Jharkhand Tribes

The state of Jharkhand consists of 33 million people in its total area. Among these, 26% of the population are Scheduled tribes, and 78% of people belong to the rural areas. Since the 1881 Census, Jharkhand’s tribal population has witnessed a constant decline. The 2011 Census reported a count of 8,645,042 Scheduled tribes of a total population of 32,988,134 in the state. Among all other Indian states and Union territories, Jharkhand holds 6th rank in terms of the Scheduled tribe population. Munda is one of the major Scheduled tribes of the state that belongs to the Austro-Asiatic family of languages. 

The Munda tribe 

The Munda tribe of Jharkhand also resides in other states of India, namely Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa and Arunachal Pradesh. It is suggested that the tribe have also fixed their permanent domicile status in Bangladesh. A quarter of the tribal population in Jharkhand follows Christianity and also takes part in their religion, i.e., Sarna. 

Munda is derived from the Sanskrit word, which means a headman. It is an honorific label given by the Hindu community and thus turned into a tribal name known as Kolarian. The epic Mahabharata also discusses the Mundas in its sacred book. However, their uncertainty is still a concern for the tribal group. Their tradition signifies that the Mundas might migrate from their present location to the northwest sides.

The tribe is often popular for its unique lifestyle, speaking a specific language known as Mundari among their groups. These are the Austroasiatic speaking ethnic group of people who speak Mundari as their native language that belongs to their tribal subgroup. The people of the tribal group are also known as Mura in Tripura and Muda in the state of Madhya Pradesh. 

Their house comprises two huts, the first one is used for sleeping purposes, and the other one consists of a kitchen used for eating purposes. The poorer men of the tribe only eat rice with green leafy vegetables. At every meal, the community’s people drop a few rice grains in the name of their deceased ancestors. 

The men of the tribal group wear a coloured border cotton cloth known as botoi, and the female wears a long piece of cloth along with their accessories such as bracelets, anklets, toe rings and earrings. 

People of the Munda tribe spend their lives working in the Tea gardens, hunting with arrows and bows wild animals and birds. The community performs group dances and songs. They also enjoy the country’s liquor or hard drinks during the ceremonies irrespective of their age . 

Today, the tribal group is slowly losing its cultural identity following the diminished forest resources, which is their survival medium. Though the community is given access to basic amenities such as education, electricity and health, it is not satisfactory to meet the day-to-day needs. 

The Gond Tribe

It is one of the largest tribes in the world. The tribe originally belonged to the Madhya Pradesh state. In Jharkhand state, the tribal group, i.e., Gond, belongs to the Dravidian race. They hail from Proto-Australoid stock. Their common belief suggests that the tribal group belongs to a martial group, tracing their roots from the Kshatriyas. 

Moreover, the tribal group dwells in the areas adjoining the forests of Jharkhand state. These are distributed over the length and breadth of the state, projecting a patriarchal form of society. In this tribe, a father is the head of the family. The community largely follows the agricultural and labour economy in the Jharkhand state to grow marua, maize, bajra and other vegetables. The tribal group has a provisional economy that does not focus on savings. 

The Santhal tribe 

It is the third-largest tribal group in India that mainly resides in the state of Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Odisha. The tribal group mainly accumulates in Godda, Dumka, Jamtara, Deoghar and East and West Singhbhum districts of the Jharkhand state. The members of the tribal group mainly choose to reside in concentrated settlements close to rivers and forests, segregating them into groups called ‘Thars’. 

The community dates back to the pre-Aryan period, speaking the Santali language as a part of their Austro-Asiatic family. The tribal group celebrates the Karma festival in September and October to request their God to decrease their enemies and bless them with wealth. Their festivals include the Sahrai, Baba songs, Namah, Ero, Maghe and Asaria. 

Conclusion 

Jharkhand has been a mixed blessing for the tribal groups in its state. There are over thirty Scheduled tribes that reside in the region. Munda is the major tribal group of the state that is popular for its unique clothing and living patterns, such as wearing a long piece of clothes and enjoying liquors, performing group dance and songs in festivals and ceremonies. Precisely, their culture and traditional norms have left a definitive impact on Jharkhand, covering over 20 lacs of the total population in the state.