Overview

The word ""agaria"" probably means a worker in ag or fire, or Agyasure, the tribal demon who was born in flame. The Agaria are the iron-smelters and blacksmiths of central India, most numerous and characteristic in the Maikal Hills, but an ""Agaria belt"" may be traced all the way from Dindori to Netarhat. Because the Agaria share with the Gond, Baiga and other tribes many of the social customs and habits which go to fashion much of the pattern of their lives, they have been little studied. They have, however, besides a highly developed totemistic civilization, a distinctive mythology which controls and vitalizes to an unusual degree the material culture of the tribe. This anthropological study is devoted to those features which are unique to Agaria culture and life. In successive chapters Agaria history, numbers and spread, myth, magic, craft, economy and decay are discussed and analyzed, providing insights into a once vibrant culture, now in decay.

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9780195629620

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