Angika

Last updated

Angika
  • अंगिका
  • अङ्गिका
  • অঙ্গিকা
  • 𑂃𑂑𑂹𑂏𑂱𑂍𑂰
Aṁgikā, Aṅgikā
Angika language.svg
The word "Angika" written in Devanagari script
Pronunciation [ɐ̃ŋgiˈka] ⓘ
Native to India and Nepal [1]
Region Anga (eastern Bihar and northeastern Jharkhand, as well as Morang and Sunsari districts, Nepal) [2]
Ethnicity Angika people [3] [4]
Native speakers
  • L1: 740,000 (1997/2011) [a]
  • L2: 1,700 (2011, Nepal)
  • Total census: 750,000 [2] [b]
  • Total estimate: 30–50 million (2001) [4]
Early forms
Dialects
Official status
Official language in
Flag of India.svg  India
Recognised minority
language in
Flag of Nepal.svg  Nepal (protected under mother-tongue provisions)
Language codes
ISO 639-2 anp
ISO 639-3 anp
Glottolog angi1238
Linguasphere 59-AAF-sk
Map of Angika-speaking region.svg
Map of eastern India and Nepal showing the region where Angika is spoken.
Lang Status 80-VU.svg
Classified as "Vulnerable" (VU) by UNESCO's Atlas of the world's languages in danger. [10]
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Angika (also known as Anga, Angikar or Chhika-Chhiki) [2] [11] is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken in some parts of the Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand, as well as in parts of Nepal. [2] [12]

Contents

Angika is closely related to neighbouring Indic languages such as Maithili, Bengali, Bhojpuri and Magahi. Historically it was written in a separate script known as 'Anga Lipi'. [13] Later writers shifted to Kaithi Script and eventually to Devanagari Script. [13] Angika has been declared as an additional official language of Jharkhand.

Relationship to Maithili

Angika was classified as the southern dialect of Maithili by George Abraham Grierson in the Linguistic Survey of India (1903). He had named it Chhika-Chhiki. [14] However, the Angika speakers now assert its status as an independent language. When the proponents of the Maithili language in Bihar demanded use of Maithili-medium primary education in the early 20th century, the people of the Angika-speaking region did not support them, and instead favoured Hindi-medium education. [15] In the 1960s and the 1970s, when the Maithili speakers demanded a separate Mithila state, the Angika and Bajjika speakers made counter-demands for recognition of their languages. [16]

Official status

Angika is not listed in the 8th schedule of the constitution of India. [17]

Angika has the status of "Second State language" in the Indian state of Jharkhand since 2018. It shares this status with 15 other languages, including Maithili. [9] [18]

Literature

Naresh Pandey Chakor had written the first ever novel in Angika titled Kisan Ke Jagab.[ citation needed ]

Vocabulary

Sample Vocabulary

Everyday nouns
Animals
Plants & crops
Food items
Pronouns & address
Postpositions / case markers (illustrative)
Semantic notes

Sample sentences

Anga region

Angika is mainly spoken in south-eastern Bihar, including most of Munger, the whole of Bhagalpur division and some south eastern parts of Purnia division along with the Santhal Pargana division of Jharkhand. [19] [20] [13] [20] Its speakers number around 15 million people. [21] The region where Angika is spoken is popularly known as Anga, Ang Pradesh and Angika-Belt. [22] [23] Apart from Bihar and Jharkhand states of India, it is also spoken in the Morang district of Nepalese Terai as a minority language. 1.9% people of Morang returned Angika as their mother tongue during the 2011 Nepal census. [24]

Angika culture

Festival

Mansa Puja (Vishari Puja), the folk festival of Anga Region, celebration in Deepnagar Chowk, Bhagalpur. Mansa Puja in Bhagalpur.jpg
Mansa Puja (Vishari Puja), the folk festival of Anga Region, celebration in Deepnagar Chowk, Bhagalpur.

Festivals are the core part cultural part of the community. Anga celebrates the festivals of all daith with great enthusiasm and zeal. However, Manasa Puja [25] (Based on Behula Vishahari folklore) and Kali Puja are two examples of intangible cultural heritage of the region. Apart from these, Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, Chhath Puja, Biswakarma Puja, Basanti Puja, Holi, Guru Poornima, Eid and Karma-Dharma puja too hold a great significance for the region.[ citation needed ]

Manasa Puja is the folk festival In Bihar's Ang region. It is the biggest festival of Anga. Champapuri the capital of Ang Pradesh is the main temple of Maa Vishari. [27] Maa Manasa is regarded as Goddess of Serpants. [28] Even today, the tradition of Manasa (Bihula-Vishhari) Puja, which has been going on since mythological times, continues. Mata Mansa is worshiped in Bihula-Vishhari. Maa Mansa is said to be the daughter of Shiva and the sister of Vasuki sitting as a garland around Mahadev's neck. Mythological beliefs of Bihula Vishhari story of Champanagar of Ang Pradesh are spread everywhere. Its facts are also found in the remains of Vikramshila even two historical murtis of Maa Manasa have been found from the ruins. [29]

Anga is famous for the way of its Kali Puja Celebration which is one of the most celebrated festivals of the whole region. Together with Manasa Puja, it is intangible cultural heritage festival of Anga. [30]

As per Legends, Chhath Puja stems from the early Vedic period, where sages would fast for days and perform the puja with mantras from Rigveda. It is believed that Chhath Puja was also performed by Karna, the son of Lord Surya and the King of Anga. It is therefore celebrated in every region of Bihar with full enthusiasm and is termed as Mahaparv for Biharis.It is very popular festival in the Anga region [31] [32] [33]

Chhath Celebration in Narayanpur, Bhagalpur Narayanpur Ganga Ghat, Chhath Puja,Bhagalpur district.jpg
Chhath Celebration in Narayanpur, Bhagalpur
Glimpse of Karma-Dharma puja Karma-Dharma.jpg
Glimpse of Karma-Dharma puja

Karma-dharma (Karma) Puja is an important Indian festival, primarily celebrated in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and some other regions. This festival is grandly observed every year on the Ekadashi of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Bhadra. Karma Puja holds special significance in strengthening the bond of love and affection between brothers and sisters. On this day, people perform special prayers and rituals to strengthen family relationships. Karma and Dharma are the principal deities of this festival, and on this day, people express their devotion and faith towards them. [34]

Angika cuisine

Angika cuisine is predominantly consumed in the Anga region, and is characterised by the use of mustard oil, fish, and bamboo shoots. The famous Bihari Fish Curry, Sarse Baingan (a mustard preparation of eggplant), are beloved Angika delicacies. Other Angika cuisines are Ghugni-Mudi, Thekua. [35]

Bihari Style Ghughni which is served with Mudi Bihari Ghoogni.webp
Bihari Style Ghughni which is served with Mudi
Sarsebaigan (a unique delicious spicy Angika Cuisine of Mustard and Eggplant) Sarsebaigan.jpg
Sarsebaigan (a unique delicious spicy Angika Cuisine of Mustard and Eggplant)

Manjusha Art

Manjusha Art is an Indian art form. They are temple-shaped boxes comprising eight pillars. They are made of bamboo, jute, and paper. They also contain paintings of Hindu gods and goddesses and other characters. These boxes are used in Bishahari puja, a festival dedicated to Goddess Bishari that is celebrated in Bhagalpur, Munger and entire Anga Region of Bihar, India. [36] [37] [38] [39]

Manjusha Painting (Map of Bihar in the Manjusha Painting portraying a great message) Manjusha Painting of Map of Bihar.png
Manjusha Painting (Map of Bihar in the Manjusha Painting portraying a great message)

Music and drama

Angika Folk Song performance during Ang Mahotsav in Anga Region

Music and drama plays a crucial role in Ang Culture, [40] although it is not so famous but is a daily part of lifestyle in Anga Region. There is also a Music Industry and film industry Angika Music Industry and Angika Film Industry which provides regional music and films based on good story-lines. [41] Sharda Sinha, a famous folk singer of Bihar has covered more than 1500 songs in all Bihari languages including Angika. [42] During The 2023 Shravani Mela visit in Sultanganj. [43] Ang Mahotsav [44] [45] , a cultural festival of Music and Drama is held every year in The Anga Region and is a good platform to promote Angika. [46]

Angika literature

Anil Chandra Thakur, a renowned Angika poet from the Kosi region of Bihar, gained prominence in the 1990s, celebrated for his acclaimed work, Kach .

Kinship Terms

Angika has a rich set of kinship terms. Here are some common ones:

S. No.Kinship Term (Angika)Pronunciation (IPA)Meaning (English)
1बाप / बाबा/baːp/ /baːbu/Father
2माई / मों/maːi/ /mõ/Mother
3दादा/daːdaː/Elder Brother
4भैया / भाय/bʱɛːjaː/ /ʧʰoʈkaː/Younger Brother
5दीदी/diːdiː/Elder Sister
6बहीन/ बहनी/bɛɦiniyaː/Younger Sister
7बाबा/ददा/baːbaː/Paternal Grandfather
8दादी/daːdiː/Paternal Grandmother
9नाना/naːnaː/Maternal Grandfather
10नानी/naːniː/Maternal Grandmother
11चाचा/ʧaːʧaː/Uncle (Father’s younger brother)
12काका/kaːkaː/Uncle (Father’s elder brother)
13काकी/ʧaːʧiː/Aunt (Father’s brother’s wife)
14मामा/maːmaː/Uncle (Mother’s brother)
15मौसी/maʊsiː/Aunt (Mother’s sister)
16मौसा/maʊsaː/Uncle (Mother’s sister’s husband)
17ससुर/sʌsʊr/Father-in-law
18सास/saːs/Mother-in-law
19बेटा/beːʈaː/Son
20बेटी/beːʈiː/Daughter
21देओर/deːʋʌr/Brother-in-law (Husband’s brother)
22साला/सारौ/saːlaː/Brother-in-law (Wife’s brother)
23ननद/nʌnʌd/Sister-in-law (Husband’s sister)
24साली/saːliː/Sister-in-law (Wife’s sister)

Notes

  1. ↑ Ethnologue’s figure combines the 1997 Indian census with the 2011 Nepal census.
  2. ↑ The figures significantly undercount Angika because census practices register speakers under “Hindi”, and societal and official pressures lead many to report it as their mother tongue. [5] [6] [7] [8]

References

  1. ↑ "Glottolog 5.2 - Angika". glottolog.org. Archived from the original on 2 June 2025. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Angika - Ethnologue: Languages of the World". ethnologue.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  3. ↑ Alam, Badshah; Dubey, Prabhat Kumar; Shukla, Ashutosh Kumar; Kumari, Junny (2023). "Understanding The Role Of Folk Ballad Songs As Medium Of Mass Communication In Rural India" (PDF). Journal of Survey in Fisheries Sciences. 10 (1): 3912. Retrieved 12 September 2025.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. 1 2 Regmi, Ambika (April 2017). A Sociolinguistic Survey of Angika (PDF). Central Department of Linguistics. Linguistic Survey of Nepal (LinSuN) (Report). Kathmandu, Nepal: Tribhuvan University . Retrieved 12 September 2025.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ Kidwai, Ayesha (April–June 2008). "Managing Multilingual India" (PDF). The Marxist. 24 (2): 1–7. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  6. ↑ Proisl, Thomas; Uhrig, Peter; Blombach, Andreas; Dykes, Natalie; Heinrich, Philipp; Kabashi, Besim; Mammarella, Sefora (2019). "The_Illiterati: Part-of-Speech Tagging for Magahi and Bhojpuri without Even Knowing the Alphabet" (PDF). Proceedings of The First International Workshop on NLP Solutions for Under Resourced Languages (NSURL 2019) co-located with ICNLSP 2019-Short Papers. Trento, Italy: European Language Resources Association (ELRA). pp. 73–79. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  7. ↑ Bhattacharya, Snigdhendu (9 May 2022). "How Grouping Of Languages Inflated Number Of Hindi Speakers". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  8. ↑ Shubham, Shreeti (31 October 2022). ""Languages" to "dialects of Hindi": A relegation of the languages of Bihar in the agenda of Hindi nationalism". Shuddhashar. No. 31 ("Cultural Genocide"). Skien, Norway. ISSN   2535-7476. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  9. 1 2 Mishra, Sudhir Kumar (22 March 2018). "Bhojpuri, 3 more to get official tag". The Telegraph (India) . Ranchi. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2025. The cabinet on Wednesday resolved to promulgate an ordinance to grant second official language status to Maithili, Angika, Bhojpuri and Magahi, in addition to 12 existing ones.
  10. ↑ Moseley, Christopher, ed. (2010). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. Memory of peoples. Cartography by Alexandre Nicolas (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO Publishing. pp. 140, 202, 204. ISBN   978-92-3-104096-2. Archived from the original on 15 August 2025. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  11. ↑ Grierson, George Abraham (1903). Linguistic survery of India specimens of the Bihari and Oriya languages vol.5; pt.2.
  12. ↑ Experts, Arihant (1 February 2022). Jharkhand Sahivalye JGGLCCE Main Exam Paper 3 (General Knowledge) 2022. Arihant Publications India limited. ISBN   978-93-257-9990-5.
  13. 1 2 3 Kumari, Khusbu; Upadhyay, Ramanjaney Kumar (17 June 2020). "Socio-Cultural Aspects of Angika". Palarch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology. 17 (6): 6798.
  14. ↑ Grierson 1903, p. 95.
  15. ↑ Mithilesh Kumar Jha 2017, p. 163.
  16. ↑ Kathleen Kuiper 2010, p. 57.
  17. ↑ "Languages in the Eighth Schedule". Ministry of Home Affairs. 22 December 2004. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  18. ↑ "Jharkhand gives 2nd language status to Magahi, Angika, Bhojpuri and Maithali". United News of India. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018.
  19. ↑ Experts, Arihant (1 February 2022). Jharkhand Sahivalye JGGLCCE Main Exam Paper 3 (General Knowledge) 2022. Arihant Publications India limited. ISBN   978-93-257-9990-5.
  20. 1 2 Masica 1993, p. 12.
  21. ↑ Sevanti Ninan (2007). Headlines From the Heartland: Reinventing the Hindi Public Sphere. SAGE Publications. p. 61. ISBN   978-0-7619-3580-3. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018.
  22. ↑ Pandey, Mithila Sharan (1963). The Historical Geography and Topography of Bihar. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN   978-81-208-2657-1.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  23. ↑ Kapur, Veena; Ghose, Sudipta (14 August 2018). Dynamic Learning Spaces in Education. Springer. ISBN   978-981-10-8521-5.
  24. ↑ "2011 Nepal Census, Social Characteristics Tables" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  25. ↑ "Behula Bisahari". 17 August 2020.
  26. ↑ "Bihula Vishhari: जानिए बिहुला-विषहरी की पूरी कहानी, क्या है बारी कलश की मान्यता". Zee News (in Hindi). Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  27. ↑ "अंग की लोकगाथा है बाला-बिहुला-विषहरी पूजा, ...जानें क्या है मान्यता?". Prabhat Khabar (in Hindi). 17 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  28. ↑ "Story of Goddess Manasa". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  29. ↑ "मां विषहरी पूजा: बिहुला विषहरी की गाथा का साक्षी है अंग का इतिहास". Hindustan (in Hindi). Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  30. ↑ "PHOTOS: बिहार के भागलपुर में 32 फीट की काली प्रतिमा, देखें जिले में स्थापित देवी की और भी तस्वीरें". Prabhat Khabar (in Hindi). 26 October 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  31. ↑ "जानिए छठ पर्व का महत्व, कर्ण ने सबसे पहले की थी सूर्य देव की पूजा". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  32. ↑ "Chhath Puja 2019: History, significance, and why it is celebrated". Hindustan Times. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  33. ↑ "नगरपारा दह में छठ पर्व का दिखा उत्साह". Hindustan (in Hindi). Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  34. ↑ Singh, Rinki (14 September 2024). "Karma Puja 2024: करमा पूजा के बारे में जानें - इस महत्वपूर्ण त्योहार के महत्व, तिथि और शुभकामनाओं की जानकारी प्राप्त करें. जानिए कैसे यह पर्व भाई-बहन के रिश्ते को प्रगाढ़ बनाता है और क्या हैं इसके पूजा विधि के प्रमुख पहलू". Prabhat Khabar (in Hindi). Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  35. ↑ "Bihari Cuisines- 4 regions,4 cuisines". Arts and Museum: 1. 31 May 2023.
  36. ↑ Sinha, MR Ashok Kumar (1 August 2018). Bihar K Kaljai Shilpkar (in Hindi). Upendra Maharathi Shilp Anusandhan Sansthan.
  37. ↑ Indian court painting, 16th-19th century.. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1997. ISBN   0870997831.
  38. ↑ Sinha, Rajiv Kumar; Pandey, O.P. Manjusha Art: Reflections in Folk-Lore, Trade, and Regional History. Shivalik Prakashan. OCLC   811492081.
  39. ↑ "Manjusha Art of Eastern Bihar". Sahapedia. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  40. ↑ "पीजी संगीत व नाट्य विभाग में अंगिका सह मिथिला लोकपर्व का आयोजन". Hindustan (in Hindi). Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  41. ↑ "Samdhi Kahiya Jaibho Angika Comedy 2023". FilmFreeway. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  42. ↑ "Sharda Sinha has more than 1500 folk songs in Angika, Bajjika, Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri languages". The Indian Express. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  43. ↑ "अंगिका कलाकारों के लिए संघर्ष करेंगे: छैला बिहारी". Hindustan (in Hindi). Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  44. ↑ "मुंगेर में बिहार दिवस सह अंग महोत्सव का हो रहा आयोजन, जानें 4 दिवसीय कार्यक्रम का शेड्यूल". News18 हिंदी (in Hindi). 21 March 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  45. ↑ "Bihar Diwas-cum-Anga Mahotsav 2023 | Munger District, Government of Bihar | India" . Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  46. ↑ "VIDEO: अंग महोत्सव में सुनील छैला बिहारी के गीतों पर जमकर झूमे लोग". News18 हिंदी (in Hindi). 21 March 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2023.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.