Chhattisgarh - A tribal state

The tribal state also known as “The Rise Bowl of India” was formed on 1 November 2000, by partitioning 16 Chhattisgarhi districts of Madhya Pradesh. Chhattisgarh is the 10th largest state with an area of 135,190 km, situated in central India. Due to very good irrigation system with big dams and long canals on different mighty rivers,hundreds of varieties of rice are grown in the state so named as Rise Bowl of India. The state is extremely skilled in tribal art,Kosa silk,lost wax art and full ofancient monuments, rare wildlife and exquisitely carved temples. Main attractions of Chhattisgarh are Chitrakot waterfalls, Kutumsar caves, Ramgarh and Sita Bengra, Bambleshwari temple at Dongrigarh, Danteshwari temple in Dantewada and a major Buddhist center in Malhar village. Because of abundant minerals Chhattisgarh is become one of the most important electrical power and steel producing state of India. Today Chhattisgarh is facing some of the big problems of nation such as Naxalism ,Witchcraft and Malnutrition.

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Culture: Chhattisgarh has a mixed culture, Hinduism is the main religion along with Muslims, Christians and Buddhists. The tribal of Chhattisgarh have their distinctive languages, cuisines, music, dance andlifestyle. Chhattisgarhi is the local language used by most of the people lives in village and rural area, they love to converse in this language. The tribal people also known for colorful and unique crafts made from bamboos, jute, clay wood and Dhokra wax art.

People: Chhattisgarh synonymous to tribes, It is a tribal dominated state,majority of the population are tribal known as Adivasi. The indigenous people are used to situate their villages near their food and water source, Bastar district of Chhattisgarh has the largest tribal population. About 35 big and small tribes spread all over Chhattisgarh, few of them are Agariya,Birhor, Baiga, Kharia,Pardhan and Gond, The Gond tribes include Asur, Korba, Abhuj Maria, Nagarchi,Gaiki and Badi Maria. The tribal women love to wear ornaments made of cowries, shells, bones, mixed metals, copper and bronze.

Food: Chhattisgarhi cuisines are very delicious, rice is one food item that is eaten widely in various ways. Most of the traditional and tribe foods are made of rice and rice flour like Pakhal Bhat,Kosra, Angakar Roti and Rice Flour Chapati. The tribal and village people enjoys native delicacy brew made of small, creamy white fruit of a local tree called Mahuwa. Mahuwa is extremely popular across the width and breadth of Chhattisgarh, other cuisines are rakhia badi and jalebis to bafauri and petha.

LifeStyle: Tribes of Chhattisgarh are unique in their lifestyles and have beautifully retained their own culture and traditions for centuries. The tribal women love to wear ornaments made of cowries, shells, bones, mixed metals, copper and bronze. The livelihoods of thousands oftribal people depend on the forest,river or farming of crops and goat. Raut Nacha is a famous and traditional folk dance of cowherds, Some of the other prominent dance forms are Panthi, Karma, Pandwani and Soowa.

Festivals: The indigenous state has treasure of tribal and non-tribal festivalsand fairs,celebrated with great zeal and passion across the state. Festivals and fairs of Chhattisgarh includes Dassera, Goncha, Hareli, Dantewada fair, Champaran Mela and famous Rajim Lochan Mahotsav. The Hareli festival of Chhattisgarh is one of the most importantharvest festival praying for good crops, celebrate during the monsoon. There are so many other religious and colourful local festival, celebrated by tribes all round the year.

Villages: There are around 15000 villages in Chhattisgarh and As much as 77 percent population lives in villages. The villages represent a real India, most of the tribes are prevalent in the hill and forest areas of the state. The huts of tribes called as Ghotul, made by bamboo sticks and surrounded by earthen or wooden walls, situated around the water resource. Some of the villages of Chhattisgarh are not connected to the national grid because they are in a remote area or in dense forest. The traditional transport ‘bailgadi’ is used by the villagers for travelling around.

Temples: Chhattisgarh tour is incomplete without visiting its ancient temples, located in the hill tops or surrounded by mountains and dense forests. Some of the famous temples in Chhattisgarh areBambleshwari temple situated at hilltop in Dongargarh, Bhoramdeo temple dedicated to Lord Shiva surrounded by Maikal mountains and dark forests near Kawardha, Chandrahasini Devi temple at Chandrapur, Laxman temple in Mahasamund,Vishnu temple, Champaran in Raipur and the most popularDanteshwari Devi temple situated in Dantewada district at the confluence of the Dankini and Shankini rivers. Devi Danteshwari is the Goddess of tribes as well as other Hindu peoples of entireBastar region, Best time to visit the temples is during the Bustar Dashera festival season.

Natural Beauty: The very young tourist destination of India is still untouched and unexplored. Chhattisgarh offers breathtaking natural beauty blended with rich history, astonishing waterfall, natural caves and dramatic mountain ranges. TheVindhyachal and the Satpura ranges has many beautiful water falls and caves carved temples, such as Chitrakot waterfall Jagdalpur, Tirathgarh waterfall and Akuri Nala, Caves – Gadiya mountain in Kanker district, Kutumsar cave, Jogimara Cave and Kailash Gufa. Other attractions includes incredible hilly regions, river basins, beautiful lakes, densely forested, landscapes and unique tribal populations.

Forest: The Green State of India has 44% of its area under dense forests, These hill forests have mostly covered with Sagoun,teak and sal other important tree species are bamboo, Mahua, Achar, Amaltas, Amla, jamun and Tendu. Deep jungles of Chhattisgarh is home to a variety of plant,wild animals and very rich in other natural resources. The green virgin forests offer one of the best Eco tourism of the country.

Wildlife: The tribal state has richest bio-diversity areas in the country and full with numerous rare and unique wild animals including endangered species. The 3national parks and 11 wildlife sanctuariesoffers home to some of the rare wildlife, reptiles and bird species. Indravati national park is one of the finest and most famous national park, others are Kanger valley, Sanjah national park, Achanakmar wildlife sanctuary, Barnawapara wildlife sanctuary and Sitanadi wildlife sanctuary . The wild buffalo is the state animal of Chhattisgarh and endangered hill myna is state bird.

Witchcraft: Chhattisgarh people and tribes are still believe in superstition, they branding woman as a witch and belief of practice of witchcraft. There are so many cases of atrocities against women in the name of witchcraft.  In 2005, the Chhattisgarh government passed the Witchcraft (Prevention) Act and committee for elimination of witchcraft was formed but witch hunts still occur today.

Chhattisgarh is one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in India, Apart from the tribal tour and above list there are so many other attraction in Chhattisgarh to visit such as Asia’s second largest catholic church in Kunkuri,Civic Center Bhilai, Kawardha Palace, Ghadi Chowk Raipur,Rajim and Ram Jharna. The list is very long, so lets plan a visit to the most beautiful state of tribal India.