The tribal people of India have been in contact with other people, that is the urban society, for a very long time and have been greatly influenced by them. The degree of influence is proportional to the intermingling with outsiders. Tribes-people like the Gond, Bhil, and Halbi almost live like Hindus do in the outside world. But there are still a few tribes in the Bastar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh, which are totally unaffected by any developmental program.

The tribals of the Bastar district are mostly confined to Narayanpur tahsil (county) where their population is as low as twenty people per square kilometer, as per the 1975 census. They live in small villages consisting of not more than twenty-thirty houses. Their everyday activities are very well coordinated and inter-linked. Irrespective of one`s gender, every person has a vital role to play in the welfare of the community.

Tribal women in the Bastar district
The typical day of a tribal Housewife: She rises early in the morning, fetches water from a distant spring, prepares a breakfast of "paje" (pulp) for the family, brews "landra" (a liquor) for the adults, cleans the house, cooks the other meals, accompanies her husband to the forest, and gathers fruits, leaves and firewood while the husband hunts. During the monsoon season, she assists in all agricultural activity and this includes hard labor. She can cover forty to fifty kilometers in a day, can carry a heavy-load on her head through difficult mountains and can go without food for an entire day! How many of us would even try to do that? Most of us crib when we have to keep a fast for one day!

Material wealth and riches are not the indices of happiness- this is very well portrayed by a tribal woman. Compared to modern women a tribal woman has very little wealth of her own or of her family. A typical tribal woman has just a piece of coarse cloth to cover her womanhood. She is very fond of ornaments, yet has just one or two strings of red, blue or white beads. In addition, she may have some bangles, earrings and necklaces made of cheap metal. She is always very cheerful and light-hearted, often laughing and joking with members of her family or with the neighbors. She is truthful and honest. She never denies any offense she might have committed and willingly faces the consequences. Even though she lives in sheer poverty, has less than the minimum standard of living, even though she is constantly struggling to keep her and her family happy and living, a tribal woman`s light heartedness is amazing and is something to learn and admire by the urban women of the society.

Women power: Its all seen and heard in the urban society or as to say, the so called, "Hindu" society of this country, that women can never be equal to men. They are always considered subordinate to men and they are the weak and delicate species! One might have to change their opinion and admire a tribal woman even more when they get to know about her status in a tribe. The tribal woman fondles her man like she would a child, loves him like immensely, keeps him company like a companion would and works with him like an equal partner. While she will do everything for him, she will never be his subordinate. She has gained this status by sheer hard work and not by being demanding. There is nothing she will not or cannot do. She even attends to the funerals of her near and dear ones, something so called `refined` Hindus do not allow for a woman. The tribal woman also assists in erecting a memorial for the dead.

What is considered as a special joyful moment in any traditional Hindu family in the country? Well, the birth of a son! But this is not the case in the tribals in India, as girls and boys are both considered equal. In most of the so-called "modern" Indian families, women are susceptible to undergo an abortion as soon as they come to know that the fetus is that of a girl child. Women undergo number of pregnancies just because they want a boy and not a female child. Well, modern women should and must learn something from the tribal society regarding this. A tribal woman declares her pregnancy with pride and does not welcome her husband till she is willing to conceive again. Delivery is without the assistance of a midwife and mother herself cuts the umbilical chord. The mother nurses the baby with her milk, carries it everywhere in a piece of old cloth hanging from her shoulder. She puts her child to sleep in a bamboo cradle. Older sisters attend to their younger siblings.

The Ghotul Tribe:
The normal daily life: Ghotul, coming from the special institution called Ghotul, which the tribal people have adapted to solve their accommodation problems. Boys and girls six years of age are entitled to membership. The female workers of the Ghotul are known as "Motiyaris" and they are assigned important administrative duties at the Ghotul. They are responsible for the general cleanliness of the building and premises, the punctual arrival of members, the taking of the attendance, the supervision of sitting arrangements, and the assurance of liberal supply of fire wood, mustard oil, tobacco and landra. Each girl has to attend to a male member of the Ghotul. If he is extremely tired after a day`s work, she massages his body and applies oil. If the boy is pleased, he presents her with a wooden comb and perhaps a plum.

When activities for the night commence, the girls have to intermingle with the boys and distribute themselves around the fire. Together they gossip or make fun of each other. More serious discussions, group singing, playing of musical instruments and dancing follows this. When it is time to retire for the day the girls share beds with boys. These tribals have perfected the art of co-existence from time-immemorial. But one should not misunderstand the intermingling of these tribal people. There are very strict rules and regulations, which needs to be followed for the Ghotul. The mother, it seems, teaches the girl child all the rules so that she can enter the Ghotul. Pre-mature pregnancies are seen very rarely but if anything like this does happen then the girl immediately names the father of the child and a marriage is arranged. A woman has a free hand to select her groom and is never compelled to marry a man against her choice. Child marriage is not permissible and pre-puberty marriages are quite unheard of.

Cool Justice: At times the tribals also run into marital problems. If a husband turns out to be brutal, crude, insane, impotent, unfaithful, criminal or diseased, then the wife has every right to complain about him to the tribal head Manji (or Patel). He in turn assembles his advisory council and gives an opportunity to the couple to plead their cases. If the council is convinced of the husband`s guilt, the wife is allowed to get a separation and marry anybody she chooses.

The symbolic Woman: In tribal society women are not treated as inferior or second-class citizens. Although they are on par with the men, they complement rather than compete with each other. This status of the tribal women has existed from ancient times, as can be seen from rock paintings found in the state. These paintings were executed as early as five to fifty centuries before the birth of Christ. Most of these paintings represent hunting scenes, fighting sequences, animal sacrifices, rituals to ward off evil spirits and so on, and hence women do not find much of a place in them. But in the scenes that depict every day life, women are shown to be involved in food gathering, basket weaving, singing and dancing. Pregnant women, women giving birth, and nursing mothers are also depicted. This perhaps indicates that the women represented fertility, motherhood and were the progenitors of the tribe. This special status for women might have given rise to the mother-goddess cult.

The Meghal Women: Besides the usual chores the Meghal women find time for their avidly sought after embroidery work. Their work is distinguished by their primary use of red. This red color comes from a local pigment produced from crushed insects. The Meghwal women artisans of Thar desert in Sindh and Balochistan, and in Gujarat are considered master of the traditional embroidery and Ralli making. Exotic hand-embroidered items form part of dowry of Meghwal woman.

The Lambani Women: The Lambani, once known as the bee-keeping tribe, the Lambani women, or the great travellers, are found in groups throughout the central and southern parts of India, selling their cloth at markets and on beaches. Their work contributes considerably to the income of their families. The Lambani women embroider bright rainbow-coloured fabrics covered with a mosaic of patchwork mirrors. The Lambani women commonly wear large, silver earrings laden with bells called loila and and a large silver torque around the neck to which two large silver pyramid forms are attached. The Banjara Women: Dedicated to their ancient mode of dressing which is perhaps the most colorful and elaborate of any tribal group in India, this dressing mode sets them apart from the rest of the tribes in India. Their full length skirt, is blazing red with borders embroidered in mustard and green thread. The elaborately embroidered and mirror studded cholis or blouses and the brightly colored odhni (mantle) which covers the head is long enough to drape down their backs almost touching the feet. The women wear pretty silver anklets which clink as they walk barefoot. Long silver earrings, and patterned cowrie shells decorate their hair, and are worn on their wrists and ankles. Silver, brass, some gold, cowries, ivory, animal bone and even plastic are some of the metals used for their ornaments. Mainly labourers, these women still wear all their attire even while doing heavy work road or construction work!

Men and morality: The tribal women were free from sexually transmitted diseases as they have healthy sex. But when the Bhiladela iron ore project commenced a large number of tribal men and women rushed to the construction site in search of a better way of life. Unfortunately, the women became the victims of lust and rape and hence had to take to prostitution to earn their living. Men became the judges of morality of the tribal women.

India has observed unequal distribution of resources and this is very apparent by the fact that a tribal mother is over 12 times less likely to be delivered by a medically trained person. A tribal woman is one and a half times more likely to suffer the consequences of chronic malnutrition as compared to women from other social categories.

Migration among tribal women: Thousands of tribal women and girls migrate from their hinterlands in tribal areas to urban city centers mainly in search of employment. They are new to the city life style and environment and find it difficult to make adjustment with the changed situation and environment. They have to face a number of problems in the cities they get migrated. Moreover, the non-tribals in the cities exploit them both financially and sexually. A large majority of migrant tribal women are in the age group of 24 to 47 years and the tribal girls in the age group of 16 to 23 years. They face problems like difficulty of communication in local language, residential accommodation, employment, education of children, local contacts, and adjustment with city life and environment etc.

The Tribal women of Chattisgarh
For the tribal of India, forests are considered as sacred and an important support system for their lives. Forest resources provide them with food, medicine, fodder and grass, fuel wood and water for irrigation. Women rely on the collection of forest products and also play a part in protecting forests.

Between March and May of every year, which is the slow season in agriculture, the tribal households depend almost entirely on forest products for their livelihoods. Early every morning, groups of women set out towards the forest. They collect non-timber products as tendu patta, char and sal seeds, palesh, sarai, mahua/dori, harra, kusum, sisal, bamboo, chhind, mango, jamun, ber. From the products they collect, the women obtain foods such as fruit and oil, and medicines. Forest products also become raw materials for making a number of items for the home, such as bidi, brooms, baskets, mats, rope, homemade toothbrushes and leaf plates. Certain tribes collect forest products for their main occupations.

Tribal women collect Tendu leaves, an important forest product, during the "tendu season". The women rise in the early hours of the morning at around four and spend 6-8 hours collecting the leaves, working without food or water. This is followed by 3-4 hours of counting and stacking the leaves in bundles of 50. If the woman goes out to collect tendu leaves and her husband stays home, then he cooks and looks after the children.

To a limited extent, women also participate in forest protection activities. Ten to fifteen years before the Forest Department came up with the idea of forest protection, several village communities began to organize protection of the forests, as villagers saw outsiders come in and destroy the forests. The forest management committees have had a number of women representatives since then.

Tribal forest economy is primarily a women`s economy, and it is women who are most directly affected by the corporate exploitation of their traditional lands. An overview of the local economy, the religious importance of the forests, and traditional sustainable forest management activities are described.