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The Korku are a Munda ethnic group predominantly found in the Khandwa district, Burhanpur, Betul district and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh and adjoining areas near the Melghat of Maharashtra. They speak the Korku language, which is a member of the Munda languages and is written using Devanagari. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government.
Whilst they share the love of the forests with the Gondi people, they are also excellent agriculturists and Korkus in Bhainsdehi tahsil of the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh have pioneered the cultivation of potato and coffee. The Korkus practice seasonal farming: they cultivate gram, jowar, pulses, millet, and wheat during the dry season, and then switch to rice, maize, and soybeans during the monsoon season. In their traditional festivals of Hari and Jitori, they celebrate a month long planting campaign. In this way they combat malnutrition and environmental degradation.
The community is home to a unique and distinct culture, and possesses a rich heritage of age old traditional systems of knowledge, belief, customs and social system. The traditional representative body of the society, known as ‘Korku Panchayat’, is found in many villages. Headed by a chief known as Patel, other members of the Panchayat include Padihar (priest), Kotwar (Chaukidar) and ten to twelve older male members of the community known as Panch. It plays a decisive role during traditional occasions such as festivals, marriages and intra- and inter-village conflict resolution. Known for poverty, hunger, malnutrition, mass-scale exploitation by moneylenders and traders, the community confronts numerous socio-economic challenges in its day-to-day life partly due to the poor natural resource bases. Although agriculture is the primary source of livelihoods for most community members, many of them earn their livelihoods seasonally employed as agricultural labourers.
Gotras found in the same area geographically such as Jambhu and Dhikar trees are considered brother-sister and marriage between the two was once not allowed. These taboos are largely gone and only same-gotra marriages are forbidden. Some scholars found a 'Thakur' gotra in some places, which may stem from certain bands of Korku with Rajput chieftains collecting tribute from lowlands of Vidarbha, called 'tankha Mawasi'. The Mawasis claim the highest status among Korkus and formerly practiced raiding. There is also a group of Raj Korkus, who claim high status which is accepted by outside communities like the Brahmins.
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