[8][7] The name Halba might be derived from hal, a plough, and be a variant for harwāha, the common term for a farm servant in the northern Districts of Central province in British India.
[5][7] According to local legends, Halbas came to settle in Bastar and Kanker was that they had accompanied one of the Kings of Jagannath in Orissa, who was afflicted with leprosy, to the Sihawa jungles, where he proposed to pass the rest of his life in retirement.
He then wished to return to Orissa, but the Halbas induced him to remain in his adopted country, and he became the ancestor of the kings of Kanker.
The Halbas are still the household servants of the Kanker family, and when a fresh chief succeeds, one of them, who has the title of Karpardar, takes him to the temple and invests him with the royal robes, affixing also the tika or badge of office on his forehead with turmeric, rice and sandalwood, and rubbing his body over with attar of roses.
[12] According to Rai Bahadur Hiralal, they might have originated between Chhattisgarh and the Odisha to the east and south of the river Mahanadi.
[15] Subsequently, the Halbas served as soldiers in the armies of the Ratanpur kings and their position no doubt considerably improved, so that in Bastar they became an important landholding caste.
Some of these soldiers may have migrated west and taken service under the Gond kings of Chanda, and their descendants may now be represented by the Bhandara zamindars.
[12] According to Das Kornel, Halba tribe, which is found in Korapur district of Odisha, are from the Halavur branch of Banavasi tract and are related to Western Chalukyas and came through present Maharastra region with invading army in medieval period.
[20] Even after defeat, Halbas were considered a tribe of considerable influence, since they could attempt to subvert the ruling dynasty.
[8] The tribe have local divisions known as Bastarha, Chhattisgarhia and Marethia, according as they live in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, or Bhandāra and the other Maharashtra Districts.
[1] They have many surnames including Som,Naik, Raut, Voyar, Nadge, Kothwar, Gharait, Chudi, Pakhle, Gawad, Hedu, Medke, Yele, Mankar, Chillar, Sherkar, Margai, Chandrapur, Bhandara, Bhandari etc.
They are Ghsorpatia (a horse), Kawalia (lotus), Auria (tamarind), Lendia (a tree), Gohi (lizard), Makjur (a peacock), and Bhringraj (a black bird).
The Halba in Koraput (in Jeypore) has the following clans Bareng, Mudli, Nago, Dalaie,Sunakaria, Kaktia,Uparia, Soam, Khamaria, Dhangundia and Makad.
[1] According to Sir George Abraham Grierson,"Their dialect Halbi, is a curious mixture of Odia, Chhattisgarhi and Marathi the proportions varying according to the locality.