Kharia people
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Kharias (खड़िया) are people of any of several groups of hill people living in the Chota Nagpur area of Orissa and Bihar states, northeastern India.
Variants
- Kharia People
- Khaṛiā (खड़िया)
- Kharias (खड़िया)
History
Kharia people or Kharias are an Austroasiatic tribal ethnic group from east-central India.[1] They originally speak the Kharia language, which belong to Austroasiatic languages. They are sub-divided into three groups known as the Hill Kharia, Delki Kharia and the Dudh Kharia.[2] Amongst them, the Dudh Kharia is the most educated community.[3]
According to linguist Paul Sidwell, Munda languages arrived on the coast of Odisha from Southeast Asia about 4000–3500 years ago.[4] The Austroasiatic language speaker spread from Southeast Asia and mixed extensively with local Indian populations.[5]
Social divisions
The Kharia comprise three tribes, the Dudh Kharia, Dhelki Kharia, and Hill Kharia. The first two speak an Austroasiatic language, Kharia, but the Hill Kharia have switched to an Indo-Aryan language, Kharia Thar. There has not been any language development efforts made for Kharia Tar.
The Dudh Kharia and Dhelki Kharia formed together one compact tribe. These Kharia people were attacked by an Ahir chief and then moved on to the Chota Nagpur Plateau.[6]
In Odisha, the Hill Kharia are mainly found in Jashipur and Karanjia Blocks of Mayurbhanj district. A few villages are also found in Morada block.
In Jharkhand, they are concentrated in East Singhbhum, Gumla, Simdega districts. Though widely found in this district, Musabani, Dumaria and Chakulia Blocks are the blocks where they live in large numbers.
And in West Bengal, they are in West Midnapur, Bankura and Purulia districts. The majority are in Purulia.[7]
The Hill Kharia are also called Pahari (meaning “Hill”) Kharia, Savara/Sabar, Kheria, Erenga, or Pahar. Outsiders call them Kharia but they call themselves as Sabar. They are called “Pahari (Hill) Kharia” because they live in the midst of forest and depend upon forest produces.[8]
The Hill Kharia community encompasses various gotras (clans), which include following clans:
Among these, the Bilung clan appears to hold prominence.[9]
Distribution
They mainly inhabit Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, Maharashtra. In Tripura. Few families can be found in Assam and Andaman islands.[10]
Population
According to 1981 census, their population in Bihar (now mostly Jharkhand) is 141,771, in Odisha it is 144,178, and in Madhya Pradesh it is 6892.
Religion
According to the 2011 Census on Kharias in all states of India, 46.1% are Christians, followed by 43.4% Hindus. Minor populations follow Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other religions.[11]
Dances
Kharia are said to be the great dancers. Youth of both sexes dance together. sometimes they form two groups each of males and females and sing one after the other. It is like a conversation is going on between boys and girls in the form of the song.[12]
The following dance patterns are prevalent among Kharias: Hario, Kinbhar, Halka, Kudhing and Jadhura.[13]
Jat Gotras Namesake
खड़िया आदिवासी
खड़िया, मध्य भारत की एक जनजाति है। इनकी भाषा खड़िया आस्ट्रो-एशियाटिक परिवार के समूह में आती है। जनसंख्या की दृष्टि से मुंडा संताली, मुंडारी और हो के बाद खड़िया का स्थान है।
खड़िया आदिवासियों का निवास मध्य भारत के पठारी भाग में है, जहाँ ऊँची पहाड़ियाँ, घने जंगल और पहाड़ी नदियाँ तथा झरने हैं। इन पहाड़ों की तराइयों में, जंगलों के बीच समतल भागों और ढलानों में इनकी घनी आबादी है। इनके साथ आदिवासियों के अतिरिक्त कुछ दूसरी सादान जातियाँ तुरी, चीक बड़ाईक, लोहरा, कुम्हार, घाँसी, गोंड, भोगता आदि भी बसी हुई हैं।
खड़िया समुदाय मुख्यतः एक ग्रामीण खेतिहर समुदाय है। इसका एक हिस्सा आहार-संग्रह अवस्था में है। शिकार, मधु, रेशम के कोये, रस्सी और फल तथा जंगली कन्दों पर इनकी जीविका आधारित है। जंगल साफ करके खेती द्वारा गांदेली, मडुवा, उरद, धन आदि पैदा कर लेते हैं।
References
- ↑ Vidyarthi, L.P.; Upadhyay, V. S. (1980). Kharia: Then and Now – A comparative study of Hill, Dhelki and Dudh Kharia of the Central-Eastern region of India. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 0391018388. OCLC 948680446 – via Google Books. (Via Internet Archive)
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kharia
- ↑ Kharia-English Lexicon (PDF). Universität Leipzig, Germany: Himalyan Linguists. 2009. p. VIII. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2023 – via Open Edition. the (Dudh) Kharia are also one of the most highly educated ethnic groups in all of India, with some estimates as to their rate of literacy running as high as 90%.
- ↑ Sidwell, Paul. 2018. Austroasiatic Studies: state of the art in 2018 Archived 3 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Presentation at the Graduate Institute of Linguistics, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, 22 May 2018.
- ↑ Schliesinger, Joachim (2016). Origin of the Tai People 3: Genetic and Archaeological Approaches. Booksmango. p. 71. ISBN 9781633239623.
- ↑ Robin D. Trubhuwan; Preeti R. Trubhuwan (1999). Tribal Dances of India. Discovery Publishing House. p. 129. ISBN 81-7141-443-5. OCLC 41143548.
- ↑ Vidyarthi & Upadhyay 1980, pp. 7–25.
- ↑ Vidyarthi & Upadhyay 1980, p. 11.
- ↑ Suvendu Kundu. HEALTH CARE PRACTICES AMONG THE HILL KHARIA OF DISTRICT PURULIA AND BANKURA, WEST BENGAL (PDF). University of North Bengal (Thesis)
- ↑ Vidyarthi & Upadhyay 1980, pp. 5, 214.
- ↑ "ST-14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community - Odisha". census.gov.in.
- ↑ Robin D. Trubhuwan; Preeti R. Trubhuwan (1999). Tribal Dances of India. Discovery Publishing House. p. 132. ISBN 81-7141-443-5. OCLC 41143548.
- ↑ Robin D. Trubhuwan; Preeti R. Trubhuwan (1999). Tribal Dances of India. Discovery Publishing House. pp. 133, 134, 135. ISBN 81-7141-443-5. OCLC 41143548.