Education and Patterns of Marriage System: A Micro Study on the Birhors in Hazaribag District, Jharkhand

The Birhors, one of the most primitive tribes of Hazaribagh in Jharkhand states, are nomadic hunters, food gatherers and rope makers. In Jharkhand, Birhor are found in different places like Palamu, Garhwa, Singhbhum, Giridih, Lohardaga, Ranchi, Hazaribagh, and Gumla. Linguistically they belong to Astro- Asiatic Mundari group and have their own dialect.

The Birhors tribe of Jharkhand consider themselves as the descendants of the Sun. The word Birhor means man of jungles. They are fully depended on natural environment. Their economy is still traditional and mainly based on forest. Forest plays a vital role in their life. Birhor collect a number of fruits, wood, vegetable etc. from the forests. Rope and rope made articles are also the important primary occupations of the Birhor. They have great specialization in making ropes from different types of bark of creepers and trees. Hunting and trapping of animals and birds are considered as their food. Sometimes they sell these articles at the local hatts (market) for earning money. They also gather roots, shoots, leaves, fruits and other forest products from the forest. As a result all the traditional settlements of the Birhors are found near forests.

The standard of education of the Birhor is very low. Generally they are illiterate. At present we see the ‘First Generation Learner’. Most of the girls initially attend the school and reach up to the stage of primary level. They are reluctant to continue their high school education as the school is far away from the home and parents do not wish to send them to school. In Birhor communities’ marriage is an important institution. Basically child marriage is practiced in their society where the age of the bride varies from 12 to 14 years and that of the bridegroom from 15 to 17 years of age. Majority of the girls’ marriage take place at the age of 12 to 13 years. As a result they are married before their puberty. The socio – economic condition of the Birhors has improved a little. This paper has tried to find out the relationship between early marriage and low education of the Birhors of Jharkhand.