Rabha people

Rabha

Total population
c. 357,000 (2011)
Regions with significant populations
India
Assam	296,189
Meghalaya	32,662
West Bengal	27,820
Languages
Assamese, Rabha, Bengali
Religion
Majority Hinduism (94.36%) Minority Christianity (5.17%)

The Rabha people are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group who live mostly in the Northeast Indian state of Assam, with a lesser population in the adjacent state of West Bengal. They primarily inhabit the plains of Lower Assam and the Dooars, while some are found in the Garo Hills. Most of the Rabhas of Dooars refer to themselves as Rabha, but some of them often declare themselves as Kocha.

The Rabha community have a rich, multi-faceted and distinct culture of their own. The Rabha society is matrilineal . The village economy is based on agriculture and both men and women work in the fields. The women wear colorful clothes that they weave themselves and wear a lot of beads and silver ornaments. The Rabhas are non-vegetarians and rice is their staple food.

The traditional economy of the Rabhas in general, is based on agriculture, forest based activities and weaving. In the past, the Rabhas used to practice shifting cultivation. They continued to cultivate the land with Gogo or bill-hook. Later they took up the job of settled cultivation and started cultivation with plough. Besides cultivation, hunting was also an old practice of Rabha people. Weaving was a traditional occupation of the Rabha women.

Rabha Tribal Lady

The Rabhas are mostly found in Lower Assam on the left bank of the Brahmaputra, in the districts of Goalpara and Kamrup. Some are found in the right bank districts of Baksa, Udalguri and Kokrajhar. In Meghalaya, the Rabhas mainly live in West Garo Hills, East Garo Hills, and Ribhoi districts. In West Bengal, the Rabha mainly inhabit the districts of Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Uttar Dinajpur.

Language

Further information: Boro-Garo languages

The Rabha language is closely related to neighbouring Boro and Garo, as well as many other Sino-Tibetan languages of Assam. The language was formerly spoken by all 11 Rabha clans: Maithori, Rongdani, Pati, Dahori, Dotla, Halua, Betolia, Hanna, Sunga, Modahi, Kocha Rabhas. Only the Rongdani, Maithori and Kocha clans still speak Rabha, although its usage is declining among them as well. The Rabha language is only spoken by a minority of the Rabhas, most of whom speak Assamese in Assam and Meghalaya and Bengali in West Bengal.

See also

• Rabha language
• Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council
• Bishnuprasad Rabha
• Assamese language
• Himalayan Languages Project

References

• Mitra, A. (1953), West Bengal: District Handbooks: Jalpaiguri, Govt. of West Bengal
• Basumatārī, Phukana Candra (2010). The Rabha Tribe of North-East India, Bengal and Bangladesh. Mittal Publications.
• Joseph, Umbavu (2006). Languages of the Greater Himalayan Region, Volume 1 Rabha. Brill.

Further reading

• Saha, Rebatimohon (1987) "Jalpaiguri Jelar Koch-Rabha Samaj" (in Bengali) published in Ananda Gopal Ghosh edited Madhuparni, Special issue on Jalpaiguri District.
• Raha, M.K. (1974) "The Rabhas of Western Duars: Structural Analysis of a Changing Matrilineal Society", Bulletin of the Cultural Research Institute, Vol. 10 (1 & 2).
• Ghosh, Saumitra (1990) "Vanbasi Rabhara" (in Bengali) Desh, Vol 57 (12), January 20.
• Roy Choudhury, B. (1970) "Social Mobility Movement among the Rabhas of North Bengal", Man in India, Vol 50 (1).
• Gupta, Pabitra Kumar (1977) "Uttarbanger Rahba Samaj O Dharmasanskar Aandolon", (in Bengali) in Madhuparni: Special North Bengal Issue, 1977.
• Sarma, Dr. Nabin Ch (2006) "Oral Songs of Tribal Communities of Assam" a project of Assam Sahitya Sabha, Assam Institute of Research for Tribals and Scheduled Castes