Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age
Tribals, Dikus and the Vision of a Golden Age > Ask Alfie
Hi
Who were Baigas?
1. Verrier Elwin, a British anthropologist who lived among the Baigas and Khonds of central India for many years in the 1930s and 1940s, described how work and division of tasks was like.
2. He wrote that Chait women went to clearings to, cut stalks that were already reaped; men cut large trees and go for their ritual hunt. The hunt began at full moon rom the east. Traps of bamboo were used for hunting. The women gathered fruits like sago, tamarind and mushroom. 3. Baiga women can only gather roots or kanda and mahua seeds. Of all the adivasis in Central India, the Baigas were known as the best hunters. In Baisakh the firing of the forest took place, the women gathered unburnt wood to burn. Men continued to hunt, but nearer their villages. In Jeth sowing took place and hunting still went on. From Asadh to Bhadon the men worked in the fields. In Kuar the first fruits of beans were ripened and in Kartik kutki became ripe. In Afghan every crop was ready and in Pus winnowing took place. Pus was also the time for dances and marriages. In Magh shifts were made to new bewars and hunting-gathering was the main subsistence activity. 4. The cycle described above took place in the first year. In the second year there was more time for hunting as only a few crops had to be sown and harvested. But since there was enough food the men lived in the bewars. It was only in the third year that the diet had to be supplemented with the forest products.
2. He wrote that Chait women went to clearings to, cut stalks that were already reaped; men cut large trees and go for their ritual hunt. The hunt began at full moon rom the east. Traps of bamboo were used for hunting. The women gathered fruits like sago, tamarind and mushroom. 3. Baiga women can only gather roots or kanda and mahua seeds. Of all the adivasis in Central India, the Baigas were known as the best hunters. In Baisakh the firing of the forest took place, the women gathered unburnt wood to burn. Men continued to hunt, but nearer their villages. In Jeth sowing took place and hunting still went on. From Asadh to Bhadon the men worked in the fields. In Kuar the first fruits of beans were ripened and in Kartik kutki became ripe. In Afghan every crop was ready and in Pus winnowing took place. Pus was also the time for dances and marriages. In Magh shifts were made to new bewars and hunting-gathering was the main subsistence activity. 4. The cycle described above took place in the first year. In the second year there was more time for hunting as only a few crops had to be sown and harvested. But since there was enough food the men lived in the bewars. It was only in the third year that the diet had to be supplemented with the forest products.
Some of the learners also asked:
What is tamarind?
What is tamarind?
