The Birhor People
The Birhor people are a nomadic hunter-gatherers living in the Singbhum district of Jharkhand. They wander around the Saranda Forest in the southwest of Jharkhand and in the jungles of Hazaribagh, Mayurbhanj, Odisha, the Similipal Forest and Chhattisgarh, in search of resources and a livelihood.
Like the Ho, Santal and Munda people, they speak an Austro-Asiatic language, and are fluent in other local dialects. They are a small minority of Scheduled Tribal adivasi people. In the 1970s they were almost totally uneducated and preliterate. There have been many failed attempts by government to settle, tame and educate them. Like the Ho, Santal and Munda people they worship Singbonga, the spirit of the sun and are involved in ancestral spirit worship.
Often known as the Mankirdia people, meaning ‘monkey catchers’. The Ho and Munda people call them ‘jom-sara:e’, meaning ‘monkey eaters’. The name ‘Birhor’ means ‘forest people’. The 2011 census reported there are 2,222 members of the tribe.
While catching and eating a multitude of forest animals like squirrels, deer, and rodents, their preferred food is wild monkeys. They also collect a variety of wild tubers and rock bee honey. But their main income comes from collecting the bark from jute and the ‘siali’ creeper from which they extract the fibres and twine into a strong rope. This is then woven into a multitude of slings, halters, nets and ropes, that are sold to local farmers at market places. Their knowledge and understanding of nature’s logic is profound.
Rope slings hanging from carrying poles made by the Birhor people.
A Ho tribal women buying a rope sling from a Birhor family at her local market in Chotanagra in the Saranda forest area.
A Birhor man selling rope that he has made from the bark and fibre of the 'siali' forest creeper in the Chhotanagra market in the Saranda forests of Jharkhand.
A Birhor man carrying rope that he has made from the 'siali' bark and fibre of a forest creeper in the Chhotanagra market in the Saranda forests, Jharkhand.
A Birhor family encamped in two their leaf huts made from the branches and leaves of the ‘sal’ tree (Shorea Robusta Gaertn) near Dubil village. The son is twining rope made from the fibres of the 'siali' forest creeper while his mother spreads out ‘mahua’ fruits that they have collected to dry in the sun for storage and later boiled into a porridge.
A Birhor family encampment of two their leaf huts made from the branches and leaves of the ‘sal’ tree (Shorea Robusta Gaertn) near the village of Dubil.
A Birhor man selling rope that he has made from the 'siali' bark and fibre of a forest creeper in the Chhotanagra market.
A Birhor man, who is the head of the family, sits beside his middle aged daughter as she cooks the daily meal of boiled broth.
A Birhor woman pestles unhusked rice in a mortar to remove the outer husk. Note the coiled-up net hanging beside the opening to their leaf shelter. The men use these nets to capture wild animals in the nearby forests.
A Birhor encampment, ‘tanda’. Note the minimal possessions of these itinerant people and the boiled bark fibres of the ‘siali’ creepers hanging out to dry. The Birhor men will twine it into rope for sale and for exchanging for rice in the nearby weekly markets.
A young Birhor man twines the rope that he has made from the bark of the ‘siali’ creeper
into a bundle. It will be made net for catching wild animals, or it will be exchanged in the local markets for rice. Behind him his wife has laid out ‘mahua’ flowers to dry in the sun. They will be boiled to make a nutritious broth. This is an integral part of their hunter-gatherer economy. Notice the protruding stomach of the underfed child, reflecting their economic insecurity.
A Birhor girl looking anxious at this six-foot-tall stranger, ‘diku’, with a strange black and clicking device.
My partner, Valerie, photographing a Birhor family outside their leaf shelter, where they have settled for a few days near Dubil. Notice the white strips of ‘siali’ bark fibre that they have collected, hanging to dry in the tree branches, and the large bundle of threshed bark fibres on the doorway of their hut, that the man is twining into rope.
This young man is in the final stage up spooling a new rope that he has made from the bark of the ‘siali” creeper. He will sell it or exchange it for rice with nearby Ho villagers, or in the local markets.
This Birhor man is smoking a homemade ‘biri’, cheroot, made from a ’sal’ leaf and
tobacco that he has bought in the local markets. Note the threadbare shawl
that he is wearing, a symptom of his limited economy.
This elderly Birhor man is separating the bark fibres of the ‘siali’ creeper, preparing
them to be twined into a string. Note the bowl of water in which he soaks them to made them more flexible.
This Birhor mother is searching for lice in her daughter’s hair. Lice infestation is a major nuisance for people living under these conditions.
This Birhor women is pestling rice in a wooden mortar to remove the outer husk.
This Birhor family are busy working at earning a livelihood. The grandfather is
stripping ‘siali’ bark fibre. The father is twining it into rope. The mother is boiling
‘mahua’ flowers to make a broth. The two children are guarding the drying ‘mahua’ flowers, so no wild birds steal them. The life of a hunter gatherer family is nonstop work.
The children of the two families, living in this cluster of four leaf huts, are gathered around the elderly grandfather, who is their headman. Notice how none of them have any clothing. They all have distended stomachs implying that are malnourished.
Mike Yorke photographing a Birhor family camped on the outskirts of Dubil. Their work-room is the space in front of their leaf shelter, where they will sleep for the next 3 or 4 nights. Note the bundle of wild silk cocoons, ‘lumam’ that they have collected in the forests. They will sell them for a few rupees in the local markets.
These four Birhor children look worried and perhaps fearful of me, a six foot white man, taking photos with a strange clicking machine with a sparkling lense – rightly so too.
This Birhor woman is picking out the dross from her parboiled rice. Note the coil of plaited palm leaves behind her. This will be cut into strips and stitched together to make a palm leaf mat on which she can prepare food, and her family will sleep on. The self-sufficiency of these hunter-gatherer people is much to be admired.
The women of the group of Birhors, who encamped near our village, cooperate to cook for their band of hunter-gatherers.
These two Birhor men are setting off to hunt and gather in the forest. Note that in this rough terrain they are not wearing any footwear. They have leathery soles to their feet impervious to the worse thorns. It will be a long day’s work. They are not carrying any bows and arrows, but their nets will be vital for catching any animals.
A Birhor man leaving for a day’s hunting and gathering in the forests. On his shoulder he carries a useful walking stick to clear the undergrowth, over it is a hunting net that he will lay across the undergrowth and drive animals into it. In his hand is a useful light-weight axe. Notice his minimal clothing.
A Birhor man leaving his settlement, to go to the forests for a day’s hunting and gathering. He carries his hunting net and his light-weight axe on a metal digging pole for unearthing tubers, while he keeps his walking stick in his hand to clear the undergrowth.
This Birhor woman is being helped by her daughters to weave a rope that they have twined into a wider shoulder strap that will be attached to a rope sling for carrying heavy pots of water. She will probably sell this in a local market.
While the wife stirs the broth, her grandfather strips the bark of the ‘siali’ creeper into small threads before it can be twined to make a rope.
After the broth has been boiled this Birhor wife ladles it into portions on leaf plates, ready to be given to her family for their daily meal.
Portrait of an elderly Birhor woman.
Portrait of a Birhor woman. Note the value she puts on attractive jewellery and her interesting ear stub.
This young Birhor girl is tying up a bundle of newly made rope, ready for sale or exchange with local Ho tribals. Behind her, her mother is winnowing the dried ‘mahua’ flowers to clean out the dross.