The folks in Rajasthan are an ancient and a multi-communal society. There are about two hundred different ethnic groups. Each group has its own characteristic traits, distinguishing long-established social conventions, customs and practices. The folks have an ancient system of community association called panchayat which comprises of panchas or five elders. The elders are the most respectable persons, having jurisdiction over a village or a group of villages. Its main function is the maintenance of norms of social and religious behavior. A session is called whenever there arises a need requiring its attention and decision. A fine is levied in the form of a community feast, and matters considered grave are penalized by out casting the person for a certain period as a token of social disapproval of the violation of norms. Similar association of individual communities also function as peace-keepers. In the ancient jijmani system, various communities were engaged in rendering various types of services, like the Brahmins (Priest), Kumhars (Potters), Nais (Barbers), Dholis (Musician), etc. These persons were traditionally attached to other communities in an intimate manner, and also helps in building up a healthy community life. Folk culture is another aspect of Rajasthan that attract tourists from all over the world making it famous for its unforgettable treasure of folklore.

Various folk cultures have flourished in rural Rajasthan and have enriched the socio culture of Rajasthan immensely. In every field, the folk culture has left its valuable impression refining it even further. Be it the dazzling folk dance or melody of 'sarangi', the folks of Rajasthan masters in every walk of life.

The Rajputs of Rajasthan, constituted a warrior aristocracy divided into a number of prominent clans, each of which regarded a princely state as its traditional patrimony, whose ruler was the social head of clan besides being the political ruler. Although the Rajputs never constituted more than a tenth of the total population, they have commanded the heights of the polity and the society in Rajasthan for nearly a thousand years. The princely state of Jaipur was thus ruled by the Kachachawa Rajputs, the Rathors ruled in Jodhpur and Bikaner, the Hadas in Kota, and the Sisodia in Mewar (Udaipur). While the Maharajas, Rajas and Thakurs had special courtiers, singers, and other servants to entertain and serve them, the common Rajput was normally engaged in soldiering, agriculture and also employed in the royal households of the former. However all Rajputs trace their ancestry to the ruling clans of the country. Their way of life is refined and courteous as well as abrasive and dominating compared to other simple classes and castes of rural Rajasthan. As the Rajputs are devotees of Durga (Mother-goddess), their common form of greeting each other is Jai mata ji ki (victory and praise be of the mother Durga) and among the Thakurs and the erstwhile Rajas, the form of greeting is Khama Ghani which means forgive and be praised.

The Bishnois are known as the conservationists to whom the preservation of animal and plants is like a religion and it has been so from the early 15th century. The spiritual mentor, Jambeshwarji was a wise ecologist. He formulated Bisnoi as Bis (twenty) + noi (nine) tenants from which the community derives its name. Almost 90 per cent of the farmers of desert region gladly accepted the 29 tenants he laid down. The tenants conserve bio-diversity of the area and also ensured a healthy eco-friendly social life for the community. Out of the 29 tenants, 10 are directed towards personal hygiene and maintaining good basic health, seven for healthy social behavior, five to worship God, and seven preserve bio-diversity and encourage good animal husbandry. There is a ban on killing animals and felling green trees, and thus protection is provided to all life forms. The community is also directed to see that the firewood they use is devoid of small insects. Wearing blue clothes is prohibited because the dye used for coloring them is obtained by cutting a large quantity of shrubs. Bishnois are very

The Bhils live in the hilly tracts of Arawali around Chittorgarh, Banswara and Dungarpur, and are even now primitive and poor. The Bhils prefer to live in isolated hamlets rather than villages. Their way of life continues to be very colourful. Several Bhil tribes have been mentioned in epics like the Mahabharata in their role as warriors. They were highly regarded as warriors, and the Rajput rulers relied heavily on them to thwart the invading Marathas and Mughals. Later, the British inducted them into the royal Indian Army by starting the Bhil Corps. The Bhils have curly hair, dark skin, broad nose, a short and robust structure. Although restrained in their dress, the Bhils, especially the women, have a great fondness for jewellery made of horn, lac, silver and copper mainly, the bor, jhela, pande or kanphools, and the tussi or bazar batti. The bor is a ball-shaped silver ornament worn over the forehead, the jhela is an intricate head ornament flowing from the top to the side above the ear. The pande consist of three small earrings worn on the top, outer

The Minas are the second largest tribal group in Rajasthan after the Bhils, and are most widely spread. The name Mina is derived from the word meen or fish, and the Minas claim descent from the fish, incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Originally they were a ruling tribe, but their downfall was a long affair. It began with the Rajputs and was completed when the British government declared them as a criminal tribe in 1924, mainly to stop them trying to regain their territory from the Rajputs. The Minas resorted to various unorthodox means such as demanding protection money from villagers to curtail their dacoit activities. After independence, their status of criminal tribe was lifted. However, their culture was by this time more or less totally destroyed, and they were given protection as a scheduled Tribe. With the withdrawal of the Criminal Tribes Act, the Minas took to agriculture. The literacy rate among the Minas was very low, but is improving.

The Rebaries are still nomadic, and an equally colourful sub-group that still travels over the desert in search of pastures for its flocks of sheep and camels. Their ancestor were brought into existence by Lord Mahadeva in order to tend the first camel, which had just been created by Parvati for her amusement. Their two main divisions are Menu and Chalkias. The former deals only in camels and occupies a superior position to that of the latter. They marry the daughters of Chalkias without giving their own in return. The Chalkias keep larger herds of sheep and goats. These people have very few worldly possessions. For most of their cooking and eating, they use earthen pots. A butter churn is always an important item in their houses. Clothing is simple, though colourful particularly where the women are concerned. The owner of the farm wears a khadi dhoti and turban and a pair of gold earrings. His cildren dress in the same way but wear colourful turbans (a white turban is worn when one's father is no more). They wear cheap silver anklets, earrings and necklaces. The hair is cropped close from the forehead, for the protection from the strong winds. The housewife wears silver ornaments, light ivory bangles, a black skirt, a red kanchli and a deep red odhni. The kanchli is a quarter-sleeved blouse covering only the front and tied with strings at the back. The unmarried girl wears a skirt along with a kurta. Everyone wears shoes, as walking barefoot on hot sand is almost impossible. The bedding consists only of mattresses, which are nothing but layers of stitched rags.

The Gadia Lohars normally deal in making iron items. The Gadia Lohars are the only nomads who have their origin shrouded in legend. It is said that their ancestors who were blacksmiths to the army of the Rajasthani chieftain Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar, moved from place to place with him, manufacturing weapons for the army. When Rana Pratap’s army was defeated at the battle of Haldighati in 1576, the Gadia remained loyal to him, following him into the forests to which he fled, skirmishing with the Mughal army in a long drawn out struggle that continued even after his death. After the fortress of Chittorgarh fell to the Mughals, the Gadia Lohars took a vow never to return to their homeland, and never to settle anywhere else until the Rana’s hegemony was restored. Small Lohar groups can be seen on the outskirts of any large city in the north where they live in small settlements centered around their beautiful carts. Low mud walls enclose each cart, demarcating a place of residence but now ownership. Even their name – Gadia – originates from the bullock carts which are their homes. Gadia Lohar, literally means metal workers of the bullock carts. The women wear swirling skirts, often with mirror studded garments and silver glittering jewellery. The men, tough and sturdy, lounge beside the makeshift smithies. They breed cattle and selling the milk, and in their tiny smithy they forge various soft iron wares needed in our daily life. When the weather turns spread sheets of plastic or tarpaulin over their