-

Adiyan Tribe Also reside in Kerala
amous marriages.
● As a profession, they
are involved in agri-
cultural labour.

● The people of this

Irula Tribe Also reside in Nilgiri Moun-
community are called
tain, Tamil Nadu.
Irular which belong to
the Dravidian family.

Other tribes include Gond, Patelia, barda and Yerava.

Kerala.
The tribes in Kerala include Malai, Arayan, Aradan, Uralis, Kurumbas and Eranvallan.

Madhya Pradesh.
The tribes in Madhya Pradesh include Kharia, Bhils, Murias, Birhors, Baigas, Karkari, Kol and Khond.

Maharashtra.

● Since they consume

Katkari Tribe Nashik
rodent, they celebrate
Pune a festival called Undir
Navmi.
Dhule

● They are divided into

Bhunjia Tribe Also reside in Odisha
two groups namely

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Markam and Netarn.

Rathwa Tribe Also reside in The community is classified

as a Scheduled Tribe in three
states.

The other tribes include Warlis, Khond, Bhaina and Dhodia.

Manipur.

● This community was

Thadou Tribe Also reside in Burma and
recognised as a
Bangladesh.
Scheduled Tribe in
1956.

● Ponghi is the festival

Maram Tribe Senapati district
celebrated by this
community.
● They are known for
wet-rice cultivation.

Chiru Tribe Also reside in Assam. They are listed as Scheduled

Tribe in accordance with
Scheduled Caste and Sched-
uled Tribe Amendment Act
1976.

Purum Tribe Kangpokpi district They are divided into five sibs
namely, Marrim, Makan,
Kheyang, Thao and Parpa.

Monsang Tribe Chandel district They are considered to be

peace loving people.

The rest of the tribes include Kuki, Agami and Aimoi.

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Meghalaya.

● They are a subset of

Jaintia Tribe (Pnar)
the Khasi tribe.
● They are matrilineal.

The rest of the tribe include Chakma, raba, Hajong, Lakher and Garos.

Mizoram.
The tribe of Mizoram include Chakma, Lakher, Khasi, Synteng and Pawai.

Nagaland.

● They celebrate two

Sumi Naga Tribe Zanbato
major festivals
Dimapur namely, Tuluni and
Ahuna.
Kiphire district
● Sumis are recognised
as a Scheduled Tribe
in India.

● The tribe performs ex-

Mikir Tribe
ogamous marriage
and their descent is
patrilineal.
● They celebrate festi-
vals like Hacha-Kekan,
Chojun, Rongker and
Peng Karkli.

The other tribes include Nagas, Angami, Garos and kachari.

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Odisha.

● The festivals cele-

Oraon Tribe Also reside in Jharkhand and
brated by this tribe
Chattisgarh.
are Sarhul, Karma,
Dhanbuni and Na-
yakhani.
● They are classified as
Scheduled Tribe un-
der the reservation
system.

The rest of the tribes include Gadaba, Ghara, Matya and Santhals.

Rajasthan.

● They are an endoga-

Damaria Tribe Also reside in Gujarat
mous community and
practise clan exog-
amy.
● They were classified
as Scheduled Tribe in
Rajasthan in 2001.

● They perform endoga-

Sahariya Tribe Baran district
mous marriages
● Their main business is
gathering and selling
forest goods.

The other tribes include Bhils, Dhanka, Meenas and Patelia.

Sikkim.
Tribes in Sikkim include Bhutia, Khas and Lepchas.

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Tamil Nadu.

Aranadan Tribe Also reside in Kerala. Their main occupation is

hunting and gathering.

● Their culture involves

Kota Tribes Also reside in Wayanad, Ker-
fraternal polyginy.
ala.
● The women in the
community have a
right to choose their
partner for marriage.

● Their occupation is
Toda Tribe Nilgiri Mountain
cattle-herding and
dairy-work.
● They used to perform
fraternal polyandry
where a woman
would marry all the
brothers of the family.

The rest of the tribe include Adiyan, kadar, Eravallan and kanikar.

Tripura.

Halam Tribe Also reside in Mizoram and They get their food through
Assam. foraging and farming.

The rest of the tribe include Namte, Mizel, Lushai and Khasia.

Uttarakhand.

● They were classified

Buksa Tribe Dehradun
as a Scheduled Tribe
Nainital in 2001.

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● They are endogamous

but practise clan ex-
ogamy.

● They were classified

Jaunsari Tribe Jaunsar region
as a Scheduled Tribe
in 1967.
● They perform dances
like Barada Nati, Hurul
and Raso.

Tharu Tribe Also reside in Uttar Pradesh. They consider themselves as

people of forest and thus re-
lied upon short fallow shifting
cultivation.

The rest of the tribes include Bhotias, Khas and Raji.

Uttar Pradesh.
The tribes include Bhotia Buksa, Jaunsari and Raji.

West Bengal.
The tribes include Asur Khond, Hajong, Parhaiya and Santhals.

Andaman and Nicobar.

Sentinelese Tribe Bay of Bengal They are hunter-gath-

erers.

Shompens Tribe Greater Nicobar Island They practise hunter-gath-

erer subsistence economy.

● They are designated

Onge Tribe Andaman Island
as a scheduled Tribe.
● Due to their nomadic
lifestyle, many of the
tribal people from this

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community could es-

cape the tsunami that
took place in 2004.

Little Andaman.

● They are hunter-gath-

Jarawa Tribe South and Middle Andaman
erers.
Island
● They are designated
as a Scheduled Tribe
in India.

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