The Rabhas of North Bengal

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction: i. Method and field of investigation. ii. Some of the earlier accounts. 2. Economic set-up. 3. Social Mobility Movement. 4. Social structure: i. Family. ii. Authority and residence. iii. Lineage. iv. Adoption of Non-Rabha. v. Clan division and Exogamy. vi. Economic control. vii. Age at marriage. viii. Marriage distance. ix. Marriage rules. 5. Life cycle: i. Birth and name giving. ii. Marriage. iii. Death ritual. 6. Religion: i. Religious beliefs. ii. Soul and after life. 7. Conclusion. Acknowledgement. Literature cited.

From the Preface: "The Rabhas of Eastern India, have a fairly large concentration in West Bengal where from the present data were collected. In this report, we get the documentation of village wise distribution of Rabha population, literacy pattern, landholding pattern, and economic class structure, social structure, family composition, residence pattern, ritual calendar and details of Social Mobility Movement. This portrayal of Rabha ethnography along with ample quantitative material, has not been casual--it is meticulous, systematic and rational. The Rabhas of West Bengal, have been the spectator of radical, social, economic and political changes that have reached North-East India. It is, in this context, that the present report becomes relevant to throw light on the cultural dynamism in Contemporary Rabha Society."