Halba (tribe)
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Halba are a tribal community found in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra,
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 S ...
in
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 mutuall ...
. 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 Robert Vane Russell (8 August 1873 – 30 December 1915) was a British civil servant, known for his role as Superintendent of Ethnography for what was then the Central Provinces of British India, coordinating the production of publications deta ...
, 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 dynasty ...
, 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 ...
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 South ...
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
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 mutuall ...
which is mixed language of Marathi 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 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 Kora ...
. 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