 Firkal dance performed by Bhumij people | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 1 million[a] (2011, est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 India, Bangladesh | |
| West Bengal | 376,296[2] |
| Odisha | 283,909[2] |
| Jharkhand | 209,448[2] |
| Bihar | 1,567[3] |
| Assam | 72,003 (1951,est.)[4] |
| Tripura | 755 (1951,est.)[5] |
| Bangladesh | 9,664 (2021)[6] |
| Languages | |
| Bhumij • Regional languages | |
| Religion | |
| Sarnaism • Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Munda • Kol • Ho • Santal | |
Bhumij (also transliterated as Bhumuj) is aMundaethnic group of India. They primarily live in theIndianstates ofWest Bengal,Odisha, Assam andJharkhand, mostly in the oldSinghbhum district and also in states like Bihar and Assam. A sizeable population is also found inBangladesh. Bhumijas speak theBhumij language, anAustroasiatic language, and useOl Onal script for writing.[7]
Bhumij means "one who is born from the soil" and it is derived from wordbhūmi (a land or soil).[8] According to N. Ramaswani, the word is etymologicallyBhūm-jo meaning "people originating from Bhum areas, i.e.Singhbhum,Dhalbhum,Manbhum,Barabhum, etc.",Dalton also had claimed that Bhumijs were the original inhabitants ofDhalbhum,Barabhum,Patkum andBaghmundi.[9]
The social structure of the Bhumijas is characterized by its dynamism, incorporating both tribal traits inherited from their parent tribe, theMunda, and elements from caste-based society. During the colonial period, they were often labeled as Hinduized or semi-Hinduized tribes, and sometimes even identified as a distinct caste. In modern times, the Bhumij form part of the tribe-caste continuum society. Their society is characterised by nuclear family, patriliny, exogamy and hereditary headship of the village community. They follow Hindu practices of succession and inheritance. The Bhumij are divided into several geographical endogamous groups based on ancestral territory and occupation, such asTamaliya, Na-gadi, Astha, Choto Astha in Jharkhand;Barah Bhuiyan,Deshua,Haldi Pukhria,Tamadia Sikharia, Tharua in Odisha;Borabhui, Mura, Mura bhumij,Chaibasa mura, Khanga mura, Kumpat mura, Manki bhumij in Assam;Bara, Bhoogol, Bhuiya, Kada kata, Manki, Nag,Patkumia, Sing in Tripura. In Mayurbhanj, segmentary Bhumija group areTamaria Bhumij, Tamudia (this subgroup earlier notified as aSchedule Caste of Odisha[10]),Haldipukuria Bhumij,Teli Bhumij, Desi or Dehuri Bhumij,Barah Bhuiyan Bhumij andKol Bhumij.[8]
According to genetic study conducted on Bhumij population on 2010, it was found that their 70% Y Haplogroups belongs toO2a-M95 found among population ofSoutheast Asia andAustro-Asiatic language speaker and rest belongs to Haplogroups found in India. Their mitrocondrial Haplogroups belongsHaplogroup M (mtDNA) found in Indian subcontinent.[11][better source needed]
The Bhumij are primarily inhabitants ofJharkhand,West Bengal,Odisha,Assam, andBihar. Specifically they are thickly concentrated inEast Singhbhum,Saraikela kharsawan district of Jharkhand;Purulia,Bankura,Midnapore and24 Parganas district ofWest Bengal;Mayurbhanj,Sundargarh,Keonjhar, andBalasore district ofOdisha and sporadically distributed in other parts those states. InAssam, where they are very recent immigrants, their greatest concentration occurs in theAssam valley. Bhumijs are also found sporadically inChhattisgarh,Tripura,Arunachal Pradesh,Andaman and Nicobar,Meghalaya,Manipur,Delhi,Maharashtra,Andhra Pradesh andMadhya Pradesh.
InBangladesh, the Bhumij people came to theSylhet region fromBihar as tea-labourers. They can be found inSrimangal with a population of 3000. The Bhumijs lives inSylhet,Rajshahi,Khulna,Srimangal,Dhaka andChittagong regions. They are divided into many clans (killi) such as Kaitra, Garur, Kasim, Bhugal, Baundra, Ban, Nag, Shona, Shar, Tresha, etc. Their Bhumij dialect is less and less spoken and Bengali is more widely spoken among the community.[12][13]
Bhumij means "one who is born from the soil".[14]
While those living nearer toChota Nagpur Plateau still retain linguistic links with Mundari, those living further east and south have adopted Bengali and Oriya as their languages respectively. InDhalbhum they are completely Hinduised. During British rule, or sometimes even earlier, many of the Bhumij becamezamindars and some even secured the title ofRaja. Others were calledSardar. However, all of them, having climbed the social ladder, proclaimed themselves to beKshatriyas, in keeping with the trends in the region.[15]
The people in the surrounding areas were quite scared of them. The well knownChuar revolt, a series ofpeasant rebellions started between 1766 and 1816 by the inhabitants of the countryside surrounding the West Bengali settlements ofMidnapore,Bankura andManbhum against the rule of theEast India Company (EIC).[16] The rebels rose in revolt due to the exploitative land revenue policies of the EIC, which threatened their economic livelihoods. According toL.S.S. O’Malley, an EIC administrator who wrote the Bengal District Gazetteer, "In March 1766 Government resolved to send an expedition into the country west and north-west of Midnapore in order to coerce them into paying revenue, and to capture and demolish as many of their strongholds as possible." Amongst the many dispossessed Bhumijzamindars, those who lent support to the rebels included royalty such as Jagannath Singh ofDhalbhum,Durjan Singh ofRaipur, Baidyanath Singh ofDhalbhum, Mangal Singh ofPanchet, Lakshman Singh ofBarabhum, Raghunath Singh ofDhalbhum,Ganga Narayan ofBarabhum,Rani Shiromani ofKarnagarh, Raja Madhu Singh ofManbhum, Subal Singh of Kuilapal, Shyam Ganjam Singh of Dhadka, Raja Mohan Singh of Juriah, Lakshman Singh of Dulma, Sunder Narayana Singh and Phateh Singh.[17]
They also practice the martial art calledFirkal, although it has been reduced to a single village among the Bhumij who perform it.[18]
Bhumij is the language of the Munda subfamily of theAustroasiatic languages, related to Ho, Mundari and Santali, spoken mainly in the Indian statesJharkhand,Odisha andWest Bengal. It is spoken by around 100,000 people in India.[19] Though many Bhumijs in West Bengal and Orissa are speaking Bengali and Odia respectively as theirfirst language.
In January 2019, Bhumij was accorded the status of second language in the state ofJharkhand.[20]
The followers ofSarnaism among the Bhumij have been organising protests and petitions to have their religion recognised by the government of India in census forms.[21][22]
Bhumijas have been designated asScheduled Tribes in only three states—Odisha,Jharkhand, andWest Bengal—by the Government of India.[23] InBihar, they are recognized asScheduled Castes [sic],[24][25] and in Tripura and Assam (as theEx-tea garden community), they fall under the category ofOther Backward Classes.[26][27] Those residing in other states and countries are considered part of thegeneral population. However, the Bhumij were classified asScheduled Castes before the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Lists (Modification) Order of 1956. Until 2024, the Tamudia segment of the Bhumij tribe was designated as Scheduled Caste in Odisha, but it was subsequently recognized as Scheduled Tribes.[28][29]
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