Ancient Tribes of Uttarakhand :

Tribes of Uttarakhand mainly comprise five major groups namely Jaunsari tribe, Tharu tribe, Raji tribe, Buksa tribe and Bhotiyas. In terms of population Jaunsari tribe is the largest tribal group of the state. Tribes of Uttarakhand represent the ethnic groups residing in the state. Every district of Uttarakhand has more or less a moderate percentage of tribal population. In the state of Uttarakhand, the main concentration of tribal population is in the rural areas. As per records, around 94.50 percent of total tribal population resides in rural areas and the remaining percentage of tribal population lives in urban centers. It is said that officially Uttarakhand is the home of around five tribes. These tribes of Uttarakhand have been scheduled in the Constitution of India. Historical records suggest that the tribes of Uttarakhand are earliest settlers of this region of North India. In the past, their main concentrations were confined to remote hilly and forested areas.

1. Hill Tribes: Jaunsari, Bhotia and Raji,

 2. Tarai Tribes: Tharu and Buksa

A brief description of the above mentioned tribes is given as follows:

1. The Hill Tribes :

Jaunsari: Jaunsaris are a Central Himalaya tribe. Jaunsaris claim themselves as the descendents of Pandava of Mahabharat. They inhibit Jaunsar-Bawar (Upper Dehra Dun district) and Rawain (present day Uttarkashi) are distinct from their Garhwali neighbours in their style of dress and unique cultural practices in Uttarakhand and Purola region of Uttar Pradesh. As a collection of smaller tribes, Jaunsari society is caste stratified with the indigenous Koltas as the main service caste and Khasa Brahmins and Rajputs as the main cultivators.

The Jaunsaris are well known to be one of the few polyandrous societies in the world, although this practice is receding into history. Marriage and sexual mores also tend to be more liberal, with women enjoying greater freedom to choose and divorce. Jaunsaris are also famous for their colorful clothes and festivals . They speak Jaunsari among themselves and their common language of communication is Hindi. Jaunsaris are known to be Hindu but they do not worship Hindu Gods. They have their own God, the principal one being Mahasu .

Economy and Agriculture :The Jaunsaris are basically an agricultural cum pastoral community. Its economy has been based on a crude type of cultivation and animal husbandry. With the introduction of education and other welfare measures by the Government, the traditional economic system is transforming gradually and their dependence on agriculture and animal husbandry is decreasing day by day. Yet the remote rural areas of Jaunsar-Bawar still follow their traditional pattern of subsistence. They extract wool from the sheep and manufacture woolen stuffs for their own use. The secondary occupations of Jaunsaris are labour, business, service etc. The traditional craft of Jaunsaris is weaving. A cooperative system is followed in agricultural and other social activities and religious functions.They have their own folk culture and traditions.

Bhotia : Bhotias, a Mongoloid ethnic community, traditionally lived in the high Himalayan region, close to the Tibetan border. The term Bhotia comes from "Bo" which is the native Tibetan word for Tibet. In the winter, they migrate to southern climes, although recently, many have begun settling permanently in the mid-Himalayas. Bhotias are subdivided into three main categories: The Jadhs of Uttarkashi, the Marchas (once mainly traders) and Tolchas (farmers) of Chamoli, and the Shaukas of Pithoragarh (near Dharchula). Apart from cultural differences, the three Bhotia groups resemble one another in their distinctive Tibetan-like physical appearance. Furthermore, the Jadhs are followers of Buddhism and the Shaukas hold to their own Hindu Buddhist faith, although both rely on Lamas to conduct ceremonies and rituals.

Trade has been the mainstay of the Bhotia economy. This community is known as the international traders’ community who used to perform their trades between China (Tibet) and India. The Bhotia is an agricultural cum pastoral community. Weaving of woolen yarn and making woolen stuffs like carpet, blanket, sweater and also their traditional costumes have been the specialty of the Bhotias . This art is handed over to the daughter by her mother. They rear goats and sheep which have multipurpose uses in Bhotia community. They can get raw wool and meat from the goat and sheep and also use them as transport animals. They also rear yaks. The staple food of the Bhotia consists of millets, potatoes, barely, rice and wheat. They are very fond of eating rice. All Bhotia are fond of drinking liquor, both fermented and distilled. There is hardly any socioreligious ceremony in which liquor is not used .They also smoke beedis, tobacco and cigarettes. All Bhotia groups are multi-lingual. They can speak Tibetan, Kumaoni, Garhwali and Hindi.

Raji : Rajis are a primitive and numerically very small tribal community in northern India with a very meager material culture and crude form of technology13 . They have been recognized as one of the primitive group among the 75 groups declared by the government of India. The Rajis, socially and economically, are the most underdeveloped tribal community of the region. They were recognized as a scheduled tribe in 1967 and as a primitive tribe in 1975 by the government of India. They are also described as Van - Rawat (King of forest), Van- Raji (Royal people of forest) or Van – Manush (Wild man or man of forest), who claim themselves to be Rajputs and the original inhabitants of Central Himalaya, though anthropologically they belong to TibetoBurman family and until recently they were a community of nomadic hunters and gatherers. Land and forests are the primary economic resources of the Raji. At present they are engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, tailoring and some other occupations. Their traditional occupation of hunting and gathering now occupies a secondary position. Many of them work as agricultural or forest labourers.

The Rajis have been a community of food gatherers, small game trappers, cultivators and labour etc. but still they depend on forest produce. The cereal crops grown by them are of very poor quality and yield is also very low. Rajis are famous for making wooden bowls and agricultural tools. They were once famous for the barter trade of wooden bowls with cereals, edibles, clothes etc. This system has now almost vanished due to non availability of Genthi wood.

The Rajis have their own dialect which is quite different from that of neighbouring tribal and non-tribal communities. However, they can speak and interact in Kumauni-Pahari dialect as well as in broken Hindi language. Their marriage rites are simple, without Brahmin or priest. With the acceleration of development and communication with the outside world, the Raji have struggled to maintain a way of life they greatly value. Onerous forest laws have also made life difficult.

2. The Tarai Tribes :

Tharu :Tharu is a dominant tribe of the state. The major concentration of the Tharu tribal population has been observed in the Tarai region of both states. There are many beliefs about their original habitats. Some believe that Tarai is not original home of Tharus but the Thar desert of Rajasthan as the name suggests . They claim themselves to be the descendants of Ranas of Chittor. Agriculture is the main occupation of the Tharus and they grow rice, maize, wheat, barley, lentil, peas, potatoes, sugarcane and mustard as their main crops. Vegetables, tobacco and bananas are grown in kitchen gardens along with chilies and spices. Tharu society is patriarchal. In spite of patriarchic system the women have a dominant role. They have respectable position in the family and have a full authority to run the house freely. Tharus prefer joint family system especially among the families holding big lands. Tharu have strong traditional panchayat organization to settle their disputes on the basis of a common code of conduct. Widow re-marriage is also permissible.

Buksa : A major primitive tribe of Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand state appear to posses the minimum socio- cultural diversity  witnessed in any tribal group.

The tribes of Uttarakhand have retained their age old traditional ways of living. They represent the distinctive culture and traits of a primitive life. Their traditional norms and socio-cultural practices determine their ethnicity. Officially Uttarakhand is home to as many as five tribes which have been scheduled in the Constitution of India, more than four decades back in 1967.