West Bengal 44,538 (2011 census) | ||
Jharkhand 115,093 (2001 census)
1,35,797(2011 census) Bihar 4,631 (2001 census)
2,225 (2011 census) | ||
The Mal Paharia people are a tribal people of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand in India.
Contents
Paharia Mal or Mal Paharia are listed as Scheduled Tribe by the Government of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.
Society
The Mal Paharias who live in the southern hills of Damin-i-koh and in the south and east of Santhal Parganas have been Hinduised. Among themselves they speak a corrupt form of Bengali, but with others they speak Bengali and Hindi. The Bengali and Devenagari scripts are used by them. The Mal Paharias survive on agriculture and forest produce, Rice is their staple food. Pulses like moong, masur, Kulthi and lar are consumed. They are non-vegetarians, but do not eat beef. Both men and women drink liquor, which may be home-made or bought from the market. They smoke indigenous cheroots, and chew tobacco mixed with lime (khaini) and betel.
Demographics
As per 2001 census, the Mal Paharias number around 115,093 in Jharkhand.