Toto tribe

The Toto is an isolated tribal group residing only in a small enclave called Totopara in the Alipurduar district of West Bengal, India. Totopara is located at the foot of the Himalayas just to the south of the borderline between Bhutan and West Bengal (on the western bank of Torsa river). Geographically the location is 89° 20'E 26° 50'N.

Totos were nearly becoming extinct in the 1950s, but recent measures to safeguard their areas from being swamped with outsiders have helped preserve their unique heritage and also helped the population grow. The total population of Totos according to 1951 census was 321 living in 69 different houses at Totopara. In 1991 census, the Toto population had increased to 926 who lived in 180 different houses. In the 2001 census, their number had increased to 1184 - all living in Totopara.

Anthropologists agree that the Toto culture and language is totally unique to the tribe, and is clearly distinguished from the neighbouring Rajbongshis, Koch, Mech or the Bhutanese Sharchop tribes.

The Totos are considered as Mongoloid people, with flat nose, small eye, broad and square cheeks, thick lips and small eyes and black iris. Their complexion is rather on the darker side, which reflects their nearness to the equator. They are generally endogamous and marry within their own tribe. They are generally divided into 13 exogamous clans or groups of families from which they choose to marry. They do not marry anyone related to them through their paternal uncles or maternal aunts.

Toto language belongs to Tibeto-Burman family of sub-Himalayan group, as classified by Hodgson and Grierson. They do not have any script. Most of the young members can speak Bengali and Nepali, which are the mediums of instruction in the local schools.

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