Indigenous Forest Lifestyles

Our community lives by building homes in the forests, hunting wild animals, and sustaining themselves by eating tamarind, mango, guava, and other produce found in the forest. Thus, they belong to a different way of life.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We are tribals, we are nature worshippers. We always depend on trees and plants to live. We sustain our livelihood by eating its tubers, fruits, and roots.

— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha

We, the people of the tribal community, are worshippers of nature and are connected to water, forest, and land. Our culture and traditions are unwritten, which makes us different from others.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Our caste lives in the jungle, far from villages and cities, and consumes things from the jungle, and that is why they are different.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

The lifestyle, food, and traditions of the tribe are naturally connected to nature.

— SUKDEV HEMBRAM

Our tribe is different from other castes in that we are in our forest far from the city.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our tribe is unique because we worship nature, we worship the forest and the land.

— Kachala Choudhary

We, the tribal people, worship nature. We worship trees and plants. We are always with nature.

— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha

People of their caste live in huts in remote mountain areas and dense forests, far from civilization, which makes them distinct. Their diet is also natural, which also sets them apart.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

The factors that define our tribe are mostly living around the forest, along with our dress and traditional attire.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

My tribal people, living in the forest far from the city and making food from forest produce.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We are the Kharia tribal community. And we worship the trees, pillars, and soil of the forest. And accordingly, our festivals, our language are also different. That's why we are separate.

— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha

We Adivasi communities are communities that depend on nature, collect roots and tubers from the forests, and use them as food, which is very nutritious and also serves as medicine.

— Ram Kumari

Our tribe is mainly nature-worshipping. Our culture, customs, attire, tradition, and spoken language have a distinct identity that is different from others.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

We are people who are respected even from childhood. Living far from the city, in villages, forests, and mountains, we practice wild farming and consume herbal remedies, and that's why (we are of) another kind.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our tribal community is unique. Our tribal people are distinct because our attire, our cuisine, our lifestyle, and all our customs are different.

— Ulapi Sahu · Balangir, Odisha

Our tribe lives in the forest, far from villages and cities, and for food, they eat mahua, dori, koyna, this street, etcetera, kola.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Firstly, our lifestyle is nature-centric. Forests, hills, rivers, soil—we have a daily connection with all of these. We see nature not just as a resource, but as a life-giving companion. Secondly, our customs and traditions, traditional knowledge, festivals, songs, dances, and folk tales have made our identity unique. These cultural aspects distinguish us from other tribes. Thirdly, our collective philosophy of life—“Everyone eats together, works together, and supports each other”—this is our strength. The community is considered senior to the individual. Fourthly, our intimate connection with land, forest, and water. Considering the hills as deities, the forest as life, and wildlife as fellow travelers—this is the root of our culture. Therefore, my tribe is different from others because of: Traditional forest food and medicinal knowledge, Collective way of life, Life principles based on ancestral advice and folk tales, Religious perspective based on self-realization and natural relationships, Traditional agriculture, forest livelihood, and indigenous practices. All these elements make my tribe known as a distinct cultural, identity-rich, and glorious community.

— sudhir gamanga · Kharlingi, Housingboard Colony, Rayagada

Our tribe is different from other castes because its eating habits and lifestyle are distinct. Its culture, traditions, and customs are different.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

Our tribals are different from others because their lifestyle is different, customs are different, traditional food and drink are different. Musical instruments are also different.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

Our spoken language, attire, food, lifestyle, our culture, customs and traditions, and system are completely different from others, and it is unwritten. We, the people of the Adivasi Gond community, are worshippers of nature, which sets us apart from others.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

We are a tribal community. Our language and food are different because of our tribal identity.

— Bharati Khandapatra · Mayurbhanj, Odisha

We are tribals, and our food, drink, attire, dance, and music are different from other tribes.

— Bharati Khandapatra · Mayurbhanj, Odisha

Our tribal Gond community are nature worshippers who protect water, forest, and land, which indeed makes our society completely different from others.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Tribal people used to build homes after cutting down forests and used herbs, fruits, and food from the forest. And they used to drink Chuwada water. That's why tribal people are different.

— Chanda

We are indigenous people and we worship nature.

— Manjusha Marko · Dudhi, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our customs, attire, traditions, spoken language, lifestyle, food habits, and culture are very different from other societies, which is an identity of the tribal community.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

We are nature worshippers who follow tribal customary practices. Our culture, customs, attire, and traditions are unwritten, which are unique.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Tribal communities are the protectors of nature. They take only as much from nature as is necessary to live life. They worship things associated with their lifestyle. They are committed to nature conservation, which defines them as unique.

— Vijay kanesh · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

People of our community live in villages far from the city, building their homes in forested areas, and eat coarse grains, which makes them distinct.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our tribe is different because our language and culture are different, and we are nature worshipers.

— Sukhdas Mandavi · Mohla, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Chhattisgarh

Indigenous people are different from other communities because these people are identified by their hunting, food habits, and traditions.

— SUKDEV HEMBRAM · East Singhbhum, Jharkhand

My name is Rina Kuonro. We are the tribal indigenous people. We produce food and collect from the forest, and we express our desire to live with the forest or with nature. This is a humble request to the government for us, and please pay attention to the forest-derived food that we can obtain.

— RITARANI PRADHAN · Raikia, Kandhamal, Odisha

We tribals cut down forests to build our homes and live in the forest itself. From the forest, we get roots, flowers, and delicious fruits, and we sustain our lives from them, and we also do farming.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh