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Tribes Himachal
Pradesh has a considerable percentage of tribal population in the state. These
tribal include the Kinners or Kinnaure, the Lahules, the Spitians, the Pangwalas,
the Gaddis and the Gujjars. By nature, these people are highly sociable and like
to make friends. This is despite the fact that they do not stay at one place and
continue to move around. The tribal population of Himachal Pradesh follow their
own set of traditions and customs. |
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They even have
their own dress up, music and dance to make them a unique
lot. Tribes in Himachal Pradesh.
Famous Tribes Of Himachal Pradesh
Kinnaure
These people occupy the areas of the border district of
Kinnaur. Some of these people believe that they belong to
the Kinners of Mahabharata while others consider themselves
the descendants of the Kirats. Kirats were the people who
were overpowered by the Aryans and Khasaa and forced to
recede into the remote trans Himalayan region.
The physical appearance of the Kinnaures is quiet similar to
that of the Aryans, however, there are also people with
Mongoloid features. These people are soft spoken and indulge
mainly into occupation like rearing of sheep and raising of
wool. Other occupation of these people include agriculture
and horticulture. The Kinnaure male adorns a long coat (chubha)
and woolen pyjama (chamu sutan) while the women have a
woolen sari called Dhoru as their dress. Their feet are
protected by shoes that are made up of wool and goat hair.
One interesting aspect about the Kinnaure is their marriage
system. All brothers in one family marry a single girl. This
is what they call the Pandava marriage since the five
Pandava brothers too had one wife for them. This custom has
also left many of the girls unmarried. These girls who
finally find it difficult to get a good match for themselves
convert into a Buddhist nun or Jomo.
Lahaul
The denizens of Lahaul are called by the name of Lahauli.
These people trace their origin to the native Munda tribe
and the racially intermixed Tibetans. The tribal population
of the Lahaulis segregate themselves into higher and lower
classes and mainly follow Buddhism. There is a shrine with
an image of Buddha in the house of every well off Lahauli.
Lahaulis are also liberal as far as their marriages are
concerned. Women can marry more than once and divorce is
extremely normal affair. However, marriages have to be
within the tribe.
The Lahaul valley is situated on the traditional trade
routes to Ladakh, Sinkrang and further. This is the reason
why trade also forms a major occupation of the people here
apart from farming. In earlier times, traders from Lahaul
carried on trade with Tibet. With that route being closed
now, people export a herb, kuth to Kolkata from where it is
send forward to foreign destination.
Gaddi
These people normally reside in the Mandi, Kangra and
Bilaspur district though a majority of them live in the
Kangra district.
Gaddis are not nomadic in strictest of sense since they have
villages where they reside. However, they do make their way
to the higher pastures in the summer season with their
flocks. The origin of the Gaddis is rather unclear. The
Gaddis themselves believe that their ancestors fled from the
plains of India due to the lack of security for them. At
that point the persecution of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb
forced them to leave for a more protected area.
The most attractive aspect about the Gaddi is their attire.
The women wear splendidly colourful dresses that are spun at
home. A thick scarf over their head serves both as a
decorative and protective purpose. The black sash on their
back is also useful since it carries their little child.
Ornaments of the Gaddi women include semi precious stones,
little mirrors in their necklace and peacock feather.
The main occupation of the Gaddi tribals is shepherding.
There are farmers, weavers and tinkers ( a mender of metal
household utensil) also. In earlier times, many people
indulged into crushing of millets and carrying of loads to
make a living for themselves. Gaddis have strict moral
values to which they try to stick in even worst of
circumstances. The women are plain and simple here.
Pirals
These people are essentially goatherds and it is this
occupation of theirs that takes them from one place to
another. During winter, these people descend to Kangra and
the forest of Hoshiarpur while summer is the time put up
along the banks of rivers Chandrabhaga in Lahaul.
The Pirals are fun loving and traditional people and love to
celebrate their festivals. Marriages of Pirals are very
similar to that of Hindus.
Gujjars
Gujjars are the Muslim tribals of the Himachal Pradesh. Most
of the historians believe that Gujjars came to India all the
way from central Asia during 6th century.
Gujjars are mostly vegetarian and are shepherd and goatherd
by occupation. Search for better pastures take them to
lowland plains in the winter and to the upper reaches of the
Himalaya during the summer. |
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