Santali and related tribal languages of the Chotanagpur region: Mundari, Ho & Birjiya – Jharkhand

Usage in legal and historical records

Read the inaugural Speech by Dr. Ivy Hansdak: “Is tribal identity relevant in today’s world?” delivered during the conference titled “Tribes In Transition-II: Reaffirming Indigenous Identity Through Narrative” | Conference report | Video presentation “Tribes in Transition III” (September 2021): Inaugural Session & Keynote Speech by Prof. Anvita Abbi >>

Birjiya [Birjia] is the language spoken by Asur tribe/ethnic group, just as Kurukh is spoken by Oraon group, Santali by Santal group, Mundari by Munda group, Ho by Ho group and Kharia by Kharia group. These are broadly identified by sociolinguists and anthropologists as belonging to two distinct linguistic and ethnic families:

a. Mundari (Santal, Munda, Ho and Birjiya)
b. Adi-Dravidian (Oraon, Kharia).

Santali is very similar to Mundari, Ho and Birjiya (i.e. mutually comprehensible) but different from Kurukh and Kharia.

The Chotanagpur region of Jharkhand has many tribal groups living close to each other. A unique phenomenon of this region is the emergence of a hybrid language called “Nagpuri” or “Sadri”, which is used as lingua franca. It is a mix of many tribal languages and Hindi. It’s a bit like the Creole used among migrants in some areas of the world. Purists dislike the Nagpuri/ Sadri language and are trying to revive their mother-tongue.

In Santal Parganas (Dumka) region, there are two main tribal groups – the Santal and the Paharia. Paharias are considered backward and live on hills while Santals are considered more advanced and live on the plains. The Santals see themselves as dominant and do not intermarry with Paharias, though they do intermarry with Oraon and Munda groups (which are the most advanced among Chotanagpur tribes).

There are other small groups also in Chotanagpur like the Birhor of Netarhat and the Chik Baraik. The Birhor and Paharia communities are among the “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups” (PVTGs) identified by the government, entitiling them to special welfare schemes.

Even among different tribal groups, there is some friction and some sense of animosity. The Santals and Mundas are supposed to be most “martial” because the two great tribal rebellions occurred among them – the Santal Hul of 1855-56 (led by two brothers named Sido and Kanu Murmu) and the Munda Ulgulan of 1872-1901 (led by Birsa Bhagwan).

Courtesy: Dr. Ivy Hansdak, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia University New Delhi (email 17 March 2017)

Image (screenshot) of select documentary films on some of
the tribal communities living in Jharkhand >>
To view these and more videos visit
https://www.trijharkhand.in/en/documentary-films >>

Find up-to-date information provided by, for and about Indian authors, researchers, officials, and educators

List of web portals covered by the present Custom search engine

Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development (ACCORD) – www.accordweb.in

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) – www.atree.org

Freedom United – www.freedomunited.org

Government of India (all websites ending on “.gov.in”)

Shodhganga (a reservoir of Indian theses) – https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in

Survival International – www.survivalinternational.org

Unesco – https://en.unesco.org

Unesco digital library – https://unesdoc.unesco.org

Unicef – www.unicef.org

United Nations – www.un.org/en

Video Volunteers – www.videovolunteers.org

To search Indian periodicals, magazines, web portals and other sources safely, click here. To find publishing details for Shodhganga’s PhD search results, click here >>

Search tips

Combine the name of any particular state, language or region with that of any tribal (Adivasi) community.

Add keywords of special interest (health, nutrition endangered language, illegal mining, sacred grove); learn about the rights of Scheduled Tribes such as the “Forest Rights Act” (FRA); and the United Nations “Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”, “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, “women’s rights”, or “children’s right to education”.

Specify any other issue or news item you want to learn more about (biodiversity, bonded labour and human trafficking, climate change, ecology, economic development, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, global warming, Himalayan tribe, hunter-gatherers in a particular region or state, prevention of rural poverty, water access).

For official figures include “scheduled tribe ST” along with a union state or region: e.g. “Chhattisgarh ST community”, “Scheduled tribe Tamil Nadu census”, “ST Kerala census”, “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group Jharkhand”, “PVTG Rajasthan”, “Adivasi ST Kerala”, “Adibasi ST West Bengal” etc.

In case the Google Custom Search window is not displayed here try the following: (1) toggle between “Reader” and regular viewing; (2) in your browser’s Security settings select “Enable JavaScript” | More tips >>

See also

Chotanagpur | Chota Nagpur | Fact checking

Communities: Asur | Ho| Kharia | Munda | Oraon | Santal | State wise ST list (Scheduled Tribes)

Cultural heritage

Government of India

History

Hul (Santal rebellion 1855-1856) | Tribal freedom fighters

Jharkhand | Jharkhand land rights

Video | Banam: Lutes and fiddles of the Santal people – Jharkhand and West Bengal

Video | Hul Sengel: The Spirit of the Santal Revolution (1855) – Jharkhand

Tip: click on any red marker for details on endangered languages in a particular region of India.
Please note: the facts and figures cited (via hyperlinks) links call for updates and fact checking >>
Cultural invisibility – India’s 600 potentially endangered languages | Linguistic Survey of India (official website) >>