Kamar

The Baiga tribe is one of the few remaining tribes in Central India which have not been greatly affected by modern civilization, till recently. The tribe has been least influenced by either the Christian missionaries or the Hindu civilization, though their material culture has almost disappeared before the organised trader castes of the Hindus and the craftsmen of surrounding tribes. The Baigas belong to the Kolarian stock, though they have lost their original speech and now speak a dialect called Baigani which is an admixture of Dravidian Gondi and Aryan Hindi and Marathi.
Indian anthropology has progressed a lot since the middle of the nineteenth century, but a full account of the Baiga tribe was not available till Varrier Elwin published his work, after several years' hard work and living among the Baigas.
The present work by the illustrious anthropologist Varrier Elwin is a detailed and thorough one and des cribes all aspects of the Baiga tribe. The author have fully treated all those things which the Baigas have made their own-the cult of Bewar, magic, the diagnosis and cure of diseases, the knowl edge of the legendary past, the art of recreation and the art of love. Their dress and ornaments, their festivals and ceremonies, their food habits and taboos etc. all have been described in great details. This is the first book in which the erotic life of an Indian tribe is described from intimate knowledge. A special feature of the work is the short and simple autobiographies of representative men and women, which give a clear and immediate insight into many an important aspect of the Baiga life. The work contains simple English translations of many Baiga songs and is illustrated by numerous photographs.