Folk Songs of Birhor Tribe of Umariya Dadar, Chhattisgarh: An Anthropological Study

Corresponding Author: Subal Das, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology & Tribal Development, Studies, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India, Email dsubalvu@gmail.com

KEYWORDS PVTGS, Folklore, Culture, Tribe, Adivasi.

ABSTRACT
Introduction: Birhor is one of the particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Chhattisgarh, which is vulnerable to its population and is near extinction due to its traditional and less advanced culture. The present study attempts to document the folklore and folk art of the Birhor community. 
Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in Koilaripara (hamlet) of Umarriya Dadar of Kota block of Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh. The data were collected through interviews with the villagers. The primary data was supplemented with secondary sources like books, research papers, etc.
Result: The songs of the Birhor may broadly be categorised into four major types. These are the songs sung during work, marriage, religious, and related to other activities, rituals, etc. There has been a significant impact of acculturation on their cultural pattern and beliefs; however, their original tradition is still maintained.
Conclusion: The data and information on folklore from indigenous communities in our country are still very scant. It is time to think seriously about protecting the culture of such vulnerable communities concerning their population and culture.

Aafreen Siddiqui¹; Priyanka¹, Kunal Kashyap¹, Subal Das*², Kaushik Bose³

¹Ph.D Scholar, Department of Anthropology & Tribal Development, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India
²Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology & Tribal Development, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India
³Professor, Department of Anthropology, Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India

DOI-DS: 10.2025-45659183
DOI Link :: https://doi-ds.org/doilink/10.2025-45659183/Frontier_Anthropology/2025/14/A1/AS

Frontier Anthropology, 2025, 14: 1-4
©Anthropological Society of Manipur

Brief Article

Manuscript Timeline
Submitted: February 28, 2025
Accepted: September 14, 2025
Published: November 22, 2025