BHIL BHAGORIA

INTERNATIONALLY RENOUNED TRIBAL FESTIVAL OF LOVE, ROMANCE AND ELOPEMENT

One has often heard and seen the scenes of love, romance and even elopement among the youth of the modern societies of western world. But what the Bhils the largest and the former ruling tribe of ancient India has been doing until today, is not only fashionable for the youth of today, but socially and culturally a more progressive thought and behaviour. Than even as compared to the youth of America and Europe with no exaggeration. A weeklong festival of love, romance and elopement begins in the ancient Bhil Land around the ancient city of Bhagor in the present district of Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh. Bhagor the ancient city of Bhagor region of the Bhils, had been the city of Bhagor Bhil, a name very common even today among the Bhils of Western India. The Bhils of Western India, inhabiting from the prehistoric times around the ancient city of Bhagor are called Bhagoria Bhils. One of the anciet folk saying among the Bhils of Bhagoria says, ' Bhagi bhagor vahi Ratalam ane Indore.' (Only after the dismantling of the city of Bhagor, the present day cities of Ratlam and Indore were inhabited).

A German speaking cultural anthropologist from Vienna, Austria Dr. Hermann Matthias has written a massive volume in German language, on the origin, history, culture and the folklore of the Bhils of Bhagor region called Bhagoria Bhils. In fact the Bhils had a great culture of their own, who after the coming in contact with Aryans, Muslims, Rajputs, Labhhanas, Marathas and others suffered massive regression; memories of the ancient and the past glorious old days of the Bhils are still prevalent in their oral tradition. What the western youth from the modernised societies including India are doing today, in the matters of sex and ethical practices or morality, the Bhils always practised with no feelings of guilt and inhibition. The guilt and inhibition came to the Bhil regions with the sensitisation which adulterated the tribe today.

The Bhagoria festival is actually begins in the region of Bhagor on the last weekly market of the place, prior to the Hindu festival of Holi which the Bhils also celebrate but in their own fashion. So this is a weeklong festival of love and romance not heart being celebrated with so much enthusiasm, glamour, cultural pride, love and romance. Only now a day’s one can see the police and administration has spoiled by unduly interfering in the inner matters of the bhil tribals, a breach in the human right matters of society, their cultural and social values. Jhabua-Alirajpur are the main centres of the great Bhagoria festival. In one day at least in 3 to 5 last weekly markets prior to Holi festival Bhagoria is celebrated in this great ancient festival of Bhagoria in the Bhil Land. In a day some 200 thousand to 500 thousand Bhil youth or more with the elderly people will be drinking and dancing, singing, playing, music, romancing, loving, eloping, and making merry, which is the customary tribal right of the Bhils and it is conventional or unwritten law of the tribal youth select their of their liking and and elope with the clear intention to be future husband and wife. Parents of such partners come together mutually with the members of the clan, lineage, bilaterally and settle the matter amicably. But the administration and police has respected the tribe and their customary laws especially of Bhil folk or conventional marriage and make the matter worse by making cases punishable according to their norms disrespecting the tribal’s.

On this day the police should restrain and respect the tribe. Not disrespect and violate their human, marriage, social and cultural rights granted to them by their own societies. It is a great honour for the tribe to celebrate, sing, make merry in their badly placed social conditions of oppression, exploitation, to rejuvenate their lost psychic energies for recuperation to further face the hardships of life. Will the non tribals respect the folk festivals of Adivasi India in socially and culturally conditioned perspectives in an honourable way....?

SEO By Black Soft

KOTTHI OF MALHING KATTARA

Malhing Kattara is an indigenous Bhil, social worker, social analyst and social activist from the Bhil dominated District of Jhabua, MP, India. There are over 70 social work organisations claiming to serve the Bhils under the pretension of social work with negligible results over decades or one century. More than 90% of these bogus NGOs who are often unchecked, in the districts of Jhabua - Alirajpur have made a prosperous business out of these the social works. Most of them are non tribals, do not know their language and culture, nor they have love for the Bhils due to their prejudices towards the tribal way of life, language, culture, geographical setting, facilities in this geographical region of the Bhils but love to remain willingly and joyfully under the difficult conditions, due to the easily availability for tribal funds, in the name of tribal development, since there can help themselves because there is no transparency, local participation, social accountability, right to information’s, etc. Hence they are thriving on the tribal developmental funds achieving nothing over the years and decades. Malhing is uniquely exceptional among them developing some of the indigenous approaches to the tribal development of the Bhils under the influence of adivasikaran of Mahipal Bhuriya.

Kotthi is an earthen vessel indigenously made by moulding mud for storing grain and other agricultural products by the Bhils other tribes of western India. Malhing Kattara takes very appropriately the symbol of Kotthi for the sustainable development and under the basic concepts of Adivasikaran of M. Bhuriya. He develops some of the concepts of development around it in the context of self-help, indigenous forms of organic fertilizers, irrigation, social justice, utilisation of local artifacts, language, music, orchestra, food-items, clothes, fruits, accumulation of agricultural products for the difficult time, local alcohol and its use in modest way, which is healthier and in purer form than the western brands or brought from outside of tribal habitats, logical reasoning, and so on. Malhing Kattara is one of the social workers in the district of Jhabua applying adivasikaran for the sustainable development and finding encouraging results.

Malhing Kattara is the most successful social worker. Yjis enthusiastic young man is not only social worker, social activist, social analyst, but a singer, Bhil mandal player, dancer, folklorist, singer, folk-writer, poet, writer, editor of Samanvaya Magazine and so.

Website By Web30Application

CONGRESS CANDIDATE XAVIER MEDA WON FROM JHABUA

Xavier Meda the youth Congress President of the Bhil dominated district of Jhabua, MP, India won with huge majority defeating his many nearest rivals both from Congress and BP parties. Among many Congress expectant candidates and few deserving ones, Xavier Meda too put up his candidacy in opposition to a Congress leader Madam Kalawati Bhuriya the Congress President of the same district. Till the last moment nothing was sure as to whom the party's top leaders would award the seat for the contesting of election. In the last moment the Congress Party High Command favoured Xavier Meda against Kalawati Bhuriya. This was a crucial moment for Lalawati Bhuriya and her uncle who is also a Congress leader and sitting Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) besides being s state minister for agriculture of Government of India. Since it turned out to be an emotional and prestige issue for the Congress leaders and the party workers in the district of Jhabua especially in the Jhabua constituency of the assembly elections, it was feared that the opposition party candidate Mr. Pavesingh Pargi the sitting MLA of the BJP would win. Beisides there was a controversy being spread and was being strongly feared that Xavier being a Catholic from Anthonpur Parish of a Bhil Catholic Diocese of Jhabua, the vested interest people were strongly advocating the voters to choose between Rome Rajor Rama Raj. The local Christians feared that if Xavier failed it was end of their happy and peaceful period. Hence many withdrew from the active participation in support of the Congress candidate fearing that if at all he lost what would happen to the Christians both Catholics, Protestants including the members of Free Churches. Adding to these many rumours and controversies, in the midst of all these Mr. Rahul Gandhi too appeared one fine day to appeal the voters in the MP state assembly constituency of Jhabua.

Many Hindus of good standing, senior lawyers, intellectuals, media persons, youth, sarpanches, government workers, and Hindu voters from the town of Jhabua favoured in Xavier Meda an honest, simple and genuine person who served and works for Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jains and Adivasis equally. From the Districts of Jhabua - Alirajpur about of five , four Congress candidates have won, but the state assembly of Madhya Pradesh has BJP majority due to the good administration of the former chief minister Mr. Shivraj Chauhan.

SEO BY Black Soft