The historian Robert Vane Russell noted that the Ahirwar are among the Bharia groups with a name connoting descent from a mixed marriage or outside entrance into the clan, with Ahirwar meaning, "descendants of an Ahir".
The valley is mainly home to members of the Bharia and Gond tribes, with 2,000 residents scattered between various villages and hamlets.
Vernaculars include Bharia, a Dravidian language spoken by at least 200 000 members of the Bharia tribe and written in the Devanagari script.
Bharia | Bharia people |
In the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, where it is known locally asjhiri pihiri, it is used by two primitive forest tribes, the Bharia and the Baiga, as a treatment against typhoid, and also by the Baiga to treat labour pain.