Tools & tillage: a journal on the history of the implements of cultivation and other agricultural processes (7.1992/1995)

TOOLS & TILLAGE VII 4 1995

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to her father-in-law who in turn paid sukh
(bride price) (Elwin 1939, 78, 273). The same
was the case with lamsena labour. The lam-
sena was a youth who served for a wife in her
home before marriage. It was like a period of
probation where a girl’s family could test the
abilities of the boy she sought to marry. Dur-
ing this period (lasting 2 to 5 years), he re-
ceived food and clothing from the family. In
return his labour and earnings belonged to his
father-in-law. He returned to his home after
the marriage is fixed (Elwin 1939, 288). The
composition of the work group in the field
was thus affected. Whereas the woman’s la-
bour shifted more or less permanently the
same was not true of lamsena labour. Thus
the composition of the work group in the
field was affected by the movement of people.
Patriarchal authority formed the basis of
the formation of the work groups. The oldest
male member of the family decided when and
how the girl would get married, what her
bride-price would be and how long the lam-
sena would stay in his house. The distribu-
tion of work within the household, the loca-
tion of the fields, and the separation of the
son’s household from the father’s was also
decided by the same authority. Male headship
of the community and household was in turn
legitimised by Baiga oral traditions. The male
head of the household was responsible for the
dissemination of these traditions which or-
dered the behavioural patterns of the Baigas
towards their own environment. The elders
within the community or the siyans also
played an important role in the transmission
of the Baiga myth to Baiga women and youn-
ger members of the community. The primary
way in which the Baiga elders socialized
young children into behaving like “good
Baiga” men and women was by telling them
stories of Nanga Baiga. Hunting techniques
were taught to young boys, domestic chores
were taught to girls through games. Some of

these games were recorded by Verrier Elwin
as late as 1930. These traditions formed an
intrinsic part of the dhaiya subsistence sys-
tem.
2. The Methods of Cultivation:
The yearly agricultural cycle began with the
preparation of fields before the coming of the
first monsoon showers. First, trees and
bushes or jharh were cut with the axe or the
sickle. After burning the undergrowth on the
field, the ashes were spread evenly over the
field so that they got absorbed into the soil
during the rainy season. Seeds were broadcast
in these ashes with the arrival of the first
rains. Baigas stood on the side of the hills and
waited for the seeds to become scattered on
the slope with the flow of the rain water. The
Baigas noted that their crops had dwindled
ever since they started using the wooden ard
or bakhar on their fields (Steensberg 1993,
44).5 The reason for this was that the success-
ful application of the ard required the fre-
quent exposure of the soil to the atmosphere.
The soil needed to be sufficiently soft so that
the ard could open it to air, dew and rain
(Walker 1971, 229-257, 237). On a hard later-
ite base this was not possible. The hardness of
the rock, the undulating slopes and the thick
forest cover were responsible for this. Thus
the method of burning and broadcasting was
quite suitable for this soil. In other areas
where axe cultivation took place, hoes were
used inside the forests to break the clods in
the earth. Amongst the Khonds of Orissa the
hoe or the korki was used. The crops sown
were also more varied like arch ar, barbatti,
and castor (Khond notes 226-227). The Ma-
rias also used the hoe or the kudari to facil-
itate the germination of the seed. Apart from
kodon and kutki the Maria also grow arhar,
kosra and bajra (Grigson 1927, 127).6 (See
Appendix III for glossary of crops grown by
swidden cultivators).