Andh and Sadhu Andh: The Tribes of Andhra Pradesh

The Andh tribes are one of the most acceptable prodigies of Indo-Aryan culture in ancient India. Andh is classified as scheduled tribes (STs) and live in the hilly region of Andhra Pradesh (more precisely, Adilabad District). Andh community peoples are one of the oldest predecessors of Hinduism. Andh community is firstly introduced in the early third century BCE, more precisely from the Satavahan dynasty (Satavahanas).

In the age of the Satvahan king, they are ill-treated by Brahmins due to caste discrimination. Then, at the end of the Satavahanas era, the British government took over the land and forest, making things worse for these clans. These are metrics behind the isolation, exploitation, and retrogression of Andhs.

Conventional beliefs of Andh community

The Andh are also renowned as Binjwar, Kondaredi in the regional areas. They have a pretty dense population of 488,000 (census 2011) in the southern part of India, where 99.20% of them belong to the Hindu religion. The social structure & curriculums of tribals are framed on the exogamous clan system.

Many believe Andhs belong to the Andhra dynasty, although there is no corroborating evidence to ensure so. It is only suspected through the name Andh which can be abbreviated in Sanskrit through the ages. They are also considered as non-Aryan belonging to Tamil country. Andhra once dominated the Madras and originated in the south Indian territories. Silagra http://sellersvillepharmacy.com/silagra.php

Andh Adivashi community losing their ground; as a matter of fact, most of them shifts towards Marathi for communicating. But, besides that, they also speak in Andh, Telegu, Bhili, Hindi, Khandesi, Kannada, Kolami, Gondi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, etc., as a secondary language depending upon the region of their upbringings.

The Andh clan can be further segregated into two distinct communities – Vertali & Khaltali. Vertalis are considered themselves as elite and up-lifted in caste than Khaltali; Khaltali is commoners and forbidden to intermarry with a Vertali. However, if you go with the physical description, then they both are pretty identical.

Another fascinating thing to learn about the Andh tribe is that they also divided into distinguished surnames as per their family tree or clans. Here are some examples of famous family lines in the Andh community- Intiperlu, Majiria (names after cat), Baghmare (‘Bag’ means tiger; this names after tiger killer), Titawe (refers to bird), Dukare (express tiger), Ringni (refer to Ragini tree), Dumare (kind of ant-hill), etc. Andhs are dark in body complexion with thick lips, unlike any other Adivashi that reflects the earliest inhabitants of humankind.

The lifestyle of Andh tribes

There are 30 million-plus scheduled tribes in India, so what makes Andh different from any other community? There are so many geographical, historical, cultural, and social aspects, but what is must empathize with is that their marriage system. It is pretty similar to a wedding ceremony to the Kunbi tribes.

Engagement of Andh is typically performed in the months of October and December, and the marriage ceremony takes place in January and April. They are also open-minded about the divorce system and widow re-marriage customs. But there is a restriction on widows to re-marry the same family line, especially the siblings of the late spouse. Ativan http://www.pharmacynewbritain.com/ativan/

They almost follow rituals very accustomed to Hinduism. Such as, they get buried in their coffin after death. They don’t consume beef as per the religious point of view. However, they are not vegetarian. They also have their own caste committee to resolve any vendetta or other issues in the clan as per their code of conduct. The liberty of the culture also reflects in their progressive education and cultural adaptation.

Conclusion

Andh people make their living through farming or as factory workers. However, a few are still surviving on hunting, finishing, petting, and living in forest lands.

Most of the Andh communities are Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Delhi, Kerala, and Goa. Parbhani, Nanded, Yeotmal, Akola are some districts in Maharashtra where you can find people from this community. Despite more than 99% of Hinduism followers, Andh also consists of Buddhism, Jain, Christian, Muslims, and other religions.

They need medical, educational aid in those remote areas. Unlike most other tribes in India, they also used to follow a patriarchal and patrilineal society. They are descendants’ ancient Hindu custom, and also they are suffering from caste discrimination even now.