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....?
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