| IV |
| Physical Attributes of Abujhmaria |
On an average
the Abujhmaria adult does not exceed 170 cms, in heoght. He
has reddish-copper complexion with straight black hair. Occasionally
we find young people with curly wavy hair also. Men with moustaches
and beards are seldom seen. There are no professional barbers
among the Abujhmarias.
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Every person
keeps his locally-made razor which resembles an ordinary knief.
The customs is that one ashves his friend who returns the compliment.
Generally , hair on face is scanty. Physically they are strong
and have wide set mouth. Their teeth are usually discoloured
because of constant use of tobocco.
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With regard
to the hair-dressing of men, the old fashion of coiffure still
exists where a round pactch of hair on the crown is drawn back
into a top knot and the rest of the head is shaved. This fashion
is, however, slowly disappearing and the young menimitate the
style prevalent in the plains. They have also learnt to dress
in the same way as their Muria neighbours living in the plains
of Narainpur. They wear a loincloth which covers most of the
buttocks and thighs:; jackets, ready-made shirts and banians
are also worn frequently.
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Young men
cover their head with pagri called �talla gu a�.
Generally, men and women walk bearfoot. Lead and copper ear-rings
and stringed coloured beads are worn,both by men and women..The
women decorate their foreheads or temples with colour feathers.
Women too put on a loincloth which extends half way through
the knees. They cover their breasts centrally with one end of
a piece of cloth while the other end of the same is drawn back
around the waist over the loincloth. Young women are graceful
and their hair on head is parted in the centre and brought back
into a pendulous bunch. They generally prefer white cloth to
coloured ones. Ornaments made of lead, copper and beads are
extensively used. Tattooing the limbs, breasts and face enhance
the physical appearance of the Abujhmaria women folk.
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Social Scene
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The general
layout of a village is in consonance with the nature of the
terrain where it is located. Usually, it is situated in the
valley but on the downward slope by the side of some stream.
The construction of houses does not follow any set pattern.
Because of the menace of the wild animals like tiger, bear,
etc., the village has a strong fencing made of bamboo and trunks
of sal trees which is difficult to break down even by a wild
buffalo. At some places the fencing is as high as 7-10 feet.
The size of house, lōn, is realted to the need and about
4 to 6 feet. The rooms are usually in rows with verandah in
front, followed by a sleeping room for the husband and the sons,
a kitchen-cum-sleeping room for the wife and daughters, a grain
storing hut and menstruation hut �kurma� at the back. Every
sleeping room has a large platform raised on wooden legs. During
winter and rainy seasons they sleep on the platform with fire
underneath. In summer they sleep outside. In the kitchen in
every Maria house there is a small partition where there is
kept an earthen pot especially dedicated to the Dead; in the
same room is the hearth of the Departed. It is around this little
shrine that there centres an extensive cult of the ancestral
Dead. The housewife puts a little flour into the pot in the
honour ot the Dead when she grinds and here she cooks new grains
at the harvest festival.
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Houses are
not hygienically maintained because of smoke and soot formation
which is due to the constant burning of fire. House are built
with bamboo and plastered with mud and cowdung and with thatched
roofing.
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