Forms of Religion in Tribal and Peasant Societies | Anthropology Optional for UPSC PDF Download

Introduction
In units 25 and 26 we discussed broad patterns of social structure in the tribal societies of India. In this unit we will try to understand how faith in supernatural is structured in tribal society. If we go by the 1961 census of India, it would appear that about 89 per cent of  the tribals claimed to profess Hinduism and 5 per cent had converted to Christianity. About 4 per cent were enumerated as following tribal religions, which number 52 (Mitra 1966). Vidyarthi and Rai (1976: 238) hold that the tribals in India are mainly Hindu. They quote many scholars who also hold a similar view. Here we have not gone into the details of these opinions. Let us for a minute assume that most of the tribals in India follow some or the other form of Hinduism. It is obvious that this is due to the contacts the tribals had with their Hindu neighbours. So also is the case with regard to Christianity, which was introduced among the tribal groups during the British rule. Therefore we will discuss in the last part of this unit both Hinduism and Christianity as aspects of the impact of other faiths on triba religions. The first part of the unit will deal with the nature of tribal religion, the main theme of this unit.
We will here discuss main features of the ritual complex of tribal people. Next we will show how tribal worldview recognises no differentiation of the sacred and the secular. We also show that tribal simple beliefs are in agreement with the highly sophisticated worldview of the theologically self-conscious society. Then we take up the issues of the impact of other religious belief systems on tribal religions. In the end we discuss the occurrence of socio-religious movements in the tribal societies of India. In many parts of the world, such movements have been reported to occur among the aboriginal populations, and the tribal groups in India share with them belief in millenarianism. 

Chief Characteristics of Tribal Societies Simple Form of Religion 
Every religious system consists of a set of three essential elements
(a) Belief in the existence of a superhuman world
(b) Human’s relationship to it
(c) Practice of ritual as an instrument of establishing relationship.

Here
(a) Refers to the belief system
(b) To the value system
(c) To the action system. The form and meaning of these elements, i.e., religious belief, religious value and religious action, may differ from one order to another.
Religion of a tribe is simple insofar as it is expressed in everyday language and experienced in everyday life. It is descriptive, demonstrative and readily discernible. Among the tribes religious myth, belief, religious value and religious action are not treated as something apart from other kinds of belief and behaviour, as followed in social, economic and political contexts. Yet, the meaning of beliefs and behaviour of the tribals appears mysterious to the outsiders. This is precisely because theirs is a religion without explanation. However, tribal religion is no less complete than the highly developed form of complex religion to the extent that its implicit philosophy recognises the same universal truth.