By-Samyak VIII B
From the 17th century, several societies which didn’t follow the
brahminical ideas emerged throughout the subcontinent. Among the
largest tribal groups the Bhils was third largest tribe, following Gonds
and Santhals. They are descendants of the Aryans who arrived in India
after the decline of Harppan civilization.

Location

 The Bhils were
concentrated in the
present day regions of
Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh and
small parts of
Maharashtra. Some of
them were scattered in
different regions of the
subcontinent. Even
today, they're found in
Rajasthan & Gujarat.
Administration and subdivisions

 The Bhils were governed by a headman called gameti. Each
Bhil village had its own gameti & he had the decisionmaking power over most local issues. The gameti was
under the clan of the particular group of villages,
 They were divided into territories, each having a Bhil clan.
For e.g.: in Rajasthan, Meena, Bhilala etc.... were prominent
sub-divisions. But these groups saw them different from
the Bhil tribe.
 As the british arrived, the gametis couldn’t enjoy much
power or independence as the clans themselves were
subjugated. Some of the clans fell for the Forest policy.
Language and culture

 The language spoken by Bhils is
called Bhili(belonging to IndoAryan group of languages). Also,
this language had more than 30
different dialects which varied
from territory to territory.
Presently,36 dialects of Bhili are
recognized. It is based on Gujarati
but the influence of Marathi and
Rajasthani increases as we go
towards south east and north
west respectively.
 Bhilala clan of the Bhils is famous
for its Pithora paintings. Their folk
dance is known as Ghoomar and
mainly involves women
Pithora painting
Ghoomar dance
Occupation and food

 The Bhils were mostly jhum cultivativators but due to
droughts, debt etc.., they had to opt for other jobs such as
gum&lac collection, weaving handloom products,
cutting wood, preparing charcoal & other such jobs. The
first Bhils were hunter-gatherers. With the arrival of
british, more tribals were employed in coal mines,
factories etc.. the made their own weapons like bows &
arrows, knives, spears etc.. as they were themselves a
part of their army.
 In agriculture, they cultivated maize, onion, garlic and
chilly. Wheat, rice, maize, barley and malt were grown
only for festivals. Slash & burn cultivation was practiced.
Rice was only cultivated in Gujarat(coastal), Maharashtra
& parts of Madhya Pradesh. Maize, millet and barley
were the staple crops. The Bhils were non-vegetarian and
were addicted to the use of alcohol and tobacco in
celebrations.
The fact that the
term ‘bhil’ means
‘bow’ in Bhili can
be seen in this
image. That's why
bow & arrow was
their primary
weapon during war.
Clothing

 The Bhils have a very
distinctive dressing style.
The traditional dresses of
men include
Pagri,Angrakha,Dhoti &
Gamucha and that of women
include Saree,Ghagra choli.
Men wore ornaments like
Kada ,Ear rings , chains &
Bajuband while the women
wore
Hansli,rings,Nathni(nosering), Narniyan (bangles)
etc..
 Tattoo making is a common
practice for men & women
both.
Tribal dress of
women
Tribal dress of
men
Religious beliefs

 The Bhils believed in animism i.e. the
worship of inanimate things. But they were
highly superstitious. For them, gods and
goddesses rely in nature as the sky, trees
etc.... Fire along with animals like horses,
tiger, boar etc... were sacred for them.
Animal sacrifice was also practiced. They
had their own local deities like
Gramadev(village-guardian god),Kuldev &
Kuldevi(household deities) etc.. In some
clans, Hindu gods like Shiva,Parvati and
other smaller gods were worshipped. Later,
the influence of former Hinduism increased
on Bhilala and some small clans and they
began to follow Brahmins and caste system.
Islam was scarce and the influenced of
Christianity increased with the arrival of
british.
An idol of Kuldeva
Festivals

 There are a number of Hindu
festivals, which
are celebrated by Bhils like
Rakhi ,Holi ,Diwali ,Dusshera
etc. which are celebrated by
the Bhils. They also celebrate
some local festivals which
are Akhatij, Navmi, Howan ,
Mata ki Chalavani etc. In
some regions, fairs were
held like the Navratri mela,
Bhagoria mela etc.