A matriarchal society outside of Kerala

Those who live in urban areas, rural settings, and tribal villages – India is largely made up of these three communities. Jamkhed is squarely in the rural setting but across Maharashtra state exist pockets of tribals who have congregated in hills and mountainous regions. While in Gadchiroli in early December, I had the opportunity to visit a tribal village with SEARCH India, learning about the very unique community and their traditions, in addition to the difficult work done by partnering NGOs.

The tribals in India are comprised of the groups declared as tribals by order of the president. The essential characteristics to be identified as a scheduled tribe are: primitive traits, distinctive culture, shyness of public interaction, geographical isolation, and backwardness, both social and economic. In 1991, the tribal population was estimated at 68 million, 8% of total population.

“Do not tell them you are American,” I was warned before exiting the bus into the village. “What should I tell them?” I asked. “Just tell them you are from Jamkhed.” From the beginning, the tribal area looked and felt differently from all the other rural villages I had visited, most prominently by the use of bamboo everywhere – building houses, serving as storage facilities, and as a fence around sheds and the village – anything to protect from tigers and panthers entering from the jungle. The tribal village was a part of the Madiya tribe, a tribe connected with the Naxalite community, a militant group of civilians in central India fighting the police and government for their rights and an independent state.

Tribals are matriarchal where the woman is respected above the man, a rare trait in Indian society. The praise for women seen throughout their beliefs (husband to wife dowry, female politicians, praising of goddesses) was most prominently showcased in two unique traditions. The kurma house is an external hut located in the village where women live for 4-6 days during menstruation. I have seen similar huts where women are kicked out of the house or forced to stay in only one room during menstruation because of its associated dirtiness and contamination. However, the intention of the kurma house was much different. Here, five to six women at a time stayed together to talk, rest, eat, sleep and abstain from work in order to regain energy and strength during this emotional time. In the home, the man would cook the food and bring it to her, take care of the kids, clean the house, and feed the animals.

The second tradition is that of the gotul, a community center located in the village center. Once or twice a year, usually once the harvest is finished, the gotul is set as a social event to bring together boys and girls to dance, sing, drink and socialize. During the event, a courting process initiated over the previous couple months is now cemented, as the interested couple will spend the night together, either going into the jungle or in a neighboring hut to be with each other. After the gotul, the female goes to live with the boy and his family in his house for six to twelve months, evaluating whether the boy and his family are a good fit for her. If so, then the marriage will take place. If not, then she will thank them and give a gift, and the courting process will begin again. As different as it may be, problems rarely arise. If the couple sleeps together post-gotul, it is always consensual (entrusted in the matriarchal society) and there has been little to no history of rape or abuse. If it creates a pregnancy, then the couple is highly encouraged to marry. If on the rare occasion that they do not, then the village will come together to decide who will care for the baby.

The gotul also serves as the center for teaching and tradition, where the history and culture of the tribe is passed down from generation to generation. Every father will take their son into the gotul and share with him the tribal traditions and beliefs. Yet it is all done by word of mouth, as there are no writings and all history is passed down through stories, songs and dance.

During my limited stay, I became very impressed with the ability of the tribals to maintain their unique tradition in a country that is very opposite in many ways. Tribals seem to get a bad rap in India because they are mountainous, segregated from urban life and shy in nature, yet my experience was very positive. The strong sense of belief and tradition has drawbacks, especially since a major part of their resources are used for ritual purposes rather than economic activities, such as in health. The literacy rate of scheduled tribes is around 29.6% against the national average of 52%. More than three quarters of scheduled tribes women are illiterate. In the Madiya community I visited, the three major health concerns were malaria, diarrhea and back ache – malaria due to the large amount of standing water in the open drains, paddy fields and jungle; diarrhea due to the unclean wells and poor sanitation; and back ache due to the constant bending required in farming.

Both SEARCH and CRHP have been working with tribals for years in health and social development. Their work with tribals has been understated by a recognition that education of the villagers needs to take place without stepping on long- and deeply-held traditions. In addition to dealing with disease, social barriers have been addressed, including access to government programs, increasing the rate of (higher) education, and in many cases working with government forest policy and conservation efforts that have divested tribals off almost all their rights in the forest.