The Tribes & Castes Of Bengal (Set of 2 Volumes)

Originally published in the late 19th century, The Tribes & Castes of Bengal by Herbert Hope Risley is one of the earliest systematic attempts to document the rich ethnographic diversity of Bengal. Comprising two detailed volumes, this monumental work represents Risley’s effort to apply European anthropological methods to the study of Indian society, particularly the complex web of caste and tribal identities in Bengal.

In his Preface, Risley candidly acknowledges the challenges of the project. Tasked with preparing an ethnographic survey of the seventy million people under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, he emphasizes both the enormity of the task and the inevitable limitations of the study. While the work may not claim absolute completeness, it successfully provides a foundational framework for future inquiry. Risley sought not only to classify and describe the various communities but also to invite scholarly criticism, corrections, and additions, with the hope of refining the work in subsequent editions.

These volumes combine descriptive ethnography with systematic classification, offering accounts of customs, occupations, religious practices, and social structures of Bengal’s diverse communities. For researchers of colonial ethnography, anthropology, and South Asian history, Risley’s study remains an invaluable reference — both for the wealth of data it presents and for the historical insights it offers into the colonial understanding of caste and tribe.

This two-volume set stands as a landmark in the study of Indian society. It reflects not only the intellectual climate of late 19th-century anthropology but also the complex interplay between colonial administration and ethnographic knowledge production. For modern readers, it offers both a treasure of historical information and a critical reminder of the biases embedded in early anthropological research.