Mal Paharia people


The Mal Paharia people are a tribal people of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand in India. They are listed as a Scheduled Tribe by the governments of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Society

The Mal Paharias who live in the southern hills of Damin-i-koh and in the south and east of Santhal Parganas have been Hinduised. Among themselves they speak a corrupt form of Bengali, but with others they speak Bengali and Hindi. The Bengali and Devenagari scripts are used by them. The Mal Paharias survive on agriculture and forest produce. Rice is their staple food. Pulses like moong, masur, Kulthi and lar are consumed. They are non-vegetarians, but do not eat beef. Both men and women drink liquor, which may be home-made or bought from the market. They smoke indigenous cheroots, and chew tobacco mixed with lime and betel.