INTRODUCTION:

The bedia tribe residents of Jharkhand mainly found in South Chotanagpur region in Angara block (Ranchi District) situated in 85.4852^°E latitude and 23.4052^°N longitude, located 30km towards east from district headquarters Ranchi and 31 km from state capital Ranchi towards west.

The people of bedia tribe are strong, laborious and hygiene oriented people. The bedia tribe people were divided into groups and each group have its own clan (gotra). The (gotra) naming system was based on the name of the animals, fishes and birds. The various gotra used in bedia tribe are bambi (fish), Suiya (small black bird), kacchim (tortoise), Chidra (squirrel), fecha (owl), shankh (shell) etc. Bedia tribe people have their own way of living. They have their own tradition and culture. Like other tribes bedia tribe also has their own occupation mainly based on “collection of herbs” and curing various diseases of human beings and cattle. The occupation of herb collection was not for upliftment of economic condition, but for the service to common people. The herbs and the related plants were almost used in all aspects of their life.

Other than the occupation of herb collection they were fond of hunting and unique craft making. All the hunting and artistic equipment’s materials were made of either wood or plants. For making the weapons and craft they used - Lantana Camara (Putus), Shorea robusta (Sakhuwa), Kenaf (kudrum) etc. For hunting and artistic equipment making they mainly used kenaf and Lantana Camara.

As the people of bedia tribe are hygienic and collector of herbs, they knew the medicinal properties of these two plants. So they made things used in daily lives from these two plants. The kenaf was used for making ropes and related material from its unique fiber, processed from its stem to root part. The kenaf fiber is strong and has good absorption property for oil and other liquids. The lantana camara is toxic in nature for cattle, but has medicinal value for human beings as it is antimicrobial, fungicidal, and insecticidal property. Lantana camara is generally used for making furniture’s.

Hunting, fishing and artistic equipment’s making technique in bedia tribe:

Bedia tribe had their own unique style of hunting the animals and fishes. This tribes mainly hunt the animals like wild boar known as (barah), rabbit (kherha) and field mouse (bhusmusa) and all kind of fishes found in that region. The main strategy of hunting and fishing was “Trap and kill”. The basics items were rope net, stone tools (in ancient times), wooden spear, bow and arrow, bamboo fishing net etc. The rope net was different for different animal, i.e. large net for trapping wild boar and small net for trapping animals. The artistic equipment’s mainly comprise of Khatiya, Machiya and Chair, Sikka, Bahinga, Dhela, Joanth.

Technique of making Rope (shun):

The bedia tribe specifically used kudrum rope (Shun – another word for rope in the language of bedia tribe) for hunting the wild animals. Firstly they planted the kudrum plant in abundant. When the plant was ready for making the rope they cut all the stems and dip the stem in water until and unless the stem gets fully soaked and bulge in water. After that the stems are cleaned removing outer bark or shell it is then left to until fully dried ensuring no moisture remains. After that the fine fibers are woven into threads making ropes using hands with the equipment known as (Dhela – made of wood and iron). Later on the thread is used in making various types of equipment, relating hunting equipment, household equipment etc.

Hunting technique:

Types of trap net:

Barah jaal (wild boar net)

This is a trap net used by bedia tribe for hunting wild boars, as the wild boars were abundant in forest area of Angara block area. As the wild boars are agile and furious in nature, the wild boars attack the enemy when they sense they were being harmed, so it was not possible to attack wild boars directly to kill them. So the barah jaal (trap net) was used to first entrap wild boars to kill. The barah jaal (trap net) was made out of kudrum fiber. The upper part of the net is rectangle in shape and two “shun” were tied at their ends. The construction looks alike tent in shape. The length of net is 12.7ft and breadth is 3.5ft. the total number of knots present in the barah trap net are 1104. The type of is just like the rolling hitch knot. The main net slides on both ropes tied at the end of the net. By this when a prey enters the net is automatically slides to shuts the opening and the prey is trapped. In the trap net bhelwa fruit (Semecarpus anacardium) is tied to protect from any mischief according to the bedia tribe. Now days the material used for constructing net it is changed to shun to plastic fiber. But the art of making net is same.

Kherha jaal (rabbit trap net):

It is mostly same as barha jaal (wild boar trap net) but this is used for trapping rabbit and other small animals. The dimensions are small for kherha jaal, the dimensions for kherha jaal is 10ft length and 3.3ft breadth.

Bow and arrow:

The bedia tribe people were also a good archer. They use this weapon for hunting animal and birds. The bow was made out of bamboo spliced sticks, the bow string was again made out of kudrum fiber rope and bamboo splice as it gives more strength and speed to the arrow. The bamboo bow string was tied with the kudrum fiber. The arrow was made up of Sasi kaandh (common wild Reed) or bamboo stick and the tip of the arrow is made up of gamhar (Gmelina arborea), Sakhua (Shorea Robusta). So that in case of damage of tip it can be replaced and arrow can be used again. The tip is basically is of two types either for hunting or practice. First type is of blunt shapes used for games, hunting or practicing targets and second is of sharp edges used only for hunting. Now a day’s wood tip is replaced by metal tip.

Hunting procedure:

The hunting process includes various steps and rituals before going out for hunting. First of all the group is made of 70 to 200 village men. They are mainly of 18 to 60 years of age. All the group of people gathered in the early morning before the sun rise, so that no one sees the troop and the equipment used in hunting. Before approaching for hunting the pahan preform rituals by giving offerings as sacrifice of pahur chengna (chick). The pahur chengna is first feed with arwa rice and then the pahur chengna is sacrificed and the blood of the pahur chengna is sprinkled on the trap net used in hunting animals. In trap net bhelwa (Semecarpus anacardium) is also tied, ‘scientifically it has the medicinal property to calm mental state’ and on the other hand the village people have the belief that this fruit would save the hunting from bad intentions of the villagers. The women of the village are specially prohibited to see the hunting net or hunters while they are on the way to hunt. The hunters carry hunting equipment like trap net, stone tools, wooden spears, bow and arrow, iron weapons and also carry food like bair kodha, makkai kodha etc. The hunting takes minimum two to three days. And they make fire with the help of wood and bamboo. Then the troop make sub group for various responsibilities required during hunting. The first group takes care of various equipment and food stock. Second group grasp trap net from three sides to the down part of the forest hill. The rope of the net was tied on the tree and it was made fixed tightly. And bushes were also used for making boundary to fill the gapping place. The third group chases animal down where trap net group is present. They make noises while chasing down the animal. In hurry and fear the animal runs directly towards the net because of the trap and shut technology of the net, the net is enclosed automatically and the men holds the rope tighten it carefully. Then all the men strike the entrapped animal until it is dead. Then they take out the animal from trap net and tied the legs on the wood with the help of kudrum ‘shun’ and carry it to the village. Then they distribute the flesh of the hunted animal to the villager.

Fishing Net and Technique:

The people of bedia tribe are also very skilled in fishing. In bedia tribe there are 4 types of fishing techniques. The Girha and muchu net techniques are the oldest ways in bedia tribe. After that lift fishing net technique was used. And the last was faasa net technique which is the modern technique and the materials used for making it is plastic fiber. It is quite interesting to know that in bedia tribe, rod fishing (bansi) is not seen. The reason behind was hygiene. According to the bedia tribe it is non-hygienic and very prone to infections. Because of the insect as a bait and metal hook used. That result in unhygienic condition.

Lift fishing Net (char godi jaal):

The Bedia tribe used a lift fishing trap net. Lift net is also known as lever net. The fishing net was basically made of very fine kenaf thread. The lift fishing is a method of fishing using nets that are submerged to a certain depth and then lifted out of the water vertically. Portable hand lift nets are small lift nets operated manually. They usually have a rigid frame which is attached to a long pole. They are used primarily to catch fish. The frame is made tying two bamboo sticks to a rectangle net diagonally the center part or diagonal part is tied with a bamboo pole and also a rope to it. The bamboo pole is attached in ground besides water source. The frame is dipped in water and when sufficient fishes are catch in net, the bamboo pole is stretched with the help of rope attached to it.

Muchu (fish net):

There are various types of net used in catching fish; the muchu (fish net) is one of them. It is made out of bamboo fine sticks carved out of it. The middle part is cylindrical in shape, the end part is hemispherical and the opening is of vortex shape. The vortex shape part is made of thick bamboo splice forming circular opening. It is placed in running water source in field so the fishes get trapped in coming direction of water stream. The whole setup is tied and jointed firmly by kudrum thread made out of kudrum fiber.

Hand net (girha or jera jaal):

Girha or jera jaal was used for catching the small fish. These nets are small net which are held open by a hoop. There are two types of hand net, one is known as scoop net and other is known as dip net. The people bedia tribe makes this net with the fine threads of kenaf. The net is circular in shape and a bamboo ring is attached on the top which is known as (medari). And on the other hand the dip net has two long handle. These nets are specially used for catching the fishes near the surface water. But now a day this net is made by the plastic net but the construct is same as it done in the past.

Technique of making putus furniture’s (lantana camara):

Bedia tribe use to construct chairs, tables and other items out of putus shrub wood (lantana camara) before the use of other tree woods. Lantana camara is known to be toxic to livestock. Studies conducted in India have found that Lantana leaves can display antimicrobial, fungicidal and insecticidal properties. Lantana camara has also been used in traditional herbal medicines for treating a variety of ailments, including cancer, skin itches, leprosy, rabies, chicken pox, measles, asthma and ulcers.in bedia tribe it is also used as medicine. There are also some scientific studies which have shown beneficial effects of Lantana camara, such as one by R. Satish which found that an extract from the plant reduced ulcer development in rats. Extracts from the plant have also been used to treat respiratory infections. The durability of putus wood (lantana camara) is more then the bamboo. As it is found in abundant in the region of Angara block, bedia people excelled in craftsmenship from putus wood. But introduction of other tree woods, cost and time taken to construct made it extinct in lack of promotion.

For making putus furniture and related artifacts, first of all putus stems are cut from root level of the plant, the girth of harvested stems are of 1cm to 6cm. then all the thorns are thoroughly removed from the putus sticks. The putus sticks are then put in boiled or normal water for normally one week. After one week the outer shelling or bark is removed. Again putus stick is rubbed and polished with stone or knife until the surface is smooth. Then stick is bent to give desired shape of required item i.e chair, table and other decorative items. The cot was made in rectangle shape 6ft in length and 4 ft in breadth. Four legs were also made up of putus sticks joined together. For tying putus stick together dudhi creeper is used but now a days iron nails are used for joining two parts. The chair and table is also made in same way. The making of putus furniture’s and related artifacts are done around the year omitting the summer season as there is scarcity of putus sticks (lantana camara). The vegetation of putus is dried in summer, because for making putus artifacts fresh stem is required.

CONCLUSION:

The bedia tribe is included under neglected tribe category. But bedia has its own culture and tradition in like other tribes. The people of bedia tribe are skilled in making various types of artifacts. Like ancestors of the bedia tribe also make various item. But heritage they use kenaf use and putus for making hunting equipment and furniture’s but now plastics is used as material development but by the technique they use ancestral ways. Development of material to plastic is because of the changing lifestyle the old kenaf fiber takes time and lot of labor to process it. The development of use Putus wood to Gamahar, Sakhua and koraya woods were used for making various articles. All over in time line the old ways are getting extinct because of changing lifestyle and poverty. And the lack of promotion the techniques are getting vanished. And the bedia tribe is making all these artifacts for living by trading but in old times it was used for their own use only. So because of competition in the market old materials are getting rare and new constructing materials are being used. Finally the construction materials introduced now resulted in non-ecofriendly environment.

REFERENCE:

1. Archer W.G, “Tribal law and justice” a report on the Santhal 1984

2. Sharma, Bimal Charan, “Jharkhand ki Janjati” Jharkhand Jharokha 2006

3. Singh Pradeep, “The Bedia of Jharkhand”, 2013, K. K. Publications, Allahabad

Received on 16.02.2019 Modified on 10.03.2019

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2019; 10(2): 649-652.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5828.2019.00105.0