The Rabha people are a Tibeto-Burmeseethnic group who live mostly in the Northeast Indian state of Assam, with a lesser population in the adjacent state of West Bengal.[4] They primarily inhabit the plains of Lower Assam and the Dooars, while some are found in the Garo Hills. Most of the Rabhas of Dooars refer to themselves as Rabha, but some of them often declare themselves as Kocha.[5]
The Rabha community have a rich, multi-faceted and distinct culture of their own. The Rabha society is matrilineal . The village economy is based on agriculture and both men and women work in the fields. The women wear colorful clothes that they weave themselves and wear a lot of beads and silver ornaments. The Rabhas are non-vegetarians and rice is their staple food.
The traditional economy of the Rabhas in general, is based on agriculture, forest based activities and weaving. In the past, the Rabhas used to practice shifting cultivation. They continued to cultivate the land with Gogo or bill-hook. Later they took up the job of settled cultivation and started cultivation with plough. Besides cultivation, hunting was also an old practice of Rabha people. Weaving was a traditional occupation of the Rabha women.
The Rabha language is closely related to neighbouring Boro and Garo, as well as many other Sino-Tibetan languages of Assam. The language was formerly spoken by all 11 Rabha clans: Maithori, Rongdani, Pati, Dahori, Dotla, Halua, Betolia, Hanna, Sunga, Modahi, Kocha Rabhas. Only the Rongdani, Maithori and Kocha clans still speak Rabha, although its usage is declining among them as well.[6] The Rabha language is only spoken by a minority of the Rabhas, most of whom speak Assamese in Assam and Meghalaya and Bengali in West Bengal.
^"Rabha, Bodo and Garo, all of which belong to a close-knit group of Tibeto-Burman languages."(Joseph 2006:1)
^"There stills exist another group of Rabhas called the Kocha or Koch"(Joseph 2006:2)
^"There are eight sub-branches of the Rabhas. Among them Maitori, Rangdani and Koch or Kocha are the major sub-divisions of the Rabhas. They have been maintaining language and culture."(Basumatārī 2010:8)
Saha, Rebatimohon (1987) "Jalpaiguri Jelar Koch-Rabha Samaj" (in Bengali) published in Ananda Gopal Ghosh edited Madhuparni, Special issue on Jalpaiguri District.
Raha, M.K. (1974) "The Rabhas of Western Duars: Structural Analysis of a Changing Matrilineal Society", Bulletin of the Cultural Research Institute, Vol. 10 (1 &2).
Ghosh, Saumitra (1990) "Vanbasi Rabhara" (in Bengali) Desh, Vol 57 (12), January 20.
Roy Choudhury, B. (1970) "Social Mobility Movement among the Rabhas of North Bengal", Man in India, Vol 50 (1).
Gupta, Pabitra Kumar (1977) "Uttarbanger Rahba Samaj O Dharmasanskar Aandolon", (in Bengali) in Madhuparni: Special North Bengal Issue, 1977.
Sarma, Dr. Nabin Ch (2006) "Oral Songs of Tribal Communities of Assam" a project of Assam Sahitya Sabha, Assam Institute of Research for Tribals and Scheduled Castes
India
Hinduism (94.36%)
Christianity (5.17%)
