The Bangali are a semi-nomadic tribal people who live in north India. They are distinct from the large Bengali people who live in northeast India and Bangladesh.

The Bangali make their living by charming snakes, working as landless farm workers, in animal husbandry and by gathering forest products like roots. The Indian government has made an effort to stop their wandering way and live in fixed villages.

Bangali are a Scheduled Caste, meaning they are eligible for public jobs and special consideration for university admission. Most Bangali cannot read or write. They are among the poorest peoples of north India.

The main language of the Bangali is Hindi. Smaller groups speak Kanauji and Eastern Punjabi.

Most Bangali live in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Others reside in other north Indian states such as Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. More Bangali live in Nepal.

The Bangali live a subsistence existence in India. They travel from place to place raising their animals and trying to find day labor jobs so they can feed their families.

They sell their animals to buy food and other necessary items. They live in portable huts made of reeds and mud.

The Bangali marry within their group. Families arrange marriages. Sons inherit what little property the father possesses. Since their traditional occupation of snake charming is disappearing more and more Bangali are working as day agricultural laborers. If these jobs are few, the Bangali face the prospect of starvation.

The Indian government disapproves of their hunting animals and gathering products from the forest so that source of food is almost gone.

Caste councils settle legal disputes and promote their interests with outsiders.

The Bangali are not vegetarians but will not eat beef. Meat is normally reserved for holidays. The main foods of the Bangali are rice, wheat, lentils and vegetables.

Scripture Prayers for the Bangali (Hindu traditions) in India.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangali_(caste)