Society and Culture of Uttarakhand - An Analysis :

Society  :

At different points of time people from different parts of the world came and got assimilated with the original inhabitants and created a sort of socio-cultural cauldron. The society of Uttarakhand is an outcome of a long process of migration to the Himalayan region from almost all directions, shaping its social diversity. Many known and unknown cultures and societies, such as the Kol (related to the munda ethnic group), Kirat, (Mangoloid), Khash, Shak, Dravidians, Aryans and Hun etc have made an invaluable contribution to the formation of the society. Their present representatives in this region are, the Shaukas (Bhotiya), the Vanrot or the Raji, the Tharu, the Bhuksa, the Kol or Shilpkar, the Khash and several other groups which came during medieval period. It is argued that the Kunindas (3rd -2 nd century BCE) and Katyuris (6th to 8th Century CE) were the early rulers of Uttarakhand.

The Khasa, the Nanda and Mauryas had also ruled over Uttarakhand before the advent of Katyuris. The Monkhmer words found in the local dialect show that the Monkhmer speaking people came to this region from south China, and these people entered the region through Himalayan corridors. It is also believed that rice technology was brought here by the same people and subsequently spread to the other parts of the world, as rice holds a high place in local rituals which shows its antiquity.

Culture  :

The culture of the people or community cannot be seen in isolation from the environment they subsist on, for it is the environment that shapes their mind and body, their subtle dreams and behaviour patterns, their proclivities and their aversions, and in fact all that they come to build or nurture as culture, a civilisation or a knowledge system. In a broader context, the cultural aspects of Uttarakhand bear a strong imprint of the geo-ecological setting of the various environment types of the region .This region provides a mini-model for understanding the Indian civilisation processes. Through the millennia different tribes and people – Protoaustroloids, Mundas, Kiratas, Mongoloids, Indo-Aryans, Khasas, Sakas and others - have been pouring into this cultural melting pot and leaving their signatures and producing a mosaic of cultures, which got integrated in the course of time. For long years this region of Central Himalaya was considered a cul-desac. But now it is becoming clear that this region has provided a matrix for cultural interactions.

Uttarakhand is referred to as the Dev-Bhoomi or the land of gods. Since historical times it has prided itself as a place of Sanskritic learning and the custodian of faith. The lives of the people in Uttarakhand though generally poor have always been steeped in religion and tradition. Their exposure to modern world till very recent times hovered around the verge of ignorance. Though casteism never did create much conflict in society, yet caste norms were very much in place and were stringently observed through the life processes. Through history, the natives and the people who came to inhabit the difficult terrains of Uttarakhand developed a cultural life style that was characteristic of their innocence.

Everyone had to strive hard to survive in the hostile physical environment. Therefore, the culture, the little tradition that evolved through the knowledge of the ambient environment in the absence of any centralised domineering political authority was based on belief in god, hard work, honesty, sharing, cooperation, compassion, humour and a sense of contentment.

 Hurkia-Bol, the practice of cooperative work of the villagers on the agricultural fields of different households, one after the other, during the season of paddy cultivation in the Someshwar Valley or the Chaukhutia Valley is one good example in this regard. In Uttarakhand, cultural areas are generally defined by river valleys, and watersheds in general represent boundaries between different areas. In a broader context, the cultural aspects of Uttarakhand bear a strong imprint of the geo-ecological setting of the various environment types of the region. Throughout the length and breadth of the area, the influences of geographic environment are reflected in the distribution and density of population as also the variability in the types of settlement and the building material used .

The Uttarakhand Himalaya, being situated centrally in the long sweep of the Himalayan range, forms a transitional zone between the hyper humid Eastern and the rather dry to sub-humid Western Himalaya. The environment of the Himalayan region has influenced the cultural patterns of the communities living in its proximity in a unique way.