Tribes

India is an amalgam of 437 types of tribes, consists of 8% of the total population. Linguistically the tribes of India are broadly classified into four categories, namely (1 ) Indo - Aryans Speakers, (2) Dravidian Speakers , (3) Tibeto- Burmese speakers and (4) Austric Speakers. There are some four hundred tribal languages, which mean that most of the tribes have their own languages. However in majority cases, these languages are unwritten ones.

A major portion of tribal habitat is hilly and forested. Tribal villages are generally found in areas away from the alluvial plains close to rivers or streams. Most villages are uniethnic in composition and smaller in size. Villages are often not planned at all.

Considering the general features of their (1) eco- system, (2) traditional economy, (3) supernatural-beliefs and practices and 940 recent impacts of modernization, the tribes can be classified into six types, such as : (1) Hunting, collecting and gathering type, (2) cattle - herder type, (3) simple artisan type, (4) Hill and shifting cultivation type, (5) Settled agriculture type and (6) Industrial Urban worker type.