The Barda are tribal community found in the states of Gujarat and

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

in India. They have scheduled tribe status. The community is also known as Adivasi or Khandeshi Bhil.

Origin

The word in the ( Gujarati language) means a dweller of a hilly region, and the term Barda is now applied to members of the Bhil community who are said to have immigrated from Khandesh to Gujarat some three hundred years ago . The community is now settled in the districts of Mehsana,

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

, Baroda, and

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

. They spoke Gujarati. In

, the Barda is considered to be a sub-group of the Bhil ethnic group. According to their traditions, the community descend from Sabari Bhil , a well-known character from the Ramayana. The Bardas are concentrated in the districts of Dhule, Jalgaon,

Nasik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...

, Osmanabad, Sangli, Kolhapur and

Sholapur Solapur () is a city located in the south-western region of the Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, with a branch lin ...

. They speak Barda bhasha, which is related to

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

. Most Barda also speak Gujarati.

Present circumstances

In Gujarat

The Barda are strictly endogamous and practice clan exogamy. Their major clans are the Ahir, Baria, Dania, Gaikwad, Mali, Mori, and Thakur, all of whom intermarry. Historically, the Barda was a community of hunter-gatherers. The Barda has now settled as agriculturists, while many more are agricultural laborers. A few who have small pieces of land produce millets and pulses. The number of casual laborers from amongst the community. The Barda have their tribal belief system, to which they have later added a pantheon of

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

gods and goddesses. Like other tribal communities in the west India, they perform several folk dances and songs. Economically, they are a marginal community, and literacy levels are very low.

In Maharashtra

The Barda Bhil consist of a number of exogamous clans such as the More, Sonone, Thakre, Wagh, Gaikwad, Mali, and Phulpagare. Each of these clans is of equal status and intermarry. The community is strictly endogamous. Their traditional occupation was hunting and gathering. A small number have agricultural land, but most are landless agricultural labourers. A few are also employed by the police. The Barda Bhil have their own tribal deities such as Khanderaoji.People of India Maharshtra Volume XXX Part One edited by B.V Bhanu, B.R Bhatnagar, D.K Bose, V.S Kulkarni and J Sreenath pages 158–162

References

{{Scheduled Tribes in Maharashtra Bhil Social groups of Gujarat Tribal communities of Gujarat Scheduled Tribes of India Social groups of Maharashtra Tribal communities of Maharashtra