THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY September 26, 1964

Economy of a Tribal Village

G S Aurora
In the traditional Adivasi economic system studied here there is little likelihood of endogenous change. In
this system the 'outsider' commercial element and the indigenous social institutions support each other to maintain
the stagnant equilibrium of the economy.
Any force which could disturb this equilibrium, therefore, has to come from outside.
[ The author is grateful to Shri H S Azariah, Director, Agro-Economic Research Centre, Gwalior, for permission to
draw upon research conducted by the author under the auspices of the Research Centre.]

agents a certain amount of fertiliser

THEsituated
tribal village of
nearly nine
Bamanta is
miles from
members of the family working on it.
On the farm are produced various is purchased and some fruit trees
Alirajpur, an erstwhile Rajput 'native' crops and other things needed by the planted. The principal items of invest-
state in the extreme northwestern cor- family, the farm and for sale and ex- ment were wells and houses—both of
ner of Madhya Pradesh. The village is change. Farms vary between six and which were heavily subsidised by the
located in a sub-mountainous country. sixty acres and the family house also block authorities. If we ignore, for the
The cultivated land varies from gra- includes a cattle shed and storage time being, income from the invest-
velly to sandy loam. Except in some space. Some of the farms (20 to be ments made at the initiative and prod-
lower valleys, the land is generally precise) also have irrigation wells. ding of the block development authori-
shallow and full of rocks. Most of the Farms, other than those that have ties then we see that the farmers pro-
land is sub-marginal and good for only wells, have singularly similar econo- duce just sufficient for their own con-
the crudest cereal and pulse crops mies despite variations in their size. sumption. For their requirements of
such as minor millets (sanwni, bhadhi) Although there is a certain amount of cash, however, they grow groundnuts
and kulthia. The most valuable piece economic interdependence between and chillies in small quantities. This
of land is located around a farmer's farmers, especially during the "peak crop is not used for consumption but
house. This is where he grows maize. seasons'' yet, each farm is a fairly self- is almost entirely for sale. With the
The Adivasi pours most of his com- sufficient unit for most of the year. cash obtained from it the land revenue
post and fertilisers into this plot of In the main the exchange transactions is paid and some other marketing done.
land. Usually the houses are built on of the villagers take place with the Hand to Mouth Existence
higher ground so that the maize field shopkeepers of Alirajpur, nine miles
surrounding it can be watched from away. The total amounts involved in A corollary to the "subsistence eco-
the house itself when the crop is stand- these exchanges are, however, rela- nomy" is the close dependence of the
ing. The uneven nature of the topo- tively small. One of the important levels of income and consumption on
graphy and the danger of casual thieves characteristics of the exchange trans- the vagaries of nature. Unlike the peo
discourages clustered residential loca- actions is that the Adivasi often sells ple in the plains the Adivasi farmer
lities. agricultural commodities which could and his family do not have a steady
supply his important nutritional needs. level of living. Some seasons are seasons
Self-Sufficient Economy For example he sells poultry, goats, of plenty and the others of abject hun-
eggs, vegetables, and even pulses and ger and poverty. The perriod beginn-
The overwhelming majority of the
cereals after harvest, to receive in re- ing with the kharif harvest in Septem-
people in Alirajpur are Adivasis, con- ber to nearly a month after the Rabi
sisting by and large of Bhil, Bhilala, turn commodities such as clothes and
kerosene oil. harvest (April) is one of relative pros-
Kotwal and Patlia tribes. Bamanta is perity. But after the "Bhagorias''
a Bhilala village but of its fifty fami- (March) and the "holi" festivals (Ap-
lies three are Kotwals (or Balais). Rest Subsistence Farming
ril) the period of scarcity sets in. Even
of the families are, of course, Bhilalas. Closely connected with the high
all the months between September to
These tribes in the region are often degree of self-sufficiency of the family
April are not equally prosperous. As
referred to as jatis or castes but they and the village is the largely subsi-
each of the various kharif crops is
are in fact largely autonomous tribal stence economy. Throughout the sea-
harvested, the bulk of it is consumed.
communities even though they are sons, the people work to make iust
First to ripen, by the end of Septem-
ranked in a hierarchy of status with enough for their physical existence.
ber, is maize. This is the happiest
Bhilalas and Patlias being considered There is neither much saving nor in-
time for the Bhilalas, for the elegant
higher than Bhils and Balais (Kotwals), vestments to produce very large sur-
cob means food after comparatively
in that order. pluses. This, of course, does not mean
food-less days. Rabdi a cooked paste
that the Adivasi does not save or in-
Whereas the economy of the villages made with its flour is a great delicacy,
vest at all. In fact seeds for cereals and
of the plains are generally geared to and for days together they are able
pulses are closed in the bins after
the production of one or more major to eat it twice daily. Some maize is
threshing, not to be opened till the
commercial crops, the economy of stored not only for seed but also for
next sowing season. Again, ornaments
Bamanta is primarily oriented towards guests and special occasions. By the
purchased are also a kind of saving.
a high degree of self-sufficiency of the beginning of November other minor
When the Adivasi urgently needs some
village community. millets begin to be harvested. Sinai
money some of these find their way
juice is also extracted from date palms
The basic unit of Bamanta's econo- back to the shops of the goldsmiths.
about the same time.
my is the family farm. The farm is Some of the farmers also purchase
run under the direction of the head bullocks, chicken, goats, etc. Under As each crop comes up, bulk of it
of the household with all the capable the influence of the block development is gradually consumed; the level of
1557
 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY September 26, 1964

living therefore varies with the qua- k e t They are ultimately used to extract the pockets of the banias. Even the
lity and variety of crops being bar groundnut oil. It is interesting to note poorest of the tribals pays a share of
vested as also the products of the —as it not only symbolises the back- his staple produce to the bania by
various fruit, palm and mahuwa trees. wardness of the Adivasi economy, but selling during the harvest seasons maize,
also emphasises its status of an ex- dried mahuwa flowers and even some of
Use of Money ploited community—that the Adivasis the millets in order to pay his debts
Like most of the Adivasi societies nowhere process this commercial crop and meet monetary obligations.
Bhilalas too are less money conscious of theirs in their own villages. Their Indebtedness is closely connected
than the village communities in the needs of ground-nut cooking oil are with the social attitudes and cus
plains. But it would be a great mistake entirely met from purchase from the toms of the indigenes, and is a pot-
to think that the Adivasis are totally same market that absorbs their ground- ent factor responsible for their general-
ignorant of the workings of the money nut crops. So intimately is the cultiva- ly stagnant economy. What the Adiva-
economy. On the "hat-day" one finds tion of groundnuts connected with the
sis borrow for seeds is generally repaid
most Adivasis carrying bundles of market that the Adivasis do not store
after harvesting the crop. At the same
things ranging from dried mahuwa ground-nut seeds for the next sowing
time the earlier borrowings for consum-
flowers to chicken. These are sold to although in the case of all the cereal
ption are also repaid, but whatever is
Banias some of whom may be seen and pulse crops this frugal practice is
borrowed for marriage, very often, re-
with their way-side shops miles out- widely current. The Adivasi would ra-
mains a permanent loan which they
side the city to buy up the Adivasis ther purchase seeds on credit and after
keep repaying through a good part of
goods. The Adivasi sells for money the harvest return double the quantity
their working lives. Payment of "bride-
and with the money he purchases to the bania.
price" and a "lavish" feast on the mar-
small items of food and other use. riage are a must and no amount of
such as condiments, kerosene oil Perpetual Indebtedness
"economic talk" convinces the Adivasi
(gkas tel) and Khara (fried pakodas In the not too distant past the Adi- that these are pernicious in their effects
made from gram-flour and vegetables). vasi had extremely modest needs. He The words of an informant in this res-
A l l kinds of grains are sold by volume. still lives close to the earth. He wears pect are significant. "But if no money
Open mouthed cylindrical vessels very little, or did so at least till very is paid why will the bride's father give
(made of wood or brass) are the tra recently, and can manage to survive on his daughter?" The Adivasi's logic im-
ditional measures. They are of various whatever little the nature offers. How- plies a static view of his world. Things
sizes. The largest being the Choki. It ever, increasing contact with the town are as they are and have been the same
can hold nearly four seers of dried is beginning to change his needs. Much for ages; why will they change now?
maize seed. Other current measures of the surplus beyond his bare needs Simply because for some persons it may
are kangan, tuli, ticha and mulia, each for nutrition goes to the town so that be convenient otherwise? Moreover, the
¼th, ½th, l/16th and l/24th of t i n he can 'keep up with the Joneses' of ceremonies have social purposes, the
Choki respectively. Information was his society. Clothing, ornaments, social most important of which is the perio-
sought to be gathered from informants ceremonies and payments of his debts dical rejuvenation of community feel-
regarding knowledge about prevalent eat up a great deal of the money he ing. For example, marriage ceremonies
old and new weights and measures earns. are occasions when not only does the
and coinage systems. It is interesting Indebtedness is the greatest scourge whole village get together but also kin-
to note that whereas nearly 80 per of the Adivasi economy. Borrowing is ship and neighbourhood ties are acti-
cent of the persons above ten years resorted to for various purposes. Heavi- vated. Singing, dancing and community
knew the local measures (choki, etc), est borrowing is for seed, consumption rituals make the ceremonies the occa-
only 33 per cent could be accurate re- comes a close second and ceremonies a sions for collective enjoyment and col-
garding national measuring weights significant third. Usually the rates of lective reaffirmation of ties. They are,
(seers and maunds, etc), while those interest paid are exorbitantly high, therefore, essential for the maintenance
who knew something about the met- anywhere between 25 to 50 per cent of communal unity. Sacrifices made by
ric coinage system were a mere 16 per of the loan per year. The data collect- individual farmers at these times are
cent. Metric weights and volume mea ed by us on indebtedness are not too necessitated by the social need they
sures (kilograms and litres) were, of reliable. I suspect that the respondents satisfy.
course, too much for all of them 'See have generally tried to understate their
Table). Women throughout show lesser No Investment
debt burden due probably to the desire
degree of acquaintance with the all- not to appear too down and out. Con- Let us come back now to the second
India measures and coinage. sidering their low levels of living Adi- part of the hypothesis that indebted-
Spreading of the cultivation of vasis are still able to produce some ness is a potent factor in the stagnant
ground-nuts is intimately connected surplus from the sale of groundnuts and economy of the tribals. That invest-
with increasing monetization of the occasionally sales of rice and wheat. ment is a factor of prime importance
Adivasi economy. Groundnuts are This surplus, through the mechanism of for economic expansion is a very wide-
grown exclusively for sale to the mat- the credit system, finds its way into ly accepted tenet of economic theory.
Investment depends on savings. How-
ever, interest on loans very nearly
polishes off the Adivasi's surplus which,
had it been at hand, could have been
used for investments in agriculture.
So we find that as far as the tradi-
tional economic system of the Adivasi
is concerned there is little likelihood of
endogenous change in it. In this tradi-
 September 26, 1964
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
tional economic system the outsider India and U A R for Jointly establish-
commercial element and the indigenous ing industrial projects in other develop- countries in the current year, ie , Rs
social institutions support each other ing countries and for extending joint 225 million each way. Besides tea and
to maintain the stagnant economy. co-operation in the industrial and de- jute goods, numerous engineering, and
There is, however, one exogenous fac- velopmental projects and in the con- chemical products and new items like
tor for social change whose role we struction of highways, bridges and cotton yarn, coco.cola concentrates,
must consider in the ensuing para- transport and communication systems in tissue paper and re-inforced steel bars
graphs. are included in the list of goods to
developing countries which would like be exported by India to U A R . Like,
Block development is the only effec- to have such co-operation. Separate wise, besides Egyptian cotton, rice and
tive force for social change. Whatever
heightening of the tempo of economic delegations from U A R and India are rock-phosphate, new products like fer-
change one finds, is almost exclusively expected to examine these proposals tilisers, mazout, flax and printing paper
due to the activities of the develop- shortly. will be exported by U A R to India.
ment block. The most effective of the The letters exchanged by the two The volume of trade between India
Block activities in the village is cons- Ministers contain agreed trade propo- and U A R was of the value of Rs
truction of huts and wells. During the sals envisaging a total turnover of 250 million in 1963-64, ie, Rs 125
reference year itself four brick-work about Rs 450 million between the two million each way.
wells (pucca) and one unreinforced
(kuchha) well were dug. There are al-
together 20 wells in the village of
which the 13 pucca wells have been
constructed with subsidy received from
the Block. A l l the eleven model brick
huts are made w i t h the help of the
Block authorities. Subsidized construc-
tion of irrigation wells is the most im-
portant single contribution of the Block
to the increase in the production poten
tials of the Adivasis. Previous to the
construction of the irrigation wells none
of the Bamanta farmers were able to
get rabi or zaid crops but now a size-
able proportion of the farmers (13 out
of 50) have been able to considerably
augment their incomes from the i r r i -
gated fields.
I do not wish here to overstress the
achievements of the Block workers; they
are considerable, but at a great cost.
Nevertheless, I would like to point out
that the existing country-town complex
of the economy of the tribals tends,
essentially, to strengthen the stagnant
equilibrium of their traditional econo-
my. The only positive force that could
break it up must come from 'outside1
elements and the Development Block
happens to be the only such force

India — U A R Trade

L ETTERS were exchanged in New

Delhi on Monday between Dr
Abdul Moneim El-Kaissouni, Vice-
Prime Minister of U A R , and Shri
Manubhai Shah, Minister of Commerce,
providing for economic, industrial and
technical collaboration in certain fields
like production of fertilisers and super-
fine cotton yarn, the suply of rock
Phosphate on a long-term basis from
U A R , and the export of mining equip-
ment, spinning machinery and steel
structurals from India to meet the re-
quirements of Egyptian industries,
railways and electrical and other de-
partments.
The two Ministers also agreed on the
vast scope for collaboration between
1560