The Origin of the Malpaharias
By Sasanka Sarkar
Summary
Focusing on an indigenous group from the Rajmahal hills of eastern India, this article surveys historical records to trace the origins of the Malpaharias. The tribe, closely allied to the Maler (or Mal) tribe, is discussed in the context of their language, culture and physical characteristics. Early documents, including Lt. Shaw’s 1795 note on hill inhabitants near Rajmahal, and later accounts by ethnologists like Dalton and Risley, suggested that the Malpaharias were distinct but related to the Malers. The author compiles information from colonial records, ethnographic studies and census reports to understand their social organisation and customs. Shaw’s account divided the hill people into three groups based on topographical regions and noted their unique customs. Later documents recorded the Malpaharias’ subsistence practices, which included shifting cultivation, hunting and forest produce collection. The article discusses the tribe’s resistance to Mughal and British authority, including their involvement in local uprisings. It evaluates linguistic evidence, noting that Malpaharia speech is similar to Malto (a Dravidian language). The author argues that the Malpaharias may have descended from an offshoot of the Malers who migrated to the Rajmahal hills and adapted to local conditions. He emphasises the need for further anthropological research to clarify their origins and relations to neighbouring groups.
Conclusion
By examining colonial-era documents and ethnographic reports, the article reconstructs a tentative history of the Malpaharias, linking them to the Maler tribe and highlighting their adaptation to the Rajmahal hills. It concludes that the Malpaharias likely originated as a subgroup of the Malers, retaining cultural and linguistic ties while developing distinct practices in response to their environment. The study underlines the importance of integrating linguistic, historical and anthropological evidence to understand tribal histories.