Mahali Adivasi
The Mahali are of the Adivasi Groups in the state of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa. They are found in the districts of Lohardaga, Ranchi, Gumla, Singhbhum, Santhal Pragana, Hazaribag, Pargana and Dhanbad and Purnia. There are five sub tribe of the Mahali Adivasi, these are Bansphor Mahli, Patar Mahli, Sulukhi Mahali, Tanti Mahli and Munda Mahli.
Culture
The material culture of the Mahli tribes reveals their existence-oriented economy. They erect their houses with mud, bamboo, wood, kosi grass and tiles. The houses are rectangular in shape. Each house has two rooms, a verandah and a courtyard. The houses do not have windows. The door is of bamboo made called tati.
Family
The family is the smallest form of society. It is nuclear in structure, the joint family is rare. The nuclear family consist of the Father, Mother and their unmarried children. The married children establish their own hearth and family. The father is the head of the family. He has final say in the family level decision.
Marriage
Marriage is a very important ritual which comes in the life of each individual when he/she achieves marriageable ages. Only persons having unknown sex do not get this chance. Even physical handicapped get chances.
The Mahali follow monogamy in their married life. But bigamy and tri-gamy are also allowed in the case of barrenness, widowhood and widowerhood. Levirate, sorrorate and widow remarriage are allowed. But cross-cousin marriage and parallel cousin marriage are not allowed.
Kinship
The kinship system of the Mahali presents a model of relationship based on parentage and marriage. The blood relation present since the birth of an individual. But marriage relation takes place when the individual attains marriageable age.
Birth
The birth is the very pious occasion for the couple, family and the community. The birth makes the marriage successful. It washes the stain of barrenness and proves that the couple is fertile.
Death
The Mahali are full aware of death reality. They know that wherever there is birth there is death. But in between the death and birth an individual is expected to go through the stages of infancy-childhood, adulthood and oldhood.
Economy
The Mahali economy is based on basketry, collection of forest produce, agriculture, carrying palanquins and labor. The main means of Bansphor Mahli has been basket making, Patar Mahli – basket making and cultivation, Sulukhi Mahli – Cultivation and Labour, Tanti Mahli – carrying palanquins and Munda Mahli – cultivators.
© Jharkhand Org