Halba are a tribal community found in

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

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 ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

and

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. They speak the

Halbi language Halbi (also Bastari, Halba, Halvas, Halabi, Halvi) is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language, transitional between Odia and Marathi. It is spoken by at least 766,297 people across the central part of India. The Mehari (or Mahari) dialect is mutually ...

. They are primarily agricultural community.

Etymology

The name Halba derive form the term 'Hal' that locally means ploughing. Halba are primarily agricultural community.

History

The Halba tribal community are the chief tribe of Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. They adopted farming. Many are weaver known as Koshti. They were employed in militia under various ruling dynasty of the region. According to Robert Vane Russell, Halba are mixed caste of Gond and Hindu. Probably descendants of servants of Odia kings who formed some militia to maintain authority. But according to recent genetics, they are not related to Gond. After the

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

, the region came under

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

and British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

rule. Halba rebellion was led by governor of Dongar Ajmer Singh against Maratha and British in 1774. He wanted to establish an independent state. But Maratha and British defeated the Halba forces and massacre many Halba tribal.

Society

The Halba have four subgroups: Pitnia Halba, Bunkar Halba, Telia Halba and Jadi/Jadia Halba. Pintia are those who have migrated to Odisha. Bunkar are those who adopted weaving for their livelihood, Telia Halba who reside in Chhattisgarh. Weaver Halba are also known as Koshti. The population of Halba is around 0.75 million. They have many surnames including Naik, Raut, Voyar, Nadge, Kothwar, Gharait, Chudi, Pakhle, Gawad, Hedu, Medke, Yele, Mankar, Chillar, Sherkar, Margai, Chandrapur, Bhandara, Bhandari etc.

Culture

Language

Halba speak

which is mixed language of

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 * * ...

and

Odia language Odia (, ISO: , ; formerly rendered Oriya ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha (formerly rendered Orissa), where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also ...

Cuisine

Although Halba are primarily agricultural community. Halba are also professional weaver. Many became jobless when modern powerlooms methods came in 1970s. Then, many started selling their foods which have become quite famous in Nagpur city. Their traditional food is known as Saoji which includes Sundari, Tari Pohe, Wada Bhat, Pithla Bhakar, Jhunka Bhakar, Sabudanawada, Saoji Chicken, Patwadi Rassa, Khur Saoji, Mutton Saoji, and Kothmirwadi.

Religion

The patron deity of Halba is Mata Mai. The

Danteshwari Temple Danteshwari Temple is temple dedicated to Goddess Danteshwari, and is one of the 52 Shakti Peethas, shrines of Shakti, the divine feminine, spread across India. The temple built in the 14th century, is situated in Dantewada, a town situated 80&nbs ...

was established by Chalukya king in 14th century in

Bastar district Bastar is a district in the state of Chhattisgarh in Central India. Jagdalpur is the district headquarters. Bastar is bounded on the northwest by Narayanpur District, on the north by Kondagaon district, on the east by Nabarangpur and Koraput Di ...

. They also worship other deities including Maili mata, Gusain-Pusain, Budhadeo, Kunwardeo.

References

Indian castes Ethnic groups in India Social groups of Maharashtra Tribal communities of Maharashtra Social groups of Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Tribes of India Ethnic groups in Chhattisgarh {{india-ethno-stub