Parahiya

The Parahiya are a Hindu caste found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India.^[1]

Origin

The name Parahiya is said to mean in the Gondi language the burners of the forest, on account of the fact that they practice slash and burn agriculture. According to other traditions, the name is corruption of the word Paharia, which in Hindi means a hill dweller. They are one of a number of tribal communities such as the Panika that occupy the foothills of the Vindhya mountains.The community speak a dialect of Hindi. The Parahiya have been granted scheduled caste status.^[2]

Present circumstances

Their habitat is hilly undulating terrain, and extremely forested. They occupy the southern part of the district of Sonbhadra. The Parahiya are endogamous and divided into a number of exogamous clans known as kuris, of which the main ones are the Bengeha, Bhaloa, Bhania, Bhusan, Gohawa, Gurgur, Monnoor and Sira. Although they are Hindu, they also have a number of their own tribal deities such as Jawalamukhi Devi and Dharti Mata.^[3]

The Parahiya depend on the forest for their subsistence. They are small landholding community living at the foot of the Vindhya mountains. Hunting and gathering forest produce is an important source of their income. They collect roots, tubers, fruits, lacs and leaves, which they sell at the local market. Hunting is no longer an activity that they were historically engaged in. Settled cultivation is now their present occupation.^[4]

See also

• Sahariya
• Panika

References