DDK HistoryF.p65 - CSIR

26 TRIBAL SOCIETY IN UNDEVELOPED AREAS [2.3
The most striking feature of primitive life is its immense variety in
details. Every group has its own distinct language sometimes spoken by
no more than a few dozen families. There are no words for general
ideas. There may be no word for ‘animal ’ though each type that is to
be distinguished (say by colour) in the group’s special animal has its
own distinct name. Thus, the exchange-kinship relation not only increases
the food supply but improves the language and enlarges the mental
horizon of the coalescent groups. Finally, there is a genetic advantage
in the exogamous marriage relationship between two highly inbred
clans, in that the offspring usually turn out to be more vigorous, mentally
and physically than either parent group. This is well known to
geneticists as ‘ hybrid vigour’.
2.3. There are still, in India, visible remnants of tribal society
which seem most impressive — to casual observers — only in marginal,
undeveloped areas. The little province of Assam has not less than 175
languages and dialects; each spoken by a small tribal group which also
preserves its own customs and structure. Some of these, like the
Nagas, Abors, Garos, have been studied by ethnographers. A few
have begun to demand the right of self-determination. Some practise
headhunting, others combine the pastoral life with small agriculture, a
goodly number have drifted into the casual-labour market. In the
jungle belts of central and coastal India, down to the Nilgiris and
Malabar, are to be found other tribal remnants : Munda, Oraon, Bhil,
Todas, Kadar. All of these are now peaceful; the few occasionally
turbulent on^s like the Santals and Bhils were ground down long ago by
superior armament; all are primitive. What has fossilized them is refusal of
each tiny splinter to take to regular food production; to acknowledge and
utilize the productive systems of encircling society. They cling desperately
to primitive outward forms of the superstructure as well as to the foodgathering
basis, for their superstitions weld them together to the old
life. Yet it is not only in these deeply forested portions of India that
the mark of tribal society is found. In every locality, even in the
neighbourhood of well-developed modern cities, one finds little bands of