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Bhils or Bheel

Bhil children in Madhya Pradesh
Regions with significant populations
India	16,908,907[1][2]
Madhya Pradesh	5,993,921[2]
Gujarat	4,215,603[2]
Rajasthan	4,100,264[2]
Maharastra	2,588,658[2]
Karnataka	6,204[2]
Tripura	3,105[2]
Andhra Pradesh	604[2]
Chhattisgarh	547[2]
Pakistan (Sindh)	382,000[citation needed]
Languages
Bhil languages, Marathi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Hindustani
Religion
Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, indigenous religions[3]
Related ethnic groups
Indo-Aryan peoples, Gonds, Tamil

Bhils or Bheels are primarily an ethnic group of people in West India. Bhils are also settled in the Tharparkar District of Sindh, Pakistan. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India.^[4]

Bhils are listed as indigenous people of the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan - all in the western Deccan regions and central India - as well as in Tripura in far-eastern India, on the border with Bangladesh. Bhils are divided into a number of endogamous territorial divisions, which in turn have a number of clans and lineages. Most Bhils now speak the language of the region they reside in, such as Marathi, Gujarati or a Hindustani dialect.

Present circumstances

In Azamgarh and Jaunpur, the Bhil are now mainly a community of settled farmers, with a significant minority who are landless agricultural labourers. A significant subsidiary occupation remains hunting and gathering. The Bhil are traditionally Hindu, with Nirdhi following Islam, and few sub-groups in the Dangs following Christianity. They continue to worship tribal deities such as Dev Mogra Mata and Sitla Mata.^[5][6]

The Bhil are classified as a Scheduled Tribe in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tripura under the Indian government's reservation program of positive discrimination.^[1]

Sub-divisions

The Bhil are divided into a number of endogamous territorial divisions, which in turn have a number of clans and lineages. The main divisions in Gujarat are the Barda, Dungri Garasia, and Vasava, while in Maharashtra, the Bhil Mavchi and Kotwal are their main sub-groups.^[5]

In Rajasthan, they exist as Bhil Garasia, Dholi Bhil, Dungri Bhil, Dungri Garasia, Mewasi Bhil, Rawal Bhil, Tadvi Bhil, Bhagalia, Bhilala, Pawra, Vasava and Vasave.^[7][a]

Language

Partial specimen of the Bhili language

The language commonly spoken by Bhils throughout their geographic distribution is Bhili.^[8] Bhili has about up to 36 identified dialects and pronunciation differs by region.^[8][9] Bhili is based on Gujarati, but dialects of Bhili gradually merge into more widely-spoken languages such as Marathi in the southeast and Rajasthani in the northwest.^[10]

Estimates of individuals speaking the language are often inaccurate as speakers of minor languages like Bhili have sometimes been treated as having major languages (such as Marathi or Gujarati) as their mother tongue.^[11]

Culture

Bhils have rich and unique culture. The Bhilala sub-division is known for its Pithora painting.^[12]Ghoomar is a traditional folk dance of Bhil tribe.^[13][14]

Cuisine

Main foods of Bhils are maize, onion, garlic and Chilli which they cultivate in their small fields. The vegitables and fruits collected by them from forests. Wheat and rice are used at time of festivals and other special occasions only. They keep self-made bows and arrow, sword, Knife, axe etc with them as weapon for self-protection and hunting the wild fauna which also form the major part of their diet. They profusely use alcohol distilled by them from the flower of Mahua(Madhuca longifolia). On festive occasions various special preparation from the dish rich, i.e Makka, genhu, lapsi, kasar and chawal etc. Bhils are traditionally non-vegetarian. They eat the meat of Goat, Chicken, Fish, Bull, Deer etc.^[15]

Faith and worship

Every village has its own local deity (Gramdev) and families too have their Jatidev, Kuldev and Kuldevi(house hold deity) which is symbolised by stones. 'Bhati dev' and 'Bhilat dev' are their serpent-god. 'Baba dev' is their village god. Karkulia dev is their crop god, Gopal dev is their pastoral god, Bag dev is their Lion god, Bhairav dev is their dog god. Some of their other gods are Indel dev, Bada dev, Mahadevel, Tejaji, Lotha mai, Techma, Orka Chichma and Kajal dev.

They have much faith in magico-religious beliefs and Bhopas for their physical, mental and psycological treatements. ^[16]

Festivals

There are a number of festivals, viz. Rakhi, Navratri, Dashera, Diwali, Holi which celebrated by the Bhils. They also celebrate some traditional festivals viz. Akhatij, Navmi, Howan Mata ki Chalavani, Sawan Mata ki jatar, Diwasa, Nawai, Bhagoria, Gal, Gar, Dhobi, Sanja, Indel, Doha etc with ceremonious zeal and ethusiasm.

During some festivals there are a number of tribal fairs held at different places of districts. Navratri mela, Bhagoria mela(during Holi festival) etc.^[17]

Communal dance and festivities

The chief means of their recreation is folk songs and dances. Women dance at birth celebrations, marriage functions and on a few festivals in traditional Bhili style accompanied by a drum beat. Their dances include the Lathi dance, Dhol dance, marriage dance, Holi dance, Battle dance, Bhagoria dance, Deepawal dance and hunting dance. Musical instruments include the Harmonium, Sarangi, kundi, Bansuri, apang, khajria, Tabla, jhanjh, Mandal and Thali. They are usually made from local products.^[18]

See also

• Badwa

References

Notes

Citations

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bhil people.

• 
  Gond & Bhil Tribal Art — Madhya Pradesh, archived from the original on 22 June 2015.


• The desert dwellers of Rajasthan: Bishnoi and Bhil peoples (essay)


• Bhil Tribe In Rajasthan


• Genetic Affinity of the Bhil, Kol and Gond Mentioned in Epic Ramayana