Kaibartta

The Kaibartta are a people group located in South Asia, mainly in eastern India and Bangladesh. They are also known as Kaibarta, Adi Kaibartta, Bamunia, Haridhania, Jala Kaibartta, Jalia, Jalia Kaibartta, Nadial, Shudra Das, and Sudra Das. Their total population is approximately 2.4 million. Over half of them live in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal.

Their main occupation is fishing. Their name may have originated from the words “ka,” which means water, and either “vrit,” which means to exist, or “varta” meaning livelihood.

The Kaibartta women do not participate in political or religious activities. Elderly men make judicial decisions in their communities. At least seventy percent of them are illiterate. They also suffer from high unemployment and poverty.

The Kaibartta are a Hindu people. They recognize the existence of the Hindu gods, and even lay claim to one—Vasuli Devi—as their primary Hindu god, paying their homage to him every April in a dance called “Chaiti Ghoda Naacha.” Yet, underneath the veneer of Hinduism, the Kaibartta also believe in the existence of spirits, and therefore, are rightly considered by some to be animists.