Asur people

Last updated
Asur
Total population
c. 33,000 (2011 census)
Regions with significant populations
Jharkhand 28,735 [1]
Bihar 4,987
Languages
Asur, Birija
Religion
Traditional beliefs
Related ethnic groups
Munda peoples

Asur people are a very small Austroasiatic ethnic group living primarily in the Indian state of Jharkhand, mostly in the Gumla, Lohardaga, Palamu and Latehar districts. They speak Asur language, which belongs to Munda family of Austro-asiatic languages.

Contents

Occupations

Asurs are traditionally iron-smelters. They were once hunter gatherers, having also involved in shifting agriculture. However, majority of them shifted into agriculture with 91.19 percent enlisted as cultivators in the 2011 census.[ citation needed ]

Their indigenous technology of iron smelting gives them a distinct identity; as they claim to have descended from the ancient Asuras who were associated with the art of metal craft. When smelting, the Asur women sing a song relating the furnace to an expectant mother encouraging the furnace to give a healthy baby, i.e., good quality and quantity of iron from the ore; and were thence, according to Bera, associated with the fertility cult. [2] But nowadays a major section of the population is also attached with mining work.

Society

Except in emergency cases, they use traditional herbal medicines.[ citation needed ] They have their own community council (jati panch) where disputes are settled. They accept food from Rajputs, Oraon, Kharwar, Thakur, Ghasi, and few others; and maintain putative kinship ties with Kharwar, Munda and other neighbouring tribes. Except the burial site, they share all other public spaces with their neighbours.[ citation needed ] They live in pats (a clearing area) surrounded by the forest, and their houses are made of mud walls supported by wooden poles with a roof covered with paddy straw and self-baked khapras (tiles). Their houses consist of spaces for cattle and birds and a separate area for worship of ancestors. Utensils for cooking and storing water drawn from wells, are made of iron, aluminium and earthen ware. Traditional male clothing is dhoti while the females wear tattoo marks (depicting totemic objects) upon their bodies as ornaments. The females also wear other metal and non-metal ornaments as well as glass bangles. They use common agricultural implements for cultivation; and occasionally hunt game in the forest using bows and arrows. [2]

Divisions

The modern Asur tribe is divided into three sub-tribal divisions, namely Bir (Kol) Asur, Birjia Asur and Agaria Asur. The Birjia are recognized as a separate schedule tribe. [3]

They are further divided into 12 clans. These Asur clans are named after different animals, birds and food grains. Family is second prominent institution after the clan. The clans are Aind (Eel), Dhan (Rice), Lila (Deer), Suar (Pig), Bharewa (Wild dog), Kerketta (A kind of bird), Munjani (Anjun tree), Titio (A kind of bird), Beng (Frog), Khusar (A kind of bird), Non (Salt) and toppo (Wood pecker). [4]

Religion

The Asur religion is a mixture of animism, animatism, naturalism and ancestral worships. They also believe in black magic like bhut-pret (spirits) and witchcraft. Their chief deity is Singbonga. Amongst the other deities are Dharati Mata, Duari, Patdaraha and Turi Husid.

They celebrate festivals like Sarhul, Karma, Dhanbuni, Kadelta, Rajj karma, Dasahara Karam. [5] Asurs believe the Mahishasura of the Durga Maa was their benevolent ancestor, and mourn during the Durga Puja period for what they see as the unjust butchering of their ancestor. The veneration of Mahishasura has spread throughout the Munda tribes of West Bengal as well as Namasudras. [6]

Marriage

Marriage is very important ritual and come essentially in the life of every individual. Only physically disabled are not able to get married. The Asur follow the rule of monogamy, but in case of barrenness, widower and widow hood, they follow the rule of bigamy or even Polygamy. Widow remarriages are permissible. At the time of marriage, they follow the rule of tribe endogamy. Those who do not obey these rules are thrown out from the community but are allowed after paying seven times feast to the community members.

Challenges

Presently, the Asurs of Jharkhand are having many difficulties. They don't have access to proper basic amenities like health services, education, transportation, drinking water, etc. They are on the verge to become destitute because of the elimination of their traditional occupation iron-smelting. Their agricultural based economy is also in danger due to bauxite mining in the area. As a result, migration and displacement have become their major problems. There have been cases of human trafficking of the minor girls, poverty is a big reason behind it. These days a young Asur woman called Sushma Asur is striving hard to preserve art, culture and the existence of her community. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jharkhand</span> State in eastern India

Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It is the 15th largest state by area, and the 14th largest by population. Hindi is the official language of the state. The city of Ranchi is its capital and Dumka its sub-capital. The state is known for its waterfalls, hills and holy places; Baidyanath Dham, Parasnath, Dewri and Rajrappa are major religious sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santal people</span> Ethnic group of India, Nepal and Bangladesh

The Santal people are an Austroasiatic-speaking Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and Assam. They are the largest ethnic minority in northern Bangladesh's Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division. They have a sizeable population in Nepal. The Santals speak Santali, the most widely spoken Munda languages of Austro-asiatic language family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adivasi</span> Indigenous people of the Indian subcontinent

The Adivasi are heterogeneous tribal groups across the Indian subcontinent. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term is also used for ethnic minorities, such as Chakmas of Bangladesh, Bhumiputara Khasas of Nepal, and Vedda of Sri Lanka. The Constitution of India does not use the word Adivasi, instead referring to Scheduled Tribes and Janjati. The government of India does not officially recognise tribes as indigenous people. The country ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 107 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the United Nations (1957) and refused to sign the ILO Convention 169. Most of these groups are included in the Scheduled Tribe category under constitutional provisions in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurukh people</span> Indigenous (scheduled) tribe from India

The Kurukh or Oraon, also spelt Uraon or Dhangad, are a Dravidian speaking ethnolinguistic group inhabiting Chhotanagpur Plateau and adjoining areas - mainly the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal. They predominantly speak Kurukh as their native language, which belongs to the Dravidian language family. In Maharashtra, Oraon people are also known as Dhangad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munda people</span> Ethnic group of India, Bangladesh and Nepal

The Munda people are an Austroasiatic-speaking ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. They speak Mundari as their native language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found mainly concentrated in the south and East Chhotanagpur Plateau region of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. The Munda also reside in adjacent areas of Madhya Pradesh as well as in portions of Bangladesh, Nepal, and the state of Tripura. They are one of India's largest scheduled tribes. Munda people in Tripura are also known as Mura.

The tribes of Jharkhand consist of 32 scheduled tribes inhabiting the Jharkhand state in India. In 1872, only 18 tribes were counted among the scheduled tribes from which Banjara, Bhatudi, Chik Baraik, and Mahli were marked as semi-Hindu aboriginal and Kora as proletariat Hindu. In the 1931 census, including the above four semi-Hindu aboriginal and Kora, a proletariat Hindu, the number was raised to 26 from 18. They were Birajia, Godait, Karmali and Paharia, but Kisan was excluded from the list. In the 1941 census, Baga, Bedia and Lohra were included again taking Kisan in the annexure and the number came to 30 which prevailed till June 2003. Kanwar and Kol were added on 8 June 2003 in the annexure and the number of Schedule Tribes came to 32.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khonds</span> Tribal community in India

Khonds are an indigenous Adivasi tribal community in India. Traditionally hunter-gatherers, they are divided into the hill-dwelling Khonds and plain-dwelling Khonds for census purposes, but the Khonds themselves identify by their specific clans. Khonds usually hold large tracts of fertile land, but still practice hunting, gathering, and slash-and-burn agriculture in the forests as a symbol of their connection to, and as an assertion of their ownership of the forests wherein they dwell. Khonds speak the Kui language and write it in the Odia script.

The Tea-garden community is a term for a multiethnic, multicultural group of tea garden workers and their descendants in Assam. They are officially referred to as Tea-tribes by the government of Assam and notified as Other Backward Classes (OBC). They are the descendants of peoples from multiple tribal and caste groups brought by the British colonial planters as indentured labourers from the regions of present-day Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh into colonial Assam during the 1860-90s in multiple phases to work in tea gardens. They are found mainly in those districts of Upper Assam and Northern Brahmaputra belt where there is a high concentration of tea gardens, like Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Sonitpur, Biswanath,Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, and Lakhimpur. There is a sizeable population of the community in the Barak Valley region of Assam as well in the districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi. The total population is estimated to be around 7 million, of which an estimated 4.5 million reside in residential quarters built inside 799 tea estates spread across tea-growing regions of Assam. Another 2.5 million reside in the nearby villages spread across those tea-growing regions. They speak multiple languages, including Sora, Odia, Assam Sadri, Sambalpuri, Kurmali, Santali, Kurukh, Kharia, Kui, Chhattisgarhi, Gondi and Mundari. Assam Sadri, distinguished from the Sadri language, serves as lingua franca among the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ho people</span> Ethnic group of India, Nepal and Bangladesh

The Ho people are an Austroasiatic Munda ethnic group of India. They call themselves the Ho, Hodoko and Horo, which mean 'human' in their own language. Officially, however, they are mentioned in different subgroups like Kolha, Mundari, Munda, Kol and Kolah in Odisha. They are mostly concentrated in the Kolhan region of Jharkhand and Odisha where they constitute around 10.7% and 7.3% of the total Scheduled Tribe population respectively, as of 2011. With a population of approximately 700,000 in the state in 2001, the Ho are the fourth most numerous Scheduled tribe in Jharkhand after the Santals, Kurukhs, and Mundas. Ho also inhabit adjacent areas in the neighbouring states of Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar bringing the total to 806,921 as of 2001. They also live in Bangladesh and Nepal.

Birhor are a tribal/Adivasi forest people, traditionally nomadic, living primarily in the Indian state of Jharkhand. They speak the Birhor language, which belongs to the Munda group of languages of the Austroasiatic language family.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Tripura</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhumij people</span> Ethnic group of India

Bhumij is a Munda ethnic group of India. They primarily live in the Indian states of West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Jharkhand, mostly in the old Singhbhum district. Also in states like Bihar and Assam. There is also a sizeable population found in Bangladesh. Bhumijas speak the Bhumij language, an Austroasiatic language, and use Ol Onal script for writing.

Scheduled Tribes are specific indigenous peoples whose status is acknowledged to some formal degree by national legislation. Scheduled tribes of the Indian state of West Bengal, as recognized by the Constitution of the Indian Republic; a total of 40 distinct tribes. Among those 40 tribes 3 tribes are "Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups" (PTGs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ram Dayal Munda</span> Indian scholar and politician

Ram Dayal Munda, known as R. D. Munda, was an Indian scholar and regional music exponent. He was awarded the Padma Shri of the year 2010 for his contribution to the field of art.

Kharwar is a community found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarnaism</span> Indian religion

Sarnaism is a religious faith of the Indian subcontinent, predominantly followed by indigenous communities in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region across states like Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh. This belief centers around the reverence of Sarna, the sacred groves of village communities where the village deity, known as Gram deoti resides, and where sacrificial offerings are made twice a year. It is also referred to as "Sarna Dharma" or the "Religion of the Holy Woods", and it holds the distinction of being India's largest tribal religion.

Sadan are the native Indo-Aryan-speaking ethnolinguistic groups of Chota Nagpur Plateau consist of Indian state of Jharkhand and neighbouring states who speak Nagpuri, Khortha and Kurmali language as their native language.

The Binjhia is an ethnic group found in Odisha and Jharkhand. The 2011 census showed their population to be around 25,835. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagal (caste)</span> Cattle herding caste of East India

Bagal is a cattle herding caste of East India. Bagal people are living in the state of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. They use Kudmali/ Manbhumi dialect of Bengali as mother tongue and use Bengali, Hindi and Odia language to communicate with the society.

References

  1. "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". Census of India 2011. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India . Retrieved 2017-03-24.
  2. 1 2 Sarit Kumar Chaudhuri; Sucheta Sen Chaudhuri (2005). Primitive Tribes in Contemporary India: Concept, Ethnography and Demography, Volume 1. Mittal Publications. ISBN   8183240267 . Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  3. "Asur Adivasi". Jharkhandi.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
  4. "Asur A Study Of Primitive Iron Smelters". THE BHARATIYA ADIMJATI SEVAK SANGH. 1963. p. 64-65. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  5. "Asur Adivasi". Jharkhandi.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
  6. "Not Durga Puja! It's Mahishasura's martyrdom that these tribals observe". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  7. "Prabhat Khabar". 16 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-08-30.