T H E E C O N O M I C W E E K L Y Augus t 26, 1961

Social Values and Economic Change The Hill Marias of Bastar

Edward J Jay

Most recent studies of social and cultural change in rural India have emphasised the difficulty of intro­ducing new ideas into village life.

Lack of understanding On the part of government officials^ villagers' suspicion of outsiders, lack of appropriate forms of social organisation to handle the innovations, and many other reasons have been pro­posed to understand better the slowness of social change and the failure of planning in connection with the village community.

It is suggested here that a certain tenaciousness of traditional ways, irrespective of their utility, is an important factor in this respect.

Perhaps the new form of irrigation of the new wheat is seen as better in the purely utilitarian sense. But the old and traditional forms are valued because they are more psychologically satisfying.

This is illustrated by the strong emotional attachment of the Hill Marias of Bastar to a form of shifting agriculture, locally known as penda, which goes beyond a purely rational appraisal of its worth.

[A preliminary version of this paper was read at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in November 1960],

THE H i l l Mar ias are a Gond t r i b a l g roup l i v i n g in an area called

the A b u j h m a r , in Bastar Dis t r i c t , M a d h y a Pradesh. There are about 10,000 H i l l Mar ias , most o f them l i v i n g by a combina t ion of gather ing and a f o r m of sh i f t ing agr icu l tu re loca l ly k n o w n as penda. There is also some cash income f r o m a smal l mustard seed crop f r o m wage la­bour, the manufacture and sale of l iquor , and occasional sale of live­stock. Of the lat ter act ivi t ies , the cu l t i va t ion of mustard seed is the only one universal ly pursued. In add i t ion , f ish f r o m the numerous streams- in the area prov ide a large percentage of the pro te in supply. H u n t i n g is also done but is a mar­ginal ac t iv i ty .

The A b u j h m a r Hi l l s are characte­r ized by a mediocre la te r i t ic soil w i t h poor moisture retention, great rockiness, and steep slopes. This is an ecological zone where rice a^ r i -cul ture is not feasible. The chief g ra in crop is a mi l le t , Panicum mileaceum, loca l ly k n o w n as kohala nuka. Nevertheless, a minute quan­t i t y of rice is g rown in small plots adjacent to streams. The land is prepared by hoeing and not by p l o w i n g . Transplanta t ion is not per formed.

There is a group of M a r i a villages however, located at the extreme edge of the A b u j h m a r H i l l s , on the bor der of a different ecological zone one of f la t l and w i t h compara t ive ly good s o i l One of the largest o t hese v i l l ages , w i th a popu la t ion o f

235, is Orcha, Here both rice cu l t i ­va t ion and penda are done. The rice is more systematically cul t ivated, in fields adjacent to a r iver wh ich flows the year round. There are about 100 acres in a l l . The p l o w is used by most families, and is drawn by o rd ina ry cattle, not buffalo. Trans­p lan ta t ion of paddy is not practised, though the vil lagers are f ami l i a r w i t h the technique having witnessed i t in more typ ica l ly r ice-growing Halba and Gond villages to the nor th . The yie ld is low, amount ing to on ly about 350 pounds per acre on the average, which compares un­favourably w i t h the Ind ian national average of 900 to 1000 pounds. The y ie ld of mil let f rom the pendas is s t i l l less, however, amount ing to no more than 335 pounds per cultivated acre in a good year. The rice figure is somewhat misleading, as some of the ve ry poor fields b r ing the ave­rage way down. Some of the yields are much higher than 350 pounds per cult ivated acre. One f a m i l y in the v i l lage reaped about 900 pounds per acre in 1958.

Of the 35 families at Orcha in 1958, 20 sowed both rice and penda 8 sowed rice only, 4 sowed penda only, and 3 l ived by means other than agr icul ture , In 1959 there were 38 famil ies of wh ich 11 sowed just r ice. These figures may be summarized in the fo l lowing table :

1958 1959 Rice and Penda 20 20 Rice only 8 11 Penda only 4 4 No land 3 3 Total number of families 35 38

Now, throughout most of t r i b a l Ind ia where these two systems of agr icu l tu re existed side by side at one t ime, plow agr icu l tu re g radua l ly came to displace the more p r i m i t i v e slash-and-burn technique. Essentially there are two reasons for this : one is the natural advantage of settled agr icul ture over sh i f t ing , and the other is official governmental pres­sure f rom the outside.

In his recent book " T r i b e Caste, and Na t ion , " F G Bai ley mentions a number of advantages of r ice cu l t iva t ion over axe cu l t iva t ion in the Kondmala of Orissa. One of these is the perpetual fecundity of the land. It rare ly requires a fallow period, and once the i n i t i a l labour of making the field is ex­pended, there is re la t ively l i t t l e work f rom year to year compared w i t h an axe field. " . . . w i t h i n l imi t s it is capable of expansion to meet a g r o w i n g need for food wi thou t run­ning into the danger of destroying natural resources. It represents con­siderably greater control over nature than does the axe field. " *

I concur in these remarks, adding the caution that it hag not been clear ly established that sh i f t ing cu l t iva t ion is wasteful of forest re­sources as long as the populat ion remains sparse. (Ba i ley , of course, is speaking of a si tuation where popula t ion is increasing.) I would also l ike to add that at least in the

* F C Bailey, "Tribe, Caste, and Nation". Manchester, The Univer­sity Press, 1960. (Pp 65-66)

August 26, 1961 T H E E C O N O M I C W E E K L Y

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Abujhmar, the yield of grain per acre of r ice l and i s somewhat greater than tha t f r o m penda l and , as we have seen. I t i s also l i k e l y that r ice p r o d u c t i o n could be increased to a m u c h h igher level t h r o u g h more systematic i r r i g a t i o n and fe r t i l i za t ion techniques. Cu l t iva t ion on the rocky slopes, on the other hand , p robab ly could be improved o n l y to a very l i m i t e d extent. The present system of field ro ta t ion ( w i t h a 15 to 20 year fa l low cycle) substitutes for fer t i l izer , and apparent ly addi t iona l mois ture is not needed for the millet; c rop . Moreover , axe f ie lds require perpetual ha rd labour inasmuch as new areas of jungle must be cleared every three or f ou r years; and the annual g rowth of bushes and shrub, necessitates chopping and b u r n i n ac t iv i ty every year. Use of the plow makes hoeing unnecessary. Hoeing is not on ly harder w o r k , bu t pendt fields are very rocky compared u r ice f ie lds , m a k i n g i t more difficul-f o r the earth to be turned. M o r e over, w i l d animals devour large por t ions of the penda crops, as the f ie lds are located r i g h t in the j un ­gle . Rice fields, on the other hand are far ther f rom th ick jungle fo r the most par t , and are smaller and easier to fence off. F ina l ly , the crops themselves compare unfavour­ably. Rice is a large-kernel g r a in easier to thrash, w innow and husk than the small-kernel mi l l e t . M i l l e t on the plate is usually f u l l of stones, chaff, and bi ts of d i r t , whi le r ice is comparat ively clean. Y o u can make f lour out of the starchy rice grains, but mi l l e t i s round and hard difficult to g r i n d in to f lour . Through-Out most of Bastar r ice is a h igh prestige g ra in compared to mi l l e t . The M u r i a Gonds, Halbas, and other cul t ivators of the region prefer rice and i t br ings a f a i r l y good pr ice in the market . M i l l e t , on the contrary has very l i t t l e cash value. To sum­marize, i t wou ld appear that r ice cu l t iva t ion is more efficient and therefore more desirable, a l l other things be ing equal , than sh i f t ing cu l t iva t ion .

Attachment to Penda Cultivation The question that intr igues me, a

th i s junc tu re , is why the trend to w a r d rice cul t iva t ion has proceeded so s lowly in this area. For th A b u j h m a r H i l l s p roper the reason seems obvious : there is a lack of suitable land. The rocky slopes of

the hills preclude any type of plov

w h i c h requ i re p lenty o f water . B u t there is suitable l a n d available to the M a r i a s o f Orcha and su r round-i n g vil lages. There is a good deal of f la t l and in the area now w h i c h is no t cu l t iva ted . Especially along the southern bank of the Orcha r i v e r there are large areas of l and w h i c h are not being ut i l ized for r ice, bu t where r ice could be g rown easily w i t h a m i n i m u m of labour. Fur ther­more, i t w o u l d be qui te feasible fo r many of the h i l l people to move d o w n in to this area if they so desired.

I have already mentioned that at Orcha and the ne ighbour ing villages there is some reliance on p l o w agri­culture. A p p a r e n t l y a number of famil ies have realized the advan­tages of rice over penda and are now cu l t iva t ing rice exclusively, as was indicated in the foregoing tabic. To the extent that there is a t rend i t i s apparent ly toward rice. Bu t why do so many famil ies at Orcha con­t inue to rely on penda and i ts mi l l e t crop for at least ha l f of thei r cul­t ivated staple grains ?

In order to formula te an answer to this question, it is necessary to examine M a r i a attitudes towards the two systems of agr icu l tu re . At pre sent the government is considering a po l i cy of severely l i m i t i n g or e l i m i n a t i n g altogether slash-and-burn agr icu l ture in the A b u j h m a r on the grounds that it is wasteful of forest resources. Rumours to that effect have reached the Marias . The i r opposi t ion to the intended r e fo rm is adamanl. One man to ld me that "we w i l l not stop penda even if we are k i l l ed ! " Another said that the Mar ias would not t u r n f r o m penda even if the government gave them lots of good rice land . " W i t h o u t penda we Marias cannot l ive ! " These attitudes were voiced by all the men of Orcha, even those who grow only rice. The at­tachment to slash-and-burn is shown in s t i l l other ways. When Mar ias are asked which they prefer to eat, rico or m i l l e t , they w i l l inevi tably say m i l l e t (The wealthiest M a r i a a ' Orcha was a par t i a l exception tq this . He is a man who grows only r ice and when asked which he pre fers to eat, he said " b o t h arc good.") There are new eating ceremonies for both crops, but there is more inter­est and concern about the ceremonia performances f o r penda. There very l i t t l e emphasis o n fo lk lo re i -Maria culture, but most of the tale

that exist introlve penda never rice

I n 1891 the admin i s t r a t ion o f Bastar came d i rec t ly under the B r i ­t i sh Government and they taxed the land heavi ly , i n c l u d i n g penda and rice in the A b u j h m a r . Injustices were inf l ic ted in the assessment of both types of land, but on ly r ice cu l t iva t ion was abandoned. The readiness w i t h wh ich rice p roduc t ion is cut back is another ind ica t ion of i ts relat ively un impor t an t status in the eyes of the Mar ias . Later , under W V Grigson in the late 1920's, th is type of tax was discontinued in the A b u j h m a r and r ice cul t iva t ion was again pursued. At present Mar i a s are free to practise axe or p low cul-t i va t ion w i t h o u t official encourage-ment or discouragement in respect to either.

Value vs Utility In general we can say tha t there

is a s t rong emotional at tachment to penda w h i c h goes beyond a pure ly ra t ional appraisal o f i t s wor th . B o t h rice and penda are valued, bu t in different ways. To b o r r o w a distinc­t ion f r o m Kluckhohn ' s theory o f value, one f o r m of agr icu l ture is t r u l y "valued" whi le the other is appreciated only in a "utilitarian" sense. That is to say, penda has attached to it sentiments and emo-tions w h i c h transcend i ts actual use­fulness as a food-gett ing ac t iv i ty . In Kluckhohn ' s * words :

Value should be distinguished from utility because of the arbitrariness and psychological character of value. Uti­lity normally refers to a strictly ratio-onal calculus, often from the vantage point of the observer.

Thus, I , as an observer, saw only the technical advantages of r ice cu l t iva t ion It was difficult to appreciate f u l l y the M a r i a attach­ment to slash-and-burn as an eco­nomic ac t iv i ty . There is an esthetic component in the way Mar ias look at penda : penda is a way of l i f e , a symbol of thei r very existence. I t a t once provides them w i t h their da i ly sustenance and sets them apart as a people, separate f rom a l l others. Rice is s t i l l regarded as fore ign and margina l , even by those cul t ivators who in fact re ly on i t more than on penda. That is the answer I go t when I asked w h y r ice agr icu l ture was not expanded, considering i ts h igher y ie ld fo r less w o r k . For example, " r ice is a l -

* C Kluckhohn, " Values and Value-Orientations in the Theory of Action: An Exploration in Definition and Classification." In T Parsons and E Shils, 'Toward a General Theory of

Action". Cambridge Harvard Univer-sity Price 1951. (P.430),

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

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August 26, 1961 T H E E C O N O M I C W E E K L Y

r igh t . But we just grow a l i t t l e . M a i n l y we Mar ias l ive by penda". This answer seems even to ignore the present existense of 100 acres of paddy land along the Orcha river.

A l t h o u g h these observations about values are not en t i re ly new, it is possible that they have been neglected to some extent in current studies of social and cul tura l change in ru ra l Ind ia . Mont of the recent studies have emphasized the diffi­culty of in t roduc ing new ideas in to v i l l age l i fe f rom the outside The lack of understanding on the par t of government officials, the vi l lagers ' suspicion of outsiders, the lack of appropr ia te forms of social organi­za t ion to handle the innovations, and many other reasons have been proposed to better understand the slowness of social change and the f a i l u r e of p l a n n i n g in connection w i t h the I n d i a n village communi ty . I w o u l d l ike to suggest that a cer­ta in tenaciousness of t rad i t iona l ways, irrespective of their u t i l i t y is s t i l l another. In the Abuj lunar , fo r example, change is extremely slow even when the usefulness of the new technique is understood and there is no p rob lem of relat ionships w i t h outsiders. The cu l t iva t ion of r ice has been pa r t of M a r i a cul ture for many generations so that it is not new or strange. I t s advantages in terms of food produc t ion are understood, yet the old order per­sists and the swing to rice is i n ­c red ib ly slow.

There seems to be a tenacity of o l d ways for their own sake, irres­pective of their lack of u t i l i t a r i a n advantage. It would not be sur­p r i s i n g i f this is t rue over wide areas of I n d i a . Redfield* noted the tendency of peasants in many parts of the wor ld to exh ib i t a hard-headed conservatism, a repetative assertion of the t r i ed and t rad i t iona l as guides for behaviour. Perhaps the new f o r m of i r r i g a t i o n or the new wheat is seen as better in the purely u t i l i t a r i a n sense. But the o ld and t r ad i t iona l forms are valued because they are more psychologi­cally satisfying and esthetically pleasing. The swing f rom one me­thod to another does not automati­cally follow even if the technical advantage of the new is clearly realized-

* R Redfield, "Peasant Society and Cul­ture." Chicago, University of (Chi-cago Press, 1956, (Pp 137, 140)

W o r k on Indian Dams by Brit ish F i n n

THE Ind ian branch of the Br i t i sh l i n n of Cementation Co 1,Ltd has

been awarded a contract valued at £270.000 by the Tata Hydro-Electric Power Supply Co L t d for the streng­thening of the Shirawta Dam, near Bombay, Two-and-a-half years ago. the Tata Power Co entrusted Ce­

mentat ion w i t h a contract valued at approximate ly £100,000 for the g rou t ing of the Walwhan Dam, which . like the Shirawta Dam, fo rms part of the Tata hydro-electric pro-ject system. This was fo l lowed last year by a contract for the strength­ening of the Walwhan D a m by means of high tensile cables and the grouting of the Shirawta D a m .