Reli(so spelt as Relli, Relly, Raily, Raj, Pilenti) are an

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

, who reside in

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and

Odisha 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 ...

Demographics

The Reli people are mainly distributed in coastal districts, such as

Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census,. it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaa ...

Vizianagaram Vizianagaram is a city and the headquarters of Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is central Eastern Ghats, about west of the Bay of Bengal and north-northeast of Visakhapatnam. The city has a population of 228,02 ...

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

, East Godavari, West Godavari,

Guntur Guntur () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Guntur is spread across 168.49 km square and is the third-largest city in the state. It is situated to the west of the Ba ...

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the List of cities in ...

, Prakasam, Chittoor and

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

of Andhra Pradesh, Jagdalpur of Chhattisgarh and the Koraput, Nabarangpur and

Rayagada Rayagada is a municipality in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of Rayagada district. History The city of Rayagada was founded by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati (1527-1531 CE) of the Suryavan ...

of Odisha. According to the 2001 Census their population is 121,058 in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, 37 in Chhattisgarh and 8,357 in

respectively.

Occupation

The primary occupation of the Relli people in Andhra Pradesh is the collection and sale of fruits, seeds and grass. A few are in government service while the Reli of Odisha and Chhattisgarh trade in salt, rice, vegetables, goats, hens on a small scale. Agriculture is also pursued. They are listed as

Scheduled Castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

Language

Reli people speak

Reli language Reli, or Relli, is a language spoken primarily by the Reli people of Eastern and Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian s ...

(Odia in Odisha) as their

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

and some words of it are close to Odia. The Reli people speak

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

language in Andhra Pradesh, when conversing with outsiders. The Reli people speak Hindi language in Chhattisgarh. The 2001 Census stated that there were 21,238 speakers of the

in Andhra Pradesh, 37 in Chhattisgarh and 4014 in Odisha. Further breakdown to the district level is as follows (2001 Census): Vizianagaram (AP) 7,893; Visakhapatnam (AP) 4,301; East Godavari (AP) 3,079; Krishna (AP) 3,085; Srikakulam (AP) 1,796; Guntur (AP) 597, Koraput (OD) 1607; Rayagada (OD) 907 and Nabarangpur (OD) 1500, in Odisha, Jagdalpur (CG) 37 , in Chhattisgarh.

References

* 2001 Census of India. Scheduled Caste http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/SCCRC_28.pdf (01- Feb-09) * Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: * People of India http://fttkorea.net/docu/ftt57aap.pdf (01-Feb-09) * Singh, K.S. 2003. People of India: Andhra Pradesh Vol13 Part 3. Delhi: Anthropological Survey of India and Affiliated east-west press pvt. ltd. * Singh, K.S. 1993. People of India National Series. Volume 2. The Scheduled Caste. Delhi: Anthropological Survey of India and Oxford University Survey of India. * Chenna Sanyasi Rao, Relli Charita, "రెల్లి చెరిత" (History of Rellis), Published by Dharma Trust, Visakhapatnam, 1999. Distributors: Visalandhra Publishing House, Hyderabad. * Chenna Sanyasi Rao, Vuravatala Suriedu, "ఊరవతల సూరీడు" ( "Sun on the other side of the village), Anthology of Poems. Published by, Progressive Writers Association, Visakhapatnam, 2000. Distributors: Visalandhra Publishing House, Hyderabad. * Mangalagiri Prasada Rao, "Dalitullo Dalitulu", "దళితుల్లో దళితులు" (the wretched among the wretched), Published by Sri Mangalagiri Siriyallu Mater Seva Trust, Visakhapatnam, 2012. {{authority control Ethnic groups in Odisha Ethnic groups in Andhra Pradesh

Demographics

Occupation

Language

References

Further reading