Muria people

The Muria (Gondi: [muɽijaː]) are an indigenous Adivasi, scheduled tribe Dravidian community of the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, India. They are part of the Gondi people. Traditionally, they are economically homogeneous and strive to work as a collective. They have mixed-sex dormitories where adolescents are sent to practice premarital sex, sometimes with a single partner and sometimes serially. They have an omnivorous diet, with liquor playing a key role in social gatherings.

Shiva Tosh Das writes that the name Muria comes from the root word mur, which can be translated as either "root" or "permanent"; it may be based on the fact that the Muria are settled, unlike the nomadic Maria.

The Muria live in the north-central part of Bastar district, north of the Indravati River, located in Chhattisgarh state in central India. They live in two administrative divisions: the Kondagaon District in the east and the Narayanpur District in the west.

Compared to other Adivasi, the Muria are relatively prosperous. Their economic stratification has traditionally been homogeneous, with exceptional consumption outside of designated periods, such as feasts, viewed as "socially threatening, hubristic, and disruptive"; conspicuous wealth has been considered to cause more problems than it solves. Alfred Gell writes that the disparity between their perception of the ethics of consumption and modern production technology has caused some to have more wealth than they are willing to spend.