There are no strict rules concerning divorce among tribes. Marriage is nothing more than a social contract and most of the males marry to fulfill the desire for children and the satisfaction of sex.
There are different rules of divorce observed in different tribes. Among the Korawa tribe of Mirzapur the procedure is very simple. When a dissatisfied husband asks his wife to leave him and refuses to maintain her she leaves him and goes to her father. She is now considered to be divorced and can marry again. In this tribe the divorced women are very much respected. The woman divorced seven times is the leader in religious and social functions.
Among Bhils, the husband desirous of divorcing his wife, calls the village Panchayat and publicly gives her a piece of cloth form his turban declaring that he is deserting her and shall hence forward treat her as his sister. The woman hangs this cloth from the roof of his father’s house where it remains hanging for a month. It signifies that her husband has no more rights over her and she can now marry again.
Among Gonds if a woman divorces her husband without his consent his second husband has to pay compensation to the former husband. Amojig the Muria tribe the divorce is never considered to be valid unless the amount of compensation is paid to the former husband. This amount is decided by the tribal panchayat.
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In the Lucia tribe of Assam when the husband divorces his wife, he has to pay off the remaining bride price to the bride’s party. But if the woman is guilty of adultery or she herself deserts her husband, she has to return bride price paid to the husband.
The causes of divorce are not similar in different tribes. Among Gonds divorce can be secured in the circumstances of the indifference of wife towards household affairs, her barrenness, her quarrelsome nature, breaking of the marital bond, etc.
In the Kharia tribe a woman can be divorced on the grounds of barrenness, adultery, refusal to live with the husband and even laziness. Among tribals both male and female have a right to divorce. The customs concerning divorce, however, are changing because ofthe influence of Hindu and Christian cultures on tribal people these days.