Bhopal City of Tribal Community By David H. Urmann At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Bhopal is a city of tribal communities preserving culture and tradition in practicing their rituals. Several monuments, mosques and buildings were developed to promote its culture.

Bhopal city is geographically located along two lakes, the Upper and Lower lake and surrounded by hills, which make it attractive to tourists. Most of the spots are of religious importance. Numerous temples and mosques exist that showcase their religious beliefs. In fact the biggest mosque in India, Taj ul Masajid, is found here. Dams and lakes are cultivated for irrigation and constant water supply. Structures signify archaeological influences of the past dynasties. The city has some of the best attractive tourist spots.

Sadar Manzil is located near Shaukat Mahal. It is a brick red building that served as Hall of Public Audience in the ancient times. It features an elegant garden surrounding the place. It is now being used as the main office of Municipal Corporation. It was historically built by the great leader Nawab Shahjahan Begum. It was built in 1898 A.D.

Gauhar Mahal is a building built in 1816 by the Nawabs of Bhopal led by Kadasa Begum. It is a mixture of Hindu and Mugal architecture located behind Shaukat Mahal. Fairs and festivals are organized in this place like the Sawan Festival.

Mahavirgiri is the highest point in Bhopal. It features a temple and can be reached by the ropeway or driving up. The ropeway takes 5 minutes to reach the top.

Kolar Dam is a major dam located 35 km from Bhopal. It is 45 meters high and situated across Kolar River. It stores up to 270 Mcm of water. It serves as the irrigation source of Bhopal City.

Shahpura Lake is the third largest in the city. It features a small park, thella wallas across fast foods. According to some tourists, the lake color changes depending on weather and temperature. It turns to deep green or sometimes brown. Within the area is a small mountain with decorated bungalows and a footpath. It also serves as a habitat for crater and migratory birds.

Despite the threats of modernization the tribal community in Bhopal remained intact. Tribes include Gonds, Kols, Bhils, Murias, Baigas, Korkus, Kamaras, Marias and Oraons. Gonds are considered to be the largest tribe. They have preserved to live a primitive life during the last century. This tribe practices the ceremony of eating wild orchids. They also preserved legends, foklore and mythology thru their riddles, songs and practices. Some of the tribes are discussed below.

The Kols tribe is the Rama devotees particularly Nag and Narsingha. They are a group of dark colored people that are natives of Garhwal. The main sources of survival are hunting and food cultivation. One of their strong beliefs is that women must do the dancing as compared to other tribes that say it’s a taboo.

Bhills tribe is known as the skilled archers. Most of them are devotees of Mata and Mahadev. The ancient tribe men wear a piece of loincloths while women are in tattered saris. The more modern Bhils practice unique ways during birth, marriage and death.

Murias tribe is inhabitants of the Bastar District. The main sources of livelihood are farming, hunting and animal care. They are known for their various dances like Har Endanna, Chhat-Dadar and Karsana. The members of the community also practice tattooing. They are devotees of nature Gods like Mati Deo and Bhima Devi.

Baigas tribe is inhabitants of Mandla and Balaghat District. The main sources of livelihood are basket making, cultivation specifically practiced shifting cultivation. They live by using the natural resources. This tribe is believed to be the least affect tribe when it comes to modernization. They practice body tattooing particularly in winter to summer seasons. Some tattoo artists are women members of the tribe. They are also known for their dance form called Dashera.

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