Mundas

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Mundas

PRONUNCIATION : MOON-duhz
LOCATION : India (Bihar state)
POPULATION : 3 million (estimate)
LANGUAGE : Mundari
RELIGION : Traditional animism; Hinduism; Christianity
RELATED ARTICLES : Vol. 3: People of India

INTRODUCTION

The Mundas are one of the aboriginal peoples found in the Chota Nagpur region of eastern India. The tribe has lent its name to the Munda branch of the Austro-Asiatic language family, and sometimes Munda is used to designate the many tribes of the region (e.g., Munda, Santal, Ho) that speak Munda languages and share common spiritual and cultural values. These tribes are also sometimes called Kolarian. The following discussion, however, focuses specifically on the one tribe among this group that is identified as Munda.

The name Munda, which means "headman of a village," was originally applied to the group by outsiders. The tribe's own name for itself is Hor-on. The Mundas are a people of considerable antiquity, some scholars identifying them with the Mundas mentioned in the epic Mahahbharata. The origin of the Munda people is a matter of much uncertainty. Th eir own traditions indicate that they migrated to their current location from areas to the northwest. Linguistic evidence, however, suggests ties to northeastern India and Southeast Asia. Wherever they originated, the Mundas settled in the forest-clad uplands of the Chota Nagpur Plateau, perhaps as early as the centuries preceding the Christian Era. Here, they have remained in relative isolation until modern times.

LOCATION AND HOMELAND

In 2000, the state of Jharkhand (Jharkhand) was created out of the southern districts of the state of Bihar, largely to satisfy the aspirations of the local tribal population. Thus, over half of the Munda population of the subcontinent were included within the boundaries of the new state, Mundas being numerically the third largest tribal group in Jharkhand, after the Santals and Oraons. The 2001 Census of India reported over one million Mundas (1,048,886) in the state, with an equal number living in the state of Assam, and a considerable population in Bangladesh. Small numbers of Mundas are also found in Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Allowing for natural increase, and the numbers of Mundas living in other northeastern states, the Munda population is estimated to be around 3 million today.

The Mundas occupy the southern areas of what used to be Bihar State, but is now Jharkhand. The name Jharkhand comes from the Sanskrit "Jharikhanda," which is the ancient name of the region's dense forest. The demand for a separate Jharkhand state can be traced back to the early 1900s, though according to some historians, there was already a distinct geo-political, cultural entity called Jharkhand even before the period of Magadha Empire (c. 6th century BC). In ancient days the northern portion of Jharkhand state was a tributary to the Magadha (ancient Bihar) Empire and southern part was a tributary to the Kalinga (ancient Orissa) Empire. According to a legend, Raja Jai Singh Deo of Orissa was accepted as the ruler of Jharkhand by its people in the 13th century. The Singh Deo's of Orissa have been very instrumental in the early history of Jharkhand. The local tribal heads had developed into barbaric dictators who could govern the province neither fairly nor justly. Consequently, the people of this state approached the more powerful rulers of Jharkhand's neighboring states, who were perceived to have a more fair and just governance. The turning point in the history of the region came when rulers from Orissa moved in with their armies and created states governed with the people and for their benefit. With this act, the barbarism that had marked the region for centuries ended. The good tribal rulers, known as the Munda Rajas, continued to thrive and exist to this day. Later, during the Mughal period, the Jharkhand area was known as Kukara. After the year 1765, it came under the control of the British Empire and became formally a state, under its present name, "Jharkhand"—the Land of "Jungles"(forests) and "Jharis" (bushes), at the beginning of the 21st century.

Mundas played a sig nificant role in the creation of Jharkhand State. The Jharkhand movement was spearheaded by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha., which sought to create a tribally-dominated state from the southern area of Bihar state. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Santals, Chero, Hos, Oraons, and Kols staged tribal revolts against the British, who were trying to destroy the traditional Adivasi (the "original inhabitants," or tribal people in India) institutions of self-governance and self-regulation. One such system the British tried to destroy was the Munda-Manki system. A Manki is an association of 12 villages that historically controlled the villages' land and resources. But in 1895, the last tribal revolt against the British overlords, the Birsa Munda Revolt, led by Birsa Munda (1875–1900), broke out throughout Munda country. It was the longest and greatest tribal revolt in Jharkhand history. During the 20th century, the Jharkhand movement was considerably more moderate, with the Adivasi Mahasabha, an association of tribals founded in 1939, being renamed the Jharkhand Party at Independence. Despite being denied a state in 1947, the Jharkhand Party never lost sight of its goals, and the state of Jharkhand came into being over 50 years later. Arjun Munda, formerly of the Jharkhand Party, served two terms as chief minister of the state (2003–2005 and 2005–2006), though as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As of 2008 he was leader of the opposition in the state legislature.

Munda territory lies on the Ranchi Plateau of Chota Nagpur, extending south from the Damodar River Valley to the extreme northern part of Orissa State. The land is a jumble of plateaus and hills between 300 m and 760 m (1,000–2,200 ft) above sea level, with individual peaks reaching as high as 1,505 m (3,445 ft). The region is crossed by the valleys of numerous rivers draining south towards the Bay of Bengal. The area is heavily forested, with vegetation ranging from scrub jungle to denser subtropical and tropical deciduous forest. Rainfall, received mostly during the three months of the summer monsoon, averages between 120 cm and 160 cm (47–62 in). Humidity is high in summer, with maximum temperatures varying between 35°c and 40°c (95°F–104°F).

LANGUAGE

Mundari is the mother tongue of the Munda peoples. Mundari, along with the languages of neighboring tribes, such as the Santal and Ho, belongs to the Munda branch of the Austro-Asiatic language family. Mundari thus forms part of the group of isolated languages of eastern India that are linguistically related to languages spoken in mainland Southeast Asia rather than to the major language families of the Indian sub-continent. Historically, the Mundas had no system of writing. The Roman script and regional scripts are now used for this purpose. Many Mundas are bilingual and use Hindi, Sadri, or other local languages for intergroup communication.

FOLKLORE

A Munda legend explains the creation of the Earth in the following way. In the beginning of time, the Earth was covered with water. Sing Bonga, the Sun God, brooded over the waters and created the first creatures: a tortoise, a crab, and a leech. Sing Bonga commanded these animals to bring him a bit of clay from the ocean depths. Both the tortoise and the crab tried and failed, but eventually the leech managed to bring up a piece of clay from the deep. Out of this clay, Sing Bonga fashioned the Earth. At his bidding, the Earth brought forth all kinds of trees and plants. Sing Bonga next filled the Earth with birds and beasts of all sorts and sizes. Then a memorable incident occurred. The bird Hur or swan laid an egg, and out of this, there emerged a boy and a girl, the first human beings. These were the ancestors of the Hor-on Honko, or "sons of men," as the Mundas still call themselves.

RELIGION

Although their religion is basically animistic, the Mundas believe in a supreme being they call Sing Bonga. He is widely revered but only invoked at the time of major calamities, when a white fowl is sacrificed to him. Two lesser classes of deities (bongas) are the village gods and the household gods. The former influence every aspect of Munda life, from their daily activities to their agriculture. The village priest, the pahan, is responsible for presiding over the worship of these gods at the sacred grove of the village. The blessings of the household gods—who are the spirits of deceased ancestors—are sought at every social and religious ceremony. The head of the family leads the worship of the household gods in the ading, the room set aside for this purpose in every Munda house. There are, in addition, several types of lesser godlings and spirits inhabiting the Munda universe. Some, such as deities who guard the family or protect the interests of married women, are benevolent. Others are evil and bring disease and misfortune to the Mundas. These have to be identified and appeased by the ghost-finders or shamans, who are often drawn from non-Munda groups. Animals are sacrificed to the gods, and the Mundas are reported to have offered human victims in the past. The Mundas are great believers in magic, witchcraft, and the power of the "evil eye."

Some Mundas have accepted Hinduism and Christianity, although they preserve many of their earlier religious practices. Census data regarding religion in India is unreliable, because specific data has not been collected since 1951. However, according to the 2001 Census, some 73% of Mundas are Hindu, 17% follow Christianity (this figure is much higher than the average for India [around 2.5%] and reflects the work of Christian missionaries among the Munda), and the remaining 10% are animists following the traditional religion.

MAJOR HOLIDAYS

Two important Munda festivals are the Magh Porob and Sarhul. The first of these is dedicated to honoring the spirits of deceased ancestors. It is held on the full moon day of January, after the winter harvest has been gathered. Sarhul, also known as the "Flower Feast," is celebrated in the spring when the sal trees (Shorea robusta) are in flower. All the gods of the Munda pantheon are worshiped in the village's sacred grove, where chickens are sacrificed by the priest. The villagers return home dancing and singing, carrying sal blossoms in their hands. Garlands of sal flowers are hung around the houses, and people wear sal flowers in their hair.

Some festivals of the Mundas are clearly borrowed from the Hindus, though celebrated with rituals that are traditional in nature. The Phagu festival corresponds to the Holi festival of the Hindus, while Dasai is the Hindu Dasahara. Sohorai is another festival of Hindu origin, when a black fowl and rice-beer are offered to the deity presiding over cattle.

RITES OF PASSAGE

When a woman is discovered to be pregnant, the Mundas sacrifice a chicken to Garasi Bonga. This is the deity who protects both women and children during pregnancy and birthing. A woman is considered unclean for eight days after childbirth, after which the relatives gather for rituals to purify the mother, the newborn child, and the house. On the following day, the baby is named (the sakhi ceremony), and a girdle of thread is tied around its waist. Within a year or two, the baby's ears are ritually pierced. All of these ceremonies are accompanied by feasting and drinking.

Young unmarried Mundas generally do not sleep in their family residences but, rather, in village dormitories. While these institutions are not exactly like the dormitories of the nearby Oraon tribe, boys and girls will gather separately at a house in the village designated for this purpose. There, during the evening they will pose riddles, listen to songs and fables, and acquire knowledge of the customs and beliefs of their community until it is time to retire to bed.

In the past, Mundas cremated their dead, but many now resort to burial. Traditionally, the corpse was burnt and the bones collected to be interred in the family grave. Every village has its burial ground or sasan, or if there is more than one clan in the settlement, one for each clan. Big stone slabs are placed on the ground, and the bones of a family's ancestors are placed underneath the family's stone slab. If a Munda dies away from his village, her or his relatives will convey the bones to his or her ancestral village, where they will buried in the family grave. No one who does not belong to the clan is allowed to use the burial ground.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

Among the virtues of the Mundas are hospitality, respect for elders and those with social authority, affection for family members, and general friendliness.

LIVING CONDITIONS

Munda villages are made up of scattered homesteads built together on the higher elevations of land where there is enough available space. The Munda home consists of at least two huts. One is used for sleeping and, among the poorer families, houses the livestock as well. The other is the eating house and contains the kitchen, a pen for the chickens, and also the sacred room where the family gods reside. The homes of the better-off may comprise three or four huts, arranged around a square and having a compound at the back. The walls of the houses are generally windowless and built of mud, with a tiled or thatched roof. Household utensils and furnishings are simple. The Mundas eat off wooden or metal dishes, while earthenware jars and baskets are used for storage. Wooden stools and a sleeping mat or string bed complete the household belongings.

In addition to its homesteads, a village has its sacred grove (sarna), the public meeting space in the center of the village (akhra), and the village burial ground. On the outskirts of the village are cultivable uplands, which are regarded as part of the village itself and are used mainly for growing garden vegetables. Lying further down the slopes are the terraced lands used for wet-rice cultivation.

FAMILY LIFE

The Mundas are divided into totemic clans (kili) such as the Nag (Snake) Kili and Bagh (Tiger) Kili. The Mundas are endogamous, i.e., they marry within the tribe, but they practice clan exogamy, i.e., they have to marry outside the lineage. Traditionally, Mundas do not marry before the boy can build a plow and the girl can weave and spin, but instances of child marriage are known to occur. Marriages are usually negotiated and depend on the consent of the involved parties. The actual ceremonies are quite elaborate and appear to have absorbed many Hindu rituals. A bride-price is paid in both cash and goods. Although the newlyweds may take up residence in the husband's father's house, the nuclear family is preferred. Monogamy is the norm, and both divorce and widow remarriage are allowed.

CLOTHING

Munda dress is very simple. Men ordinarily wear nothing more than a cotton loincloth with colored borders known as botoi. A piece of cloth or a blanket may be wrapped around the upper body during cold weather. Young men place a belt of silk or plaited thread around the waist. The dress of Munda women is a long piece of cloth wrapped around the waist, with one end passed diagonally across the upper body to cover the breasts. Young women are fond of ornaments and wear earrings, bracelets, anklets, and toe rings. Ornaments are usually made of brass, with only the wealthier among the population wearing silver or gold. Young girls are tattooed on the face, arms, back, and feet. Men don colored turbans for festive occasions when dancing is performed. Hindu Mundas are often indistinguishable in dress from their Hindu neighbors, while Christian Mundas sometimes wear European-style clothes.

FOOD

Boiled rice forms the staple food of the Mundas. The more well-to-do eat this with vegetables (e.g., onions, eggplant, radishes, beans, and roots such as the sweet potato) and pulses. Spices used include turmeric, garlic, and chilies. The poorer Mundas eat their rice with green leafy vegetables and may substitute millets for the rice. Chickens and goats are raised for food, but they are usually killed and eaten only at festivals and sacrifices. The eating of beef, pork, and buffalo meat is not unknown. At each meal, the Mundas drop a few grains of rice on the ground in the name of their deceased ancestors. The Mundas are fond of drinking rice-beer (ili), each family brewing its own supply. They also enjoy chewing tobacco and betel leaves.

EDUCATION

Mundari is essentially a spoken language, and few Mundas have learned to read and write the regional languages that they use for intergroup communication. Literacy in Jharkhand (54.1% in 2001) is below the average for India as a whole and that for Mundas is still lower, measuring 47.9% for males, and only 34.9% for females. However, these figures usually refer to literacy in a second language. While government schools are available to them, their isolation and the need for children to help in agricultural work means that the Mundas' exposure to formal education is limited. Though 50% of the 5 to 14 year old Mundas attend school, only about 17% ever graduate from school and only 3.6% ever continue on to higher education.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Like most tribal groups, the Mundas have a rich oral folk tradition. This includes historical myths (e.g., the Asur Legend), folk tales, riddles, and proverbs. There are love songs, and songs and dances appropriate for specific religious festivals and social events. The Lahsua dances, performed at the time of the Karam festival, are of a kind known as "stooping" dances. The dancers form a circle, join hands, and stoop forward. Keeping this position, they advance towards the circle's center, then retire, all the time circling towards the left. The musical instruments that accompany the singing and dancing include drums, tambourines, various stringed instruments, and bamboo flutes. For weddings, the Mundas employ musicians of the Ghasi tribe.

WORK

Although in the past they practiced shifting cultivation, most Mundas are involved in permanent, wet-rice agriculture today. They supplement this with hunting and gathering in the jungle, although this is decreasing in importance. Both men and women work in the field, but some activities—e.g., plowing—are restricted to men. Many Mundas work as agricultural laborers or in the mines and factories of Bihar's industrial area. Those few Mundas who have the necessary education work in white-collar jobs, in government, and in the professions.

SPORTS

Munda children play a variety of games, some apparently traditional and others introduced by European missionaries. Pastimes include games of tag such as Chhur. The players divide themselves into two teams. Parallel lines are drawn on the ground, and one team guards the lines. The players on the other team try to penetrate the guarded territory and reach an area designated as the "salt-house" (non-ghara) without being touched by the defenders. If they succeed in this, the opposing teams switch roles. Other games include marbles, spinning tops, hide-and-seek, and blind man's bluff. Phodi is a type of indigenous hockey game.

The Mundas also have a type of dramatic game that combines amusement with instruction in which children assume roles and act out situations from real life. One such game is the Jackfruit Game (Kantara-Inu). The actors pretend to be a jack-fruit tree, its fruits, its owner, the owner's dog, and a thief. The game is played out by the thief stealing the fruit, cutting down the tree, and various other episodes that conclude with a mock puja or worship ceremony.

ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

Living in remote villages, most Mundas derive their entertainment from their religious festivals and social events, which are invariably accompanied by singing, dancing, feasting, and drinking.

FOLK ART, CRAFTS, AND HOBBIES

The Mundas are not known for their arts and crafts. While they weave cloth, spin cotton, and make baskets, they rely on Hindu artisan castes to provide many of their material needs.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Like many tribal peoples in South Asia, the Mundas are faced with conflicting social pressures. It is to their advantage to promote their "tribal" identity because of the benefits of being designated a Scheduled Tribe. On the other hand, those Mundas who overcome the disadvantages of their tribal status (e.g., illiteracy and lack of education) and succeed economically tend to lose touch with their tribal roots. Historically, Mundas have resented what they see as exploitation by outsiders, and such feelings continue today. Many, for example, see current development schemes such as the Bihar Plateau Development Project (BPDP), which now, of course, falls within the area of Jharkhand, as serving the interests of the World Bank and transnational corporations, rather than those of the local tribal peoples.

Ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party-led Arjun Munda government, Jharkhand witnessed serious violations of international humanitarian laws both by law enforcement personnel and Naxalites rebels during 2005. Naxalite or Naxalism is an informal name given to revolutionary communist groups that were born out of the Sino-Soviet split in the Indian communist movement. Ideologically, Naxalites belong to various trends of Maoism (the Communist Party of India-Maoist [CPI-M] is outlawed in many states in India) and recently have spread into less developed areas of rural central and eastern India, such as Chattisgarh and Jharkhand from their state of origin in West Bengal. Naxalites are considered terrorists by the government of India. The Maoist problem continues to plague the state of Jharkhand with the guerrillas reportedly being active in 16 of the state's 22 districts. More than 500 people have been killed in the state by the Naxalites in the early 2000s. At least 15 villagers were killed and six others injured during an attack by alleged Naxalites at Bhelbadari village under Deuri police station in Giridih district on the night of 11 September 2005.

In parts of rural Jharkhand, many Mundas do not have access to health care, while starvation continues to be a problem. The conditions of women and children are deplorable. Mundas believe in witchcraft and the evil eye, and women (and men) are killed and tortured for practicing witchcraft. Despite the existence of anti-child labor legislation, bonded child labor is still found in Jharkhand. Conditions of Munda child laborers, such as those doing mica mining in the districts of Koderma and Giridih, continue to be grim. Many children have reportedly died due to mine collapse, while diseases such as silicosis, asthma and bronchitis, tuberculosis, and malnutrition are common. Violence often accompanies the electoral process in Jharkhand, with violations of human rights being committed by both security forces and the Maoist guerrillas.

Mundas continue to be victims of development projects and land alienation. The Jharkhand government has signed over 42 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with investors including Mittal Steel, Tata Steel, and Jindal Steel and Power Company Limited since Jharkhand became a state in 2000 (Jharkhand is blessed with abundant mineral wealth). These projects would require approximately 47,445 acres of land in the mineral-rich Kolhan Region, which could affect about 10,000 families and cause deforestation of 5,715 square kilometers of land. A study by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), a human rights organization, shows that over 740,000 tribals, including Mundas, were displaced in Jharkhand by different projects between 1950 and 1990. Only 184,500 were rehabilitated and the remaining 562,600—-over two-thirds of the displaced—have been left to fend for themselves. According to the report, industries had displaced 260,000 tribals, including Mundas, while different animal sanctuaries had forced about 500,000 tribals to leave their homes.

Mundas are also victims of land alienation through the illegal transfer of land to non-tribals in violation of the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act. The most popular method is by marrying tribal girls, buying tribal land in their names and, after dumping the tribal wives, selling the land to non-tribals. The tribals are also victimized under various forest laws. Th ey face forcible evictions, harassment and imprisonment by the police and the forest officials.

GENDER ISSUES

As with most tribal groups in South Asia, Munda women tend to have equality with men. Attitudes towards sex among young girls is quite relaxed, and girls often sleep in mixed village dormitories rather than at home. Marriages, though usually arranged, require the consent of both parties involved, a bride price is paid, and divorce and re-marriage are permitted. Given the creation of Jharkhand State as what is essentially a tribal state, the Mundas form a significant element in the state population and are quite well represented (Scheduled Tribes make up 26.3% of Jharkhand's population and Mundas account for 14.8% of the ST population).

However, along with taboos and restrictions on women, such as exclusion from rituals and witch-hunts that often target widows, Mundas continued to be victims of sexual abuses in Jharkhand. Munda girls are easy targets of sexual violence, especially in the context of the current Maoist insurgency. Women cannot inherit land, because they can marry outside the clan. Many women are migrants, leaving their homes to seek work as unskilled labor (reja). Poverty, illiteracy, and inheritance laws contribute greatly to the marginalization of Munda women in Indian society.