Mythologies of the Khaṛiā Tribe

The Kharia are an Austroasiatic tribal ethnic group from east-central India. They speak the Kharia language, which belongs to Munda branch of Austroasiatic languages. They are sub-divided into three groups known as the Hill Kharia, Delki Kharia and the Dudh Kharia. Among them, the Dudh Kharia is the most educated community. According to linguist Paul Sidwell, Munda languages arrived on the coast of Odisha from Southeast Asia about 4000–3500 years ago. The Austroasiatic language speaker spread from Southeast Asia and mixed extensively with local Indian populations. 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. 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. 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. The Hill Kharia community encompasses various gotras (clans), including Alkosi, Baa, Bhunia, Bilung, Dhar, Digar, Dolai, Dungdung, Gidi, Golgo, Kerketta, Kharmoi, Khiladi, Kiro, Kotal, Kullu, Laha, Nago, Pichria, Rai, Sal, Saddar, Sandi, Sikari, Soreng, Suya, Tesa, Tete, and Tolong. Among these, the Bilung clan appears to hold prominence.

Khaṛiā, any of several groups of hill people living in the Chota Nāgpur area of Orissa and Bihār states, northeastern India, and numbering more than 280,000 in the late 20th century. Most of the Khaṛiā speak a South Munda language of the Munda family, itself a part of the Austroasiatic stock. They are of uncertain ethnic origin. The Khaṛiā are usually subdivided into three groups: Hill Khaṛiā, Dhelkī, and Dudh. All are patrilineal, with the family as the basic unit, and are led by a tribal government consisting of a priest, a headman, and village leaders. The Hill Khaṛiā speak an Indo-Iranian language and seem otherwise to be a totally separate group. The Dhelkī and the Dudh, both of whom speak the Khaṛiā language, recognize each other—but not the Hill Khaṛiā—as Khaṛiā. The Dudh are the most numerous and progressive branch; they live along the Sankh and South Koel rivers. The Dhelkī are concentrated near Gāngpur. Both live in settled villages, and intervillage federations enforce the feeling of social solidarity. They traditionally build separate large dormitories for unmarried men and women, but this practice has been abandoned by Christian Khaṛiā. The Khaṛiā’s traditional religion includes a form of sun worship, in which each family head makes five sacrifices to Bero to protect his generation. The Hill Khaṛiā live in small groups in remote areas of the Simlipal Range in Orissa state. They depend on shifting agriculture, growing rice and millet, but constantly face the problem of land scarcity. They also collect silk cocoons, honey, and beeswax for trade.

The main concentration of Kharia tribe in Jharkhand is in the districts of Ranchi, Simdega, Gumla, Lohardaga, West and East Singhbhum and Hazaribagh of Jharkhand state. The total population of Kharia tribe is 4,33,722 (Odisha 222,844, Jharkhand 196,135, Bihar 11,569 and Madhya Pradesh 2,429) according to 2011 census. Kharia tribe belongs to Proto-Austroloid race and speaks Kharia dialects of Austro-Asiatic language family. This tribe also speaks Hindi, Sadani and other local dialects. The main sources of livelihood of Kharia tribe is agriculture, minor forest products collection and labour on daily wages. Fishing, Hunting and Animal Husbandry are practised as subsidiary occupations.] The Kharias are divided into three sections namely The Dudh, Dhelki and Hill Kharia. The Hill Kharias are a most primitive community. They depend upon forest resources such as collection of honey, edible roots, fruits and herbs. The other sections of the Kharias have been taken to plough cultivation and are better off than the Hill Kharias.The Hill Kharia is most primitive community. A Hill Kharia house consists of only one room which is used as bed room, store room, kitchen and guest room. Family is the hub of social organization in the Kharia society. Most of the families of this tribe are nuclear. Generally the children set up their independent family after marriage. The Kharias have partlineal, patrilocal and patriarchal family. Among them clan system is strongly prevelant. The totem objects are not injured or eaten. The names of clans among Hill Kharia are Baleya, Nag, Saluk, Naik, Sal etc. The names of clans among Delkhi Kharia are Muru, Soreng, Samad, Barliha, Charhad, Hansda, Topo, Kiro, Dungdung, Mile etc. Dungdung, Kulu, Kerketta, Bilung, Tete, Topo, Soreng, Ba, Kiro are the names of clans among Dudh Kharia. The marriage within the clan does not have sanction from the society. The Kinship organizations of the Kharia is of the classificatory type. The Kharias are monogamous but polygamy is tolerated. The Bride price is an essential part of the marriage of Kharia tribe. To avoid the brideprice, Kharias practice marriage by exchange in which sisters are exchanged by two men as wives. Kharia tribe worships numerous Gods and Spirits. Their religious head is called Pahan by the Dudh and Dhelki Kharias and Dihuri by the Hill Kharias. This is a hereditary post. The Kharias worship the Giring or Bero at all religious ceremonies. They also practice ancestor worship known as Burha Burhi or Marsi Masan. The deceased ancestors are invoked at all religious ceremonies. They live near the oven. The mountain spirits are known by the names of the hill in which they reside. They are invoked before hunting and for rain. The Kharias follow all the local religious ceremonies and festivals along with the traditional local ones.Their main festivals are Karma, Sohrai, Sarhul, Nawakhani etc. as Munda and Oraon tribes celebrate.