THARU community belongs to the Terai lowlands, amid the Shivaliks of the lower Himalayas. The Tharus live in both India and Nepal. In the Indian Terai, they live mainly in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
They belong to the Schedule tribe community. Their estimated population has crossed above 20 lakh.
HISTORY of THARU TRIBE
According to AL-BURNI, Tharu people have been living in the eastern Terai since at least the 10th century. They claim descent from the Sakya and Koliya peoples who lived in the ancient city of Kapilvastu. The Rana Tharus in western Nepal claims to be of Rajput origin and to have migrated from the Thar Desert in Rajasthan to Nepal’s Far Western Terai region after the defeat of Maharana Pratap against a Mughal emperor in the 16th century. Most scholars refute this claim.
THARU TRIBE-LANGUAGE, FOOD, AND CULTURE
The word Tharu is believed to be derived from Sthavir, meaning followers of Theravada Buddhism. They speak various dialects of Tharu, a language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup, and variants of Hindi, Urdu, and Awadhi. In central Nepal, they speak a variant of Bhojpuri, while in eastern Nepal, they speak a variant of Maithili.
Tharus worship Lord Shiva as Mahadev and call their supreme being “Narayan”, who they believe is the provider of sunshine, rain, and harvests.
Tharu women have stronger property rights than is allowed to women in mainstream North Indian Hindu custom.
Tharus practices arranged marriage, which parents often arrange already during the couple’s childhood. The wedding ceremony is held when the bride and groom reach their marriable age. The ceremony lasts several days and involves all the relatives of the two families. Among the Tharus in the Bardiya district, it is also customary to arrange the marriage of a daughter in exchange for getting a bride for a son or vice versa. Parents give particular attention to the working capacity of the groom and bride, rather than the economic situation of the in-law family. Polygamous marriages ( Polygamy is defined as a marriage in which one spouse (man or woman) has several other spouses ) are also customary among Tharu people, with rich landholders marrying between two and five women
Members of the tribal group survive on wheat, corn, and vegetables are grown close to their homes. A majority still live in the forest. Most Tharu tribals also consume alcoholic beverages, and some eat beef. Standard items on the Tharu plate are bagiya or dhikri – which is a steamed dish of rice flour that is eaten with chutney or curry – and ghonghi, an edible snail that is cooked in a curry made of coriander, chili, garlic, and onion.
THARU TRIBE RESISTANT TO MALARIA
The Tharu are famous for their ability to survive in the malaria parts of the Terai that were deadly to outsiders. Contemporary medical research comparing Tharu with other ethnic groups living nearby found an incidence of malaria nearly seven times lower among Tharu. The researchers believed such a large difference pointed to genetic factors rather than behavioral or dietary differences.
UTTAR PRADESH GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE
The UP Government has taken a unique step to represent the Tharu tribe across the world. The purpose is to bring Tharu villages on the tourism map. It will create jobs and bring economic independence to this untouched tribal population.
SCHEME– The UP Government will connect Tharu villages in the districts of Balrampur, Bahraich, Lakhimpur, and Pilibhit bordering Nepal, with the homestay scheme of the UP Forest Department. The idea is to offer tourists an experience of living in the natural Tharu habitat, in traditional huts made of grass collected mainly from the forests, and taste the Traditional home-cooked meal of the Tharu tribe.
Both domestic and international tourists will avail of the opportunity to experience the taste of the special Tharu culture by staying with them, and observing their lifestyle, food habits, and attire.
The Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation will train the Tharu people to communicate effectively with visitors and encourage villagers to acquaint them with aspects of safety and cleanliness, and with the rules of the forest.
