Karbi people

Karbi people
For the place in Armenia, see Karbi, Armenia.

The Karbis, mentioned as the Mikir in the Constitution Order of the Government of India, are one of the major ethnic groups in North-east India and especially in the hill areas of Assam. They prefer to call themselves Karbi, and sometimes Arleng (literally "man" in the Karbi language). The term Mikir is now not preferred and is considered to be derogatory.[1] The closest meaning of mikir could said to be derieved from "Mekar".[2]. Karbi was once a time parted away from phnar of khasi community of Meghalaya and they asked to live in Dimasa Kingdom during Dimapur reign in 16th century.

Contents

Overview

The Karbis are the principal tribal community in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam, a district administered as per the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, having an autonomous district of their own since 17 November, 1951.[3] Besides Karbi Anglong district, the Karbi inhabited areas include Dima Hasao, Kamrup, Marigaon district, Nagaon, Golaghat, Karimganj and Sonitpur districts of Assam; Balijan circle of Papumpare district in Arunachal Pradesh, Jaintia Hills, Ri Bhoi and East Khasi Hills districts in Meghalaya and Dimapur District in Nagaland. Apart from Assam, the Karbis are also recognised as Scheduled Tribes in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. With a population of around 4 lacs[clarification needed] 60 thousand as per 2001 Census, the Karbis constitutes the third largest tribal community in Assam after the Bodos and the Mishings.[4]

History

The Karbis were among the earliest inhabitants of Assam, so much so that Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha, a noted cultural personality and freedom fighter from Assam has called them the Discoverer of Assam. The Karbis too trace their origin and existence in China and South-east Asia. The traditional Karbi kingdom included Rongkhang, "Kiling", Amri, Chinthong, Nilip-Lumbajong and Longku-Longtar, which corresponds to the present day Hamren subdivision of Karbi Anglong district, Kamrup and Marigaon districts, eastern part of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao district.

Culture and tradition

The Karbis are a Patrilineal society and is composed of five major clans or Kur. They are Ingti (Lizang), Terang (Hanzang), Inghi (Ezang), Teron (Kronzang) and Timung (Tungzang) which are again divided into many sub-clans. These clans are exogamous, in other words marriages between members of the same clan are not allowed. The traditional system of governance is headed by the Lindok or the king, who is assisted by the Katharpo, the Dilis, the Habes and the Pinpos. The Lindok is based in Ronghang Rongbong in the Hamren subdivision of the district. These posts of administration, however, are now merely ceremonial with no real power.

The Karbis celebrate many festivals. Rongker is one such festival held around January-February by the entire village as thanksgiving to the various gods and for the prosperity and the well-being of the community. The Chomkan (also known as "thi-karhi" and Chomangkan) is a festival unique to the Karbis. It is actually a ceremony performed by a family for the peace and the safe passage of the soul of family members who died recently. '" Most of the Karbis still practice their traditional belief system, which is animistic called "Honghari", however, there are also Karbi Christians. The practitioners of traditional worship (Honghari) believe in reincarnation and honours the ancestors, Hemphu and Mukrang.

The Karbi women are expert weavers and they wear home-made clothes. Their main attire consist the pekok, a piece of cloth with designs wrapped around the upper part of the body and tied into a knot on the right shoulder, the pini, similar to a sarong and a vamkok, a decorative piece of cloth tied around the waist over the pini. The men's traditional dress consist of the choi, a sleeveless shirt with a 'V' shaped neck and loose threads at the bottom, a rikong, which looks like a dhoti and a poho, a turban.

Economy

The Karbis traditionally practice jhum cultivation (slash and burn cultivation) in the hills. They grow variety of crops which include foodgrains, vegetables and fruits like rice, maize, potato, tapioca, beans, ginger and turmeric. They are quiet self-sufficient and have homestead gardens with betel nut, jackfruit, oranges, pineapple, etc. which fulfill their nutritional as well as food needs. However, with the integration of the traditional lifestyle with the market economy, many of the traditional institutions and way of life has been left damaged, bringing about unending sufferings on the people. Karbi people has the highest HPI (Human Poverty Index) value of 33.52, indicating that this tribe has the highest number of people in human poverty. (Assam Human Development Report, 2003).

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Karbi — For the place in Armenia, see Karbi, Armenia. The Karbis, mentioned as the Mikir in the Constitution Order of the Government of India, are one of the major ethnic groups in North east India and especially in the hill areas of Assam. They prefer… …   Wikipedia

  • Karbi Anglong District — Karbi Anglong   District   District location in Assam Country …   Wikipedia

  • People of Assam — The people of Assam inhabit a multi ethnic, multi linguistic and multi religious society. They speak languages that belong to three main language groups: Austro Asiatic, Tibeto Burman and Indo Aryan. The large number of ethnic and linguistic… …   Wikipedia

  • Karbi — Etnia del Noreste de la India en Assam que puebla principalmente los distritos de Anglong y North Cachar Hills. Las principales organizaciones de los Karbi, que reclamaban un distrito autónomo, eran la Karbi National Volunteers, fundada el 22 de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Karbi — Étnia del Noreste de la India en Assam que puebla principalmente los distritos de Anglong y North Cachar Hills. Las principales organizaciones de los Karbi, que reclamaban un distrito autonomo, eran la Karbi National Volunteers, fundada el 22 de… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Fuerza Popular Karbi — El Karbi Peoples Force o Fuerza Popular Karbi fue una organización nacionalista de la etnia karbi de Assam fundada el 12 de septiembre de 1994. Se unió al Karbi National Volunteers el 21 de mayo de 1999 formando el United People’s Democratic… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Voluntarios Nacionales Karbi — La Karbi National Volunteers o Voluntarios Nacionales Karbi fue la primera gran organización nacionalista de la etnia karbi en Assam (India), habiendo sido fundada el 22 de marzo de 1994. El 21 de mayo de 1999 se unió al Karbi Peoples Force… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Voluntarios Nacionales Karbi — La Karbi National Volunteers o Voluntarios Nacionales Karbi fue la primera gran organización nacionalista de la étnia karbi en Assam, habiendo sido fundada el 22 de Marzo de 1994. El 21 de Mayo de 1999 se unió al Karbi Peoples Force formando el… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Fuerza Popular Karbi — El Karbi Peoples Force o Fuerza Popular Karbi fue una organización nacionalista de la étnia karbi de Assam fundada el 12 de Septiembre de 1994. Se unio al Karbi National Volunteers el 21 de Mayo de 1999 formando el United People’s Democratic… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Dimasa people — The Dimasa people (or Dima basa, and also called Dimasa Kachari) are a group of people in Assam, in northeastern India Dimasa mythology says they are the children of Bangla Raja and the great divine bird Arikhidima. Bangla Raja s six sons… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”