TheKol people referred to a group of tribal communities of Chotanagpur in eastern parts of India. Historically, theMundas,Santhal,Ho, andBhumijs were called Kols by the British.[1]
It also refers to some tribes and castes of south-eastUttar Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh andMaharashtra.[2][3] They are mostly indigenous people and dependent on forest produce to make a living, and they have their own land. The caste has severalexogamous clans, including theBhil,Chero, Monasi, Rautia, Raut, Gauthiya Rojaboria, kol-teli‚ Rautel andThakuria. They speak theBaghelkhandi dialect.[4] Around 1 million lives inMadhya Pradesh while another 5 lakh lives inUttar Pradesh.[citation needed]
Once spelled "Kole", the swaths of land they inhabited in the 19th-century were called "Kolean".[3][1]
Kol was generic term for non-Aryan people in Chotanagpur such as Oraon and Munda. The term Kola mentioned inRigveda. According to legend,Yayati, the son of Nahus divided his kingdom for his five sons. Then after ten generation, India was divided among four brothers;Pandya, Krala, Kola andChola. According toMarkandeya Purana, the Aryan princess Suratha was defeated by some unclean tribe calledKolabidhansinah means slayer of Pig.[citation needed]
ColonelEdward Tuite Dalton referred to non-AryanKolarian andDravidian tribals of Chotanagpur as Kol such asMunda,Oraon,Ho,Santal,Bhumij,Juang etc. in his writings in 1867. According to him, the word is epithets of abuse applied by theBrahmin races to the aboriginals who opposed their settlements. In Chotanagpur, the term kol generally applied toMunda andOraon. Oraon and Munda celebrate the same festivals, but they don't intermarry among themselves.[5][6]
Later, Colonel Dalton classifiedOraon asDravidian andMunda, along with other Kols such asHo,Bhumij asKolarian after observing their customs and traditions which were distinct.[7]
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