Tradition of Halma

• 27 Feb 2023

Why In News?

On February 26, 2023, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said at the closing ceremony of Halma Utsav and Vikas Yatra at Hathi paw hill in Jhabua district that the tradition of Halma will be extended to the entire Madhya Pradesh.

Key points

• The Chief Minister said that Halma is such a tradition by which nature can be saved from global warming. The Halma tradition of the forest dwellers is unique. It gives the message of help to a person in distress. He said that by expanding this tradition in the entire Madhya Pradesh, water, soil and environment-conservation work will be done.
• Even today, there are many indigenous ways of living in the tribal society of India, which can solve various problems arising due to development in the present time. One of them is the Halma tradition of the Bhil tribe. Because of the importance of this tradition, on April 24, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned it in Mann Ki Baat.
• Halma has played a big role in mitigating the water crisis in large parts of Jhabua district. This tradition of the Bhil community is a unique example of the technological richness of indigenous disciplines.
• Such practices or traditions of mutual community cooperation exist in tribal tribes by names like Halma Handa and Hida and are also mentioned in folk literature. But over time, they disappeared.
• Significantly, there is a tradition of help in the Halma Bhil society. When a person or family is not able to overcome the crisis even after their best efforts, then all the rural brothers and sisters gather to help him and bring him out of trouble with their selfless efforts.
• This is such a deep and generous tradition in which help is given to the person in distress, but no favour is expressed or accepted by both the parties. This tradition of mutual cooperation and support shows how each other's strength is made in the society. No one is left alone in the middle of the stream rather he is connected to the mainstream of the society with sincere help.
• The importance of the word Bhil also increases because this tribe is the oldest tribe of India and keeping its traditions alive. Bhil is the third largest tribal community in India. According to the last census before independence in 1941, the population of Bhils in the country was about 2 million, which has now increased to 17 million.
• Apart from Madhya Pradesh, Bhil community is also present in other states of the country including Rajasthan, Maharashtra. The Bhil community of Madhya Pradesh is keeping its tradition alive like other Bhil communities. Even today the cultural tradition of the Bhils of Madhya Pradesh is expressed in their religious rites, their songs and dances, their community gods and goddesses, skin tattoos, mythology and style. Their homes reveal an innate sense of aesthetics.
• It is noteworthy that in the year 2005, the Halma tradition was started by a non-governmental organization 'Sivaganga'. Mahesh Sharma and Harsh Chauhan played an important role in this. Mahesh Sharma was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2019 for his work. Today he has become the Gandhi of Jhabua among the Bhil tribes.
• Halma was largely implemented in 2008. As a result, in the first year of 2009, eight hundred people came forward and donated labour to make small water pits in Halma, in the next year i.e., 2010, the participation increased to 1600. Ten thousand people participated in it in 2011 and today this number has taken the form of a movement, to see and understand which many researchers from the government are doing research on it. At the same time, increasing contact with the outside world has also taught this region how to solve its problems with modern technologies.