{{Infobox ethnic group | group = '''Bhottada''' | image = | total = 450,771 (2011) | total_ref = <ref name="census 2011">{{cite web|title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/ST.html|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|publisher=Government of India|accessdate=23 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907212310/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/ST.html|archive-date=7 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> | region1 = Odisha | pop1 = 450,771 | ref1 = <ref name="census 2011" /> | languages = Odia, Bhatri | religions = 16px Hinduism • 12px Christianity<ref name=2022OdishaRel>{{Cite web |title=C-01: Population by religious community (2011) |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11387/download/14500/DDW21C-01%20MDDS.XLS |access-date=Sep 9, 2024 |website=Census India}}</ref> | related = }}
The '''Bhottada''' (also known as '''Dhotada, Bhotra, Bhatra, Bhattara, Bhotora, Bhatara''')<ref name="Mhaiske Patil Narkhede 2016 p. 167">{{cite book | last1=Mhaiske | first1=V.M. | last2=Patil | first2=V.K. | last3=Narkhede | first3=S.S. | title=Forest Tribology And Anthropology | publisher=SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHER (IND. | year=2016 | isbn=978-93-86102-08-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sbs4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA167 | access-date=2020-06-23 | page=167}}</ref> is an ethnic group found mainly in many districts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh states of India.<ref name="scstrti-Bhottada">{{cite web | last=SCSTRTI| first=scstrti| title=Bhottada | website=Home | url=http://www.scstrti.in/index.php/communities/tribes/91-tribes/150-bhottada | access-date=2020-06-23}}</ref> The 2011 census showed their population to be around 450,771. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government.<ref name="census 2011"/>
== Etymology and origins ==
The name Bhottada is derived from the words ''Bhu'' meaning earth and ''Tara'', meaning chase.<ref name="Singh 1996 p.198">{{cite book | last=Singh | first=H.D. | title=543 faces of India: guide to 543 parliamentary constituencies | publisher=Newmen Publishers | year=1996 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YxuLAAAAMAAJ | access-date=2020-06-23 | page=198| isbn=9788190066907 }}</ref> It is said that they migrated from Bastar.<ref name="scstrti-Bhottada"/>
==Subdivisions== They have a number of exogamous totemistic clans or gotras named after different animals such as tortoise, tiger, cobra, monkey, dog, lizard, goat, etc. The clan members who are of a particular animal totem respect the same animals.<ref name="scstrti-Bhottada"/>
The clans has agnatic lineages formed as local descent groups who live close to each other in villages.<ref name="scstrti-Bhottada"/>
The tribe is divided into two divisions called ''Bada'' and ''Sana''. ''Bada''s are higher in social hierarchy, They claim to be of purer descent. The divisions are endogamous however nowadays intermarriage takes place between them.<ref name="scstrti-Bhottada"/>
== Culture ==
Marriage by negotiation is called ''Bibha''. It is considered ideal and prestigious. It involves elaborate process and is expensive. Other ways of acquiring mates such as by elopement, by capture, by service are practised. Cross-cousin marriage, junior levirate and sororate, divorce and remarriage are permitted on reasonable grounds.<ref name="scstrti-Bhottada"/>
They bury their dead. They worship Hindu deities and their own pantheon includes Budhi Thakurani, Bhairabi Budhi, Pardesi, Basumata, Banadurga, etc. Their chief festivals are ''Chait Parab'', ''Akhiturti'', ''Nua Khia''and Dussera. The traditional chief of the village is the ''Naik''. Assisted by ''Chalan'', ''Pujari'' and ''Gonda'', he handles the community affairs. At the regional level a group of villages constitute a ''Desh'' headed by ''Bhat Naik'' and supported by ''Panigrahi'' and ''Desia Gonda'' who mitigate inter-village disputes.<ref name="scstrti-Bhottada"/>
==See also== * Tribes of India
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Scheduled tribes of India}} {{Scheduled tribes in Odisha}} {{Reservation in India}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Scheduled Tribes of India Category:Social groups of Odisha Category:Scheduled Tribes of Odisha Category:Indian castes Category:Ethnic groups in India Category:Ethnic groups in South Asia