Chhattisgarh: Tribes

"Tribal" is the expression used in India to refer to people known in another place as "indigenous". The British ethnographers termed tribals as "animists". As per National Census, they are categorized as "aboriginals" and scheduled according to the tribe. In Hindi, tribal is known as adivasi, denoted as "ancient inhabitants."

The main tribes of Chhattisgarh are:                               

Gond

The Gond tribe of Bastar is one of the most famed tribes in India, recognized for their exceptional Ghotul system of marriages. The Gond Tribals, who are also acknowledged as the Koytorias are extensively dispersed throughout Chhattisgarh.

Abuj Maria

The Abhuj Maria tribe is one of the major sub castes of the Gond tribal group. They survive in segregation and dwell in the isolated enclaves of Narayanpur, Bastar. Money and material pleasures rarely entice the people of this race.

Bison Horn Maria

Bison Horn Maria is one of the well-known tribal groups of India. Mostly found in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, they are the chief sub - caste of an ethnic community called Gond. Spaced out from Jagdalpur Tehsil towards the south of river Indravati in Chhattisgarh, they mostly exist in the district of Garhichiroli in Maharashtra and in some parts of Madhya Pradesh.

Muria

The Murias are one of the countless tribes that dwell in Chhattisgarh. They are the well-known sub caste of the Gonds who lead the populace of Chhattisgarh. The tribesmen of Muria mainly inhabit in the dense forest zones of Kondagon Tehsil and Narayanpur Tehsil of Bastar.

Halba

The Halba Tribals are extensively discrete all over Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Maharashtra. One of India's principal tribes, the Halba tribals dwells in the districts of Bastar, Raipur and Durg in Chhattisgarh.

Dhurvaa

The Dhurvaas are perhaps the most noteworthy aboriginal tribe that occupies the abode of Chhattisgarh's Bastar region. In terms of social ladder,  the Dhurvaas position 2nd only after the cream of the crop.

Kol

Kol is a general name for the Munda, Oraon and Ho Adivasi of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Assam, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Korba

Korbas are one of the famous scheduled tribes of India. They subsist in forest and hills of Chhotanagpur; the bordering area of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

Kawar

Kawar is a schedule tribe of Chhattisgarh, together with sub endogamous group i.e. Kamalbansi, Tanwar, Paikra, Rathia, Dudh, Chanti, Routia and Chewra, in rural area are significant tribes of Chhattisgarh. Mainly the Kawar people are found in Raipur District, Bilaspur district, Raigarh district, Durg district and Sarguja district.

Binjwar

Binjwar is a community of Madhya Pradesh, concerted in Chhattisgarh area. There are 2 endogamous divisions, the Sonvaha Binjhwar and the Binjhwar proper instituted in large numbers in the regions of Bilaspur, Raipur, Raigarh and Sarguja.