Selection Intensity and Fertility among the Gadaba Tribe of Bastar, Chhattisgarh

The present study was carried out among the Gadaba tribe of Bastar, Chhattisgarh. The study examined the reproductive performance and the index of selection among the tribe. 1.21% of sampled women have shown maximum birth of 8 children, while majority of women have given birth to 4 children (20.16%). The mean age of menarche is observed 13.25±0.27 years with highest fertility at 14 years of menarche(3.51). The mean age of marriage is found to be 16.71±0.13 years with highest fertility between 14 to 18years(3.22). The mean age of first child birth is observed 19.09).±0.14 years with maximum average live births between 15 to 17 Years(3.78). The coefficient of inbreeding (F) is found to be 0.006 lower than the Murias of Bastar (0.018). The Index of mortality (Im= 0.3284) is measured greater than index of fertility (If =0.2964).However the index of total selection is found to be 0.7221, which indicate that the selection among the sampled tribe is operated more through differential mortality rather than the differential fertility. The contribution of fertility to total selection is observed 54.52% among Gadaba tribe of Bastar.