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Indian Tribal Society - the building blocks of Indian society
Indigenous Indian or adivasi tribal clans were the original building blocks of the castes or caste-clusters. Every aspect of the caste system, with the obvious exceptions of absence of hierarchy and of sexual inequality is found in the true tribal society.
These aspects include totemism cum gotras or clan names, endogamy, exogamy, resource sharing, pollution taboos, marriage rules, craft specialisation, deities etc. and all of these are to be found in the true tribal societies. Colonial writers classifying castes for bureaucratic purposes often wrote "Tribes and Castes" in the title of their works. Generally speaking the 'lower' the caste the more near it is to the tribal society.
The above is not simply a conjecture. There is compelling genetic evidence for a tribal origin of the lower caste populations in the subcontinent.
The process of tribal clans turning into castes is often termed Sanskritisation or more recently saffronisation in modern times. But this is a misnomer. The true description is Aryanisation in pre-history and Brahminisation in medieval and modern times. In North East India one can see the tribes forming into castes in front of ones very eyes. Tribal India has contributed a great deal to the mainstream Indian society; so much so that there is hardly an aspect of the mainstream society which is free from tribal contributions. Examples include medicine, music, hospitality, gods many others. The interaction between the tribal and the mainstream society has always been a two way affair.
This contribution is denied by the Hindutva writers by referring to the Adivasis by the use of demeaning and insulting term vanvasis or dwellers of the jungle.
Sources: The Speaking Tree - A Study of Indian Culture and Society by Richard Lannoy - Oxford Univeristy Press 1971
The Tribal Culture of India by L P Vidyarthi and Binay Kumar Rai - Concept Publishing New Delhi 1985.
From Tribe to Caste by Dev Nathan - Indian Institute of Advanced Study 1991
