Abujhmarh
Also called: Abujh Maad · Topic: Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Human Geography: Nature and Scope"
Meaning
Abujhmarh, also called Abujh Maad, is a remote, forested hill area in Narayanpur district of southern Chhattisgarh. It lies between the Indravati river and the Bastar plateau. It is home to the Abujh Maria, a Gond tribal group. NCERT uses the story of Benda, a man from Abujhmarh, to explain the naturalisation of humans. This is the early stage when technology is very low, so people depend directly on nature, fear its fury and worship it.
Example
In Abujhmarh, Benda's village has just three huts. His people practise shifting cultivation in the penda (forest): they burn small patches of forest, and the ash makes the soil fertile. Before drinking from a stream, Benda thanks Loi-Lugi, the forest spirit. He collects Gajjhara and Kuchla herbs to barter (swap without money) at the madhai, a tribal fair. Mahua, palash and sal trees grow around him.
Don't confuse with
- Trondheim (Kari's story): NCERT's contrasting case is Kari in Trondheim, Norway (about 63°N). It shows the humanisation of nature, where high technology lets people overcome nature's limits. Abujhmarh shows the opposite: low technology and direct dependence on nature, which links it to environmental determinism.
- Bastar plateau: this is the wider upland of southern Chhattisgarh. Abujhmarh is a separate hill area that lies between the Bastar plateau and the Indravati river.