Tribes

Celebrating simplistic and minimalistic ways of life, civilization-shy and wilderness-friendly, the tribes of India have been treading the Indian earth since time immemorial. India is in fact home, to some of the oldest inhabitants of the world. Supporting indigenous cultural practices, norms and religious rites, some of these tribes have succumbed to the claws of urbanization; some others turned hostile and preferred seclusion; while some others still retain their ancestral characteristics, living on the fringes of civilization. Each tribe can be identified by their costumes, music, crafts, accessories and weapons and language. Almost every Indian state is home to some or other of the Indian tribes.

Owing to their interesting history, and hostile colonial contact, the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are some of the most well known and publicized tribes in India. The Jarawas, Sentinelese, Great Andamanese of Strait Island, Shompens and Onges are the tribes that reside in the islands of Andaman and Nicobar. The Sentinelese notably, residents of the Sentinel Island are the world's only surviving Paleolithic people. The Sentinelese are very hostile and have no contact with any other group or clan outside their own and prefer to stay aloof from the world outside, and hence very little is known about their activities or habits. The Jarawas, Great Andamanese and Onges have been befriended by the administration and provided with food, accommodation and necessary facilities to save them from the face of extinction. Most of these tribes used canoes or rafts to navigate the rivers and seas around. Their primary activities included hunting, gathering and fishing. Principal diet consisted of turtle meat and eggs, fish, crabs, fruit, roots, etc.

The North Eastern states of India are also primarily inhabited by tribes. Arunachal Pradesh alone has 26 major tribes and Nagaland has 16 tribes living in their territories. The Naga, Apatanis, Phakial, Khamyang, Aitonia, Nara, Gurung and Shyam are some of the North eastern tribes in India. The Indian states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh (specially Bastar) are other major tribal pockets in India.