Group of Korewahs, Chota Nagpur

1860s

The Korewahs are a tribe from the central region of India, near the sources of the rivers Son, Narmada and Ib and other tributaries of the Mahanadi. They are populous in the hills between Sirgoojah (Surguja) and Jushpur (Jashpur) in present-day Chhattisgarh. The Korewahs were shifting cultivators. They grew rice, millet, pulses, pumpkin, cucumber and sweet potato and other kinds of edible roots. For winters, they stored grains in small parcels wrapped in leaves from the Muhoolan plant. These parcels could survive years if left untouched. The Korewahs’ language is very similar to that of their next of kin, the Santhals, Moondals, Coles etc from the Chota Nagpur region. Like them, the Korewahs too love song and dance.

Sir Benjamin Simpson served in the Indian Medical Service (Bengal) from 1853 to 1890. A keen amateur photographer and member of the Bengal Photographic Society, he produced a series of 80 photographs for the book Racial Types of Northern India, which won a gold medal at the London International Exhibition of 1862.

Title
Group of Korewahs, Chota Nagpur
Period
1860s
Photographer
attributed to Benjamin Simpson
Dimensions
H: 24.4 cm x W: 18.9 cm
Accession No.
2019.7.1 (1)