Know About These Indigenous Mountain Communities of India

Whether it's the majestic ranges of the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, or the Eastern Highlands, India’s mountain communities safeguard the beauty, nature, and elements of these elevated areas. They are often isolated from the urban population to preserve their culture, language, and lifestyle while carrying on farming practices in the tough mountain terrain, ensuring that resources are best used. India, having the second-largest tribal population in the world, has groups that specifically live in the hilly and mountainous areas. Here is a list of a few of these communities.

Dongria Kondh - Odisha

The Dongria Kondh are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) of people who have lived in the Niyamgiri hills of Odisha for a long time. These tribes worship the mountain god Niyam Raja, and they believe they are the royal descendants of the god. The tribe is an expert in farming and has a vast knowledge of the forests, plants, and wildlife.

Bakrawals -  Jammu and Kashmir 

Bakrawals, as the name suggests, are goat herders from the Jammu and Kashmir region of India. They are pastoral communities that seasonally migrate to different pastures to find grassland for their livestock. They spend the summers in Kashmir and return to Jammu for the winters. They are on the list of Scheduled Tribes.

Gujjars -  Jammu and Kashmir 

Gujjars are another mountain tribe from the Jammu and Kashmir region. They originated in Jammu and Kashmir and spread across the Himalayas in search of meadows and forests for their water buffaloes. They are now found in some regions of Uttar Pradesh as well. This tribe is also considered a 'Scheduled Tribe' in Himachal Pradesh.

Bhutia - Sikkim, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong

The Butia tribe lives in the hilly terrain with high altitudes, cold climate, high rainfall, moderate snowfall, and high humidity in areas of Sikkim, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong in West Bengal. This tribe has retained aspects of Tibetan culture while adopting elements of Hindu culture and practices terrace farming in these hilly areas. They stay in a special rectangular house called a ‘Khim’ in these regions.

Khasi - Meghalaya

Deriving their name from the region they live in, the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, these tribes are part of the indigenous mountain community. What makes this tribe different from others is their ‘matrilineal system’, meaning the leaders are chosen from the female line and inheritance passes from mother to younger daughter. They speak the Khasi language and practice rice cultivation in valley bottoms and terrace gardens.

Munda - Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal

The Munda are mainly found in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region of Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. They are one of India's largest Scheduled Tribes and practice agriculture in these areas. They are scattered across parts of Madhya Pradesh and Tripura, where they are known as Mudas and Mura, respectively. They speak the Mundari language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages.

Toto - West Bengal 

The Toto are a primitive and isolated tribal group residing only in a small enclave called Totopara in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. The place is located at the foot of the Himalayas, making it a small and secluded mountain community. They are often described as ‘a vanishing tribe’ on the verge of extinction. The tribe speaks the Toto language and has a unique culture; they are divided into 13 exogamous clans, from which they choose marriage partners, and do not practice dowry.

Chenchus - Andhra Pradesh

The Chenchus are one of the aboriginal tribes of Andhra Pradesh. They are mostly confined to foothills and low-lying areas of the Amarbad Plateau and Nallamalai hills. They are food gatherers and mostly speak Telugu.

Kodaba - Karnataka

Kodaba, or Kodava, is a tribe living in the Kodagu district of Karnataka, which lies in the Western Ghats. The Kodava language-speaking tribe practices agriculture on their own land. They follow the principle of a patrilineal society, where kinship and lineage are determined by the male line of relatives, rather than the female line—a society completely opposite to that of the Khasis of Meghalaya.