Castes and Tribes of West Bengal - 2 | WBCS Preparation: All Subjects - WBCS (West Bengal) PDF Download

• Santhal
  The most extensive tribal community in West Bengal is the Santhal. They utilize the Santhali language, a member of the Austroasiatic language family. Engaging in activities such as fishing, agriculture, and the collection of forest products, they rely on rice as their primary food source, supplemented by beef, pork, and meat. Their supreme deity is Marang Buru or Bonga, and they celebrate important festivals like Sohrai, Baha, Danonai, and Karam. Sohrai is particularly significant among Santhals, and the Karam festival, observed in September-October, holds major importance. Santhals are known for playing a variety of musical instruments, including Tirio, Dhodro, Banam, Phet Banam, Tamak, and Tumdak. 

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•  Sabar/Shabar/Saora
  Residing primarily in the Midnapore district of West Bengal, the Sabar tribe was once classified as a 'criminal tribe' under the British Raj's Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. The Sabar community has the lowest proportion of cultivators among tribal groups due to their landlessness. As a traditionally forest-dwelling tribe, they depend on forests for their livelihood. The renowned Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi has depicted their challenging lives in many stories. Their diet includes non-vegetarian food, rice, and pulses, and tattooing is a prominent art form within this tribal group. 

Major Castes in West Bengal 

• Namasudras
  The Namasudras, also known as 'Chandal,' reside in the eastern part of Bengal and the marshlands of Bengal, particularly in the districts of North and South Dinajpur, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas. Primarily cultivators and boatmen, they traditionally inhabited the marshy areas of Bangladesh but were compelled to relocate to West Bengal during the partition. Namasudras, a significant non-Aryan caste of Eastern Bengal, engage in boating and cultivation.
• Rajbanshi
  Inhabiting the regions around Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, and Jalpaiguri, the Rajbanshi people are primarily engaged in agriculture and fishing. They speak the Cooch language, closely related to the Bodo and Rajbanshi languages. Rice, fish, and bamboo shoots constitute their staple diet. Also known as Koch Rajbongshi, they identify themselves with the Kamarupa Kingdom (350 CE) and form a predominantly agricultural community. Rajbanshi men wear dhoti and shirt, while women wear bukuni-patani. Popular music forms among them include Bhawaiyya, Chatka, and Palagan, with a variety of instruments like Dotara, Sarindran, Bena, Dhak, Khol, Mridanga, Kansi, Kartal, Sanai, and Kupa Bansi.