Bewar or dahiya, a form of shifting cultivation, is traditionally associated with which tribe?
- A.Baiga
- B.Bhil
- C.Sahariya
- D.Kol
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Baiga. The Baiga of Dindori, Mandla, Balaghat and Shahdol practised bewar, also called dahiya: a forest slope was cleared and burnt, seed was broadcast in the ash and the plot was abandoned after a crop or two. The tribe traditionally refused to plough because it regards the earth as its mother, and when forest law ended bewar the Baiga Chak was set aside in Dindori for them.
Option B, Bhil, practised settled cultivation on terraced hill fields along with forest produce collection. Option C, Sahariya, is a forest-dependent group of the Chambal region known for collecting gum, honey and tendu leaves rather than for shifting cultivation. Option D, Kol, works mainly as cultivators and labourers in the Rewa and Satna belt. Link bewar and the plough taboo only with the Baiga.
Read the full article: Population and Tribes of MP: Bhil, Gond and Baiga
Practice Questions
View allWhich is the largest tribe of Madhya Pradesh by population?
- A.Gond
- B.Bhil
- C.Baiga
- D.Korku
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The Bhil is the most numerous tribe of Madhya Pradesh and is concentrated in the western hills of Jhabua, Alirajpur, Dhar, Barwani, Khargone and Khandwa, with the Bhilala, Barela and Patelia counted among its groups.
Read the full explanation →The Bhil tribe is concentrated mainly in which districts of Madhya Pradesh?
- A.Jhabua, Alirajpur and Barwani
- B.Mandla, Dindori and Balaghat
- C.Rewa, Satna and Sidhi
- D.Sheopur, Shivpuri and Morena
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These western districts, with Dhar, Khargone and Khandwa, form the Bhil country of the state, a hilly tract where the tribe makes up a very large share of the people; Alirajpur and Jhabua have the highest proportion of tribal population in Madhya Pradesh and also its lowest literacy.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following are the particularly vulnerable tribal groups of Madhya Pradesh?
- A.Bhil, Gond and Kol
- B.Baiga, Bharia and Sahariya
- C.Korku, Kol and Bhilala
- D.Gond, Baiga and Korku
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These three communities of the state are classed as particularly vulnerable tribal groups, a category identified by pre-agricultural practices, very low literacy, small and stagnant or declining numbers and relative isolation.
Read the full explanation →The Bharia tribe is associated with which valley of Madhya Pradesh?
- A.Patalkot
- B.Narmada valley at Mandla
- C.Tawa valley
- D.Chambal ravines
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Patalkot is a deep, almost hidden valley in Chhindwara district, sunk a few hundred metres below the surrounding plateau, and the Bharia live there as well as in parts of Jabalpur and Mandla.
Read the full explanation →The Gondi language belongs to which language family?
- A.Indo-Aryan
- B.Dravidian
- C.Austro-Asiatic
- D.Tibeto-Burman
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Gondi, spoken by the Gonds of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Telangana, is a Dravidian language, which is striking because it is spoken deep in central India far from the south.
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