ABSTRACT
The Bhil are simple people in their dress and in their habits. In fact, a Bhil without a turban is the butt of ridicule and reproach. It even plays a role in their customs: when a husband and wife part ways, the man tears off a part of his turban and gives it to her. The Bhil is essentially a non-vegetarian, but he cannot afford to eat meat daily. Often home-grown, meat is mostly eaten during marriages or propitiation rituals. Every Bhil village has a moneylender. The moneylenders, originally from the neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, have been in the Bhil villages for several generations. The most important man in the Bhil village is the Tadvi—the headman. As the Bhil have tremendous belief in witchcraft and magic, the Badwa, the witch-doctor, is much in demand in the Bhil community. On the whole, the Bhil prefer the moneylender to banks, badwas to doctors, and middleman to government functionaries.
