2011 Census Scheduled Tribes distribution map India by state and union territory

Roughly 8.6 per cent of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

's population is made up of " Scheduled Tribes" (STs), traditional tribal communities. In India those who are not Christians, Muslims, Jews, or Zoroastrians are identified as Hindus. The reason being varied beliefs and practices allowed in Hindusim and according of Hindusim as a geographical identity than merely Religious ones. Though, many of the Scheduled Tribes have modes of worship not typical to mainstream Hindusim but ontologically form part of the cultural practices of the land, as Nature or ancestral worship, with varying degrees of

syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...

. According to the 2011 census of India, about 7.9 million (7,937,734) out of 1.21 billion people did not adhere to any of the subcontinent's main religious communities of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, or

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

. The census listed

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

s, Zoroastrians,

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and various specified and unspecified tribal religions separately under the header "Other Religions and Persuasions". Of these religious census groupings, the most numerous are Sarna (4.9 million respondents), Gondi (1 million), Sari Dharam (506,000),

Donyi-Poloism Donyi Polo is the designation given to the indigenous religion, of animistic and shamanic type, of the Tani and other Indo-Tibetan and Sino-Tibetan peoples of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in Northeast India. The name "Donyi-Polo" means "Sun- ...

(331,000); Sanamahi (222,000) and Khasi (139,000), with all other religions numbering less than 100,000 respondents, including 18,000 for "tribal religion", 5,600 for "nature religion", and 4,100 "animists". The Scheduled Tribes account 89.39% (7,095,408) of total ORP in India.

Demographics

Customs

The tribal people observe their festivals, which have no direct conflict with any religion, and they conduct marriage among them according to their tribal custom. They have their own way of life to maintain all privileges in matters connected with marriage and succession, according to their customary tribal faith. In keeping with the nature of

Indian religion Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification o ...

generally, these particular religions often involve traditions of

ancestor worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

or worship of spirits of natural features. The various tribes can be categorised into different major linguistic groupings, such as Indo-Aryan, Dravidian,

Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages ( ) are a large language family spoken throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are natively spoken by the majority of the population in Vietnam and Cambodia, and by minority popu ...

, Tibeto-Burman, and

Andamanese The Andamanese are the various indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, part of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the union territory in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal. The Andamanese are a designated Scheduled Tribe in Indi ...

. About 25% of the

Munda people The Munda people are an Austroasiatic-speaking ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. They speak Mundari as their native language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found mainly concentrated in ...

and Oraon people, and 60% of the Kharia people of Jharkhand (population about 130,000), are Christian. Altogether, 43% of Kharia population is Hindu while 46% is Christian. However, almost two-thirds (63%) of the Santhal, over 40% of Munda and Ho tribal population are Hindus. Tribal groups in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

were similarly affected by both

and

in the late 20th century. The small hunting-and-gathering groups in the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been under severe pressure of cultural assimilation.

Recognition

According to the Indian legal system, all the native or

indigenous religions Indigenous religion or native religion is a category used in the Religious studies, study of religion to demarcate the religion, religious belief systems of communities described as being "indigenous people, indigenous". This category is often j ...

of India fall broadly under Hinduism, since the constitution does not classify only Vedic religions as

as used in the colloquial norm. The term "Hindu" is derived from Persian meaning " Indo" (or Indian), hence the official word "Hinduism" broadly refers to all the native cultures of the Indian subcontinent. The 1955 Hindu Marriage Act " efinesas Hindus anyone who is not a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, or

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

List of Tribal Religions in India

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

** Donyi-Polo ** Sanamahi ** Songsarek ** Ka Niam Khasi ** Kundimama ** Niamtre ** Rangfrah ** Heraka ** Wancho Religion ** Nocte Religion ** Tiwa Religion **

Ahom religion The Ahom Religion (also known as Phuralung religion) is the ethnic religion of the Ahom people. The Ahom people came into Assam in 1228, led by a Tai prince Sukaphaa, and admixed with the local people. The people who came into Assam included tw ...

** Keoliya ** Daikhoism ** Aronban ** Lokhimon ** Sat Sang ** Honghari ** Cumulang ** Dyaoism ** Siangsawn Pasian ** Krama Religion **

Sanamahism Sanamahism , also known as Meiteism , or Lainingthouism is an ethnic religion of the Meitei people of Manipur, in Northeast India. It is a polytheistic religion and is named after Lainingthou Sanamahi, one of the most important deities of ...

** Sari Dharam *

East India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

Bon Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

** Kiratism ** Yumaism ** Sarna ** Sari Dharam ** Onge Religion ** Jarawa Religion *

Central India Central India refers to a geographical region of India that generally includes the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The Central Zonal Council, established by the Government of India, includes these states as well as Uttar Prades ...

** Koyapunem

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tribal Religions In India Indian religions Scheduled Tribes of India Asian shamanism

Demographics

Customs

Recognition

List of Tribal Religions in India

See also

References