Munda meansheadman of a village in the Munda-Manki system to govern villages in South-eastChotanagpur. They call themselves horoko or ho ko, which meansmen.[13]Robert Parkin notes that the term "Munda" did not belong to theAustroasiatic lexis and is of Sanskrit origin.[14] According to R. R. Prasad, the name "Munde" is aHo word that means "headman". It is an honorific name given by Hindus, and hence became a tribal name.[15] According to Standing (1976), it was under British rule that the term Munda started to be used for the tribal group.[16]
According to historianR. S. Sharma, tribals who spoke the Munda language occupied the eastern region of ancient India. Many Munda terms occur inVedic texts that were written between 1500 BCE and 500 BCE. Their presence in texts compiled in the upperGangetic basin late in that period suggests that Munda speakers were there at the time.[20] According to Barbara A. West, the Mundas claim origin inUttar Pradesh, and a steady flow eastward in history as other groups moved into their original homeland; she suggests that they inhabited a "much larger territory" in ancient India.[21] Recent studies suggest that Munda languages spread as far as EasternUttar Pradesh but not beyond that, and impactedEastern Indo-Aryan languages, as some groups such asMusahar have Munda genetic lineage. The claim of a Munda presence in the Upper Gangetic plain has no linguistic or genetic basis.[22]
1903 Group photo of Mundas in Chota Nagpur.
In the late 1800s, during theBritish Raj, the Mundas were forced to pay rents and work asbonded labourers to thezamindars. During theKol uprising in 1823–1833, some Manki Munda revolted due to their disposition and attacked Thikedars, other Mankis, plundered and destroyed villages. This insurgency was suppressed by Thomas Wilkinson.[23] During the 19th century, Munda freedom fighterBirsa Munda began the protest marches calling for non-payment of rents and remission of forest dues. He led guerrilla warfare to uproot theBritish Raj and establish Munda Raj. He was caught byCompany forces, along with his supporters, and died in jail. He is still revered inJharkhand.[24][25]
Illustration of Munda rebellion in 1800s
Nomadic hunters in theIndia tribal belt, they became farmers and some were employed in basketwork. With the listing of the Munda people asScheduled Tribes, many are employed in various governmental organisations (particularlyIndian Railways).[26]
Munda are divided into a number of exogamous clans. Clans among Mundas are known asKilli, which is similar toSanskrit wordKula. Munda are patrilineal, and clan name descends father to son. According to tradition, people of the same clan are descendants of the same forefather. Clans among Mundas are of totemic origin. Some clans are:[27]
Munda-Manki governing system was prevalent inKolhan region of Jharkhand.Munda govern their villages by Munda-Manki system. Head of village is calledMunda, informant of village is calledDakuwa, village priest is calledPahaan, assistant ofPahaan is calledPujhar, head of 15 to 20 villages is called Manki, assistant of Manki is calledTahshildar, which collected taxes. The priest "Deori" is also prevalent amongHos,Bhumij,Bhuyan,Sounti,Khonds tribe ofOdisha andChutia people of Assam.[30][a] In Chotanagpur division, Munda have adopted Pahan as their village priest.[32]
Involved in agriculture, the Munda people celebrate the seasonal festivals ofMage Parab,Phagu,Karam,Baha parab,Sarhul andSohrai. Some seasonal festivals have coincided with religious festivals, but their original meaning remains. Theirdeity isSingbonga.[33]
They have manyfolk songs, dances,tales and traditionalmusical instruments. Both sexes participate in dances at social events and festivals. Thenaqareh is a principal musical instrument.[34] Munda refer to their dance and song asdurang andsusun respectively. Some folk dances of the Munda areJadur,Karam Susun andMage Susun.[35] Mundari music is similar to the music ofSadan. Mundari Mage song (winter) rhythm is similar to theNagpuri Fagua song (winter, spring) rhythm.[36]
The Munda people have elaborate rituals to celebrate birth, death, engagement and marriage.
Munda practice clan exogamy and tribal endogamy. Monogamy is the norm. Bride price is prevalent. Marriage ceremony starts with Sagai and ends with Bidai. Munda enjoy this occasion with feast, drinks and dance.[37] According toSarat Chandra Roy, Sindurdaan ceremony and turmeric use in marriage clearly reflect Hindu elements borrowed into Munda tradition.[38]
Munda people of Jharkhand also follow the age old tradition ofPatthalgari, i.e., stone erection, in which the tribal community residing in the village buries a large inverted U-shaped dressed headstone on the head side of a grave or at the entrance to the village, in which is inscribed the family tree of the dead persons.[39] There are some other types of patthalgari also:-
Horadiri - It is the stone in which family tree is written.
Chalpadiri orSaasandiri - It is the stone in remarking boundary of any village and its limits.
Magodiri - This is the headstone of a social criminal who committed polygamy or unsocial marriage.
Ziddiri - This is the stone placed over burial of placenta and dried navel part of a newborn.[40][41]
Munda House at "State Tribal Fair- 2020", BhubaneswarMunda Lady
Jesuit priest John-Baptist Hoffmann (1857–1928) studied the language, customs, religion and life of the Munda people, publishing the firstMundari language grammar in 1903. With the help of Menas Orea, Hoffmann published the 15-volumeEncyclopaedia Mundarica. The first edition was published posthumously in 1937, and a third edition was published in 1976.The Mundas and Their Country, by S. C. Roy, was published in 1912.Adidharam (Hindi:आदि धर्म) by Ram Dayal Munda and Ratan Singh Manki, in Mundari with aHindi translation, describes Munda rituals and customs.[42]
Title
Author(s)
Year / Edition
Focus / What It Covers
Significance
Encyclopaedia Mundarica
John Baptist Hoffmann & Arthur Van Emelen
Volumes published between ~1924-1950
A multi-volume reference work describing the language, culture, customs, material culture of the Mundas.
One of the most comprehensive traditional sources in English on Munda culture.
The Mundas and Their Country
S. C. Roy
1912 (original)
Ethnographic / geographical study of the Munda people and their lands.
Important early work documenting Munda social and economic life during British colonial period.
Musical Culture of the Munda Tribe
Sem Topno
(year not always indicated)
Study of music and dance among the Munda, with song texts (in original + English translation), relation to life-cycle, cosmology etc.
Fills a gap in literature by focusing on artistic expressions; useful for culture & anthropology.
Cultural Study of Oraon and Munda Tribes
Niranjan Mahawar
2019 (Hardcover ed.)
Comparative cultural study of the two tribes: lifestyle, performing arts, cultural change etc.
Useful for understanding similarities/differences with neighbouring tribes; more recent scholarship.
The Religious History of Munda and Oraon Tribes
Diwakar Minz
2017
Traces beliefs, customs, origin, and changes over time among Munda & Oraon tribes.
Helps understand religious dimension historically and its evolution.
The Legend of Birsa Munda
(by Tuhin A. Sinha)
English edition (2021)
Narrative / biographical work about Birsa Munda, his life, struggle, resistance.
Widely accessible work; useful for popular understanding and for those less familiar with academic texts.
The Life and Times of Jaipal Singh Munda
Santosh Kiro
2018
Biography of Jaipal Singh Munda, notable leader, role in tribal politics, sporting and other contributions.
Adds dimension of modern political history, leadership, and identity.
In a 2016 research paper on subsistence strategies of Mundas in a village ofSunderbans in West Bengal, it was found that many people migrate out of their residences because of poor economic conditions and landlessness. This rural to urban migration has followed a greater trend within India. Men and women engage in forest product collection, cultivation, small business and agricultural as well as non-agricultural jobs. A person or a family may be engaged in multiple occupations, often undertaking risky visits to the forests and rivers. It was also found that younger generation preferred to engage as migrant workers outside the village and often outside the district and the state.[43]
^Osada, Toshiki (19 March 2008). "3. Mundari". In Anderson, Gregory (ed.).The Munda languages. New York: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-32890-6....the designation Munda is used for the language family. Mundari, on the other hand, refers to an individual language, namely the language of Munda people.
^Parkin, Robert (1993)."Second Reply to Pfeffer"(PDF).University of Oxford. p. 161.Archived(PDF) from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved18 December 2020.The term 'Munda' is of Sanskritic origin and therefore not original in any sense to Austroasiatic speakers, although it has come to be used by one tribe as an alternative to their own term 'Horo' (Le. Roy's group; cf. Pfeffer above, p. 154; also Parkin 1990: 17, 23).
India
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