Bagatas are traditionally a warrior tribe. They're alternative Names as Bhakta, Bhagata, Bugata and Rana ,Padal. ,in Andhrapradesh their local name is Kapu. In Andhrapradesh they use a dialect of the
Telugu language,
Desia Odia and in Odisha, they left Telugu and speak the regional language like
Hindi,
Odia,
Sadri,
Laria, and
Kurmali. Bagata people bear biological traits of
Proto-Australoid tribes of the south and center India.
Social structure The Bagatas of Andhrapradesh retain the original socio-cultural characteristics, whereas the Bagatas of Odisha undergone various
socio-cultural purification process and are largely Hinduised. The Bagatas of Odisha are broadly divided into two divisions i.e.
Vaishnavites and
Saivites according to their beliefs. The Bagata of
Vaishnavas section is divided into totemic clans like Belhar (monkey), Samudia, Bamia, Tiruar (bird), Sarania (flute), Nag, Hatiar (elephant), Chumiar and Kuardar. They use their clan as a surname. However, some authors opined that there was no surname or subgroup system in them but after migration, they adopted those and now almost use surnames like other Hindu societies. Historically, they migrated to the Ranchi region of
Chota Nagpur from Andhrapradesh before the 20th century and subsequently migrated to the northern district of Odisha. In 1976 the Bagata had the highest rate of indebtedness of any of the scheduled tribes of Andhra Pradesh. ==References==