Gour or Goud is a caste of Jharkhand similar to Gopal (caste) of Odisha. Locally they are also known as Ahir, Gour Gowala. Most of them speak the local form of Odia language which they lebel as Singhbhumi Odia. [1] [2]
The Gour is divided into four endogamous subdivisions that are Krishna Goud, Nanda Goud,Jharia Goud, Magadha Goud and . They are found in the river basin of Subarnarekha. Their society divided into both totemic and non totemic based lineage that are Nag (Serpent), Kachim (Tortoise), Sal (a fish), Jam Jhodia, Chara (a bird), Bar Behera, Bhaisa, Hathi, Hanumat, Kutar, Kudranosa, Palai and Rout. They use Gop, Gope, Gour, Dandapat, Pradhan, Majhi, Barik, Bera, Giri, Saw, Patra and Behera as surnames.
The Gour are one of the earliest settlers of Singhbhum district Jharkhand. Traditionally they worked with livestock in a semi-nomadic way of life. As well as they were good warriors. In the matter of fact , the Gour fought with the Kurmi with the help of Kol (Ho) and Munda during their settlement in the river basin of Sankhya, Koel and Karo. After winning the war they placed a landmark stone pillar at Hatnabeda village, adjoining to Kotgarh, near the Saranda forest.
The staple food of Gours is Marh Bhat (rice with boiled water) and Pakhal Bhat (rice with cold water) and sessional vegetable. They are non vegetarian thus consume egg, fish, meat ( goat, deer, sheep, borha and others except beef). They also consume Hanria (rice beer), Mod ( wine from Mahua flower).
The Gours of Kolhan region are in the social cluster of Ho tribe. And they are classified as Backward Classes in 1980 after representation submitted by Singhbhum Gour Kalyan Samiti to the erstwhile Government of Bihar. [3]
West Singhbhum or Pashchimi Singhbhum is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand state, India. It came into existence on 16 January 1990, when the old Singhbhum district was bifurcated. Chaibasa is the district headquarters.
Seraikela Kharsawan district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Seraikela town is the district headquarters of Saraikela Kharsawan district. The district is well known for Seraikela Chhau, one of the three distinctive styles of the chhau dance. This district was carved out from West Singhbhum district in 2001. The district was formed from the princely states of Seraikela and Kharaswan, after the independence of India.
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. In the Kolhan region of Jharkhand the Munda people are often called Tamadia by other communities.
Singhbhum was a district of India during the British Raj, part of the Chota Nagpur Division of the Bengal Presidency. It was located in the present-day Indian state of Jharkhand. Chaibasa was the district headquarters. Located in the southern limit of the Chota Nagpur Plateau, Singhbhum included the Kolhan estate located in its southeastern part. The district has been segmented into two smaller districts, East Singhbhum and West Singhbhum.
Pakhaḷa is an Odia cuisine, consisting of cooked rice washed or lightly fermented in water. The liquid part of the dish is known as Toraṇi. It is popular in the state of Odisha and its similar in the eastern regions like Jharkhand the northeastern states of Assam.
Agrahari, Agraharee or Agarhari is an Indian Vaishya community, They are the descendants of legendary king Agrasena. Predominantly, they are found in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Terai region of Nepal.
Saraks is a Jain community in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar. They have been followers of Jainism, such as vegetarianism, since ancient times, however, were isolated and separated from the main body of the Jain community in western, northern, and southern India and have been Jain Bengalis ever since. The governments of India and West Bengal both have classified some of the Saraks under Other Backward Classes since 1994 but many of them have been in the General category from the beginning itself.
The Ho people are an Austroasiatic Munda ethnic group of India. They are mostly concentrated in the Kolhan region of Jharkhand and northern 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.
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 and 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.
Kurmali or Kudmali is an Indo-Aryan language classified as belonging to the Bihari group of languages spoken in eastern India. As a trade dialect, it is also known as Panchpargania, for the "five parganas" of the region it covers in Jharkhand. Kurmali language is spoken by around 550,000 people mainly in fringe regions of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, also a sizeable population speak Kurmali in Assam tea valleys. Kurmali is one of the demanded languages for enlisting in Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.
The Banaut is a Bundela Rajput clan found in the Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand. Their loved ones called them banaut which means who meditate and save Ban (forest). They are said to have left Orchha, Jhansi, Mahoba and other parts of Bundelkhand during Mughal period and migrated to Bihar and Jharkhand.
Bhumij is an Austroasiatic language belonging to the Munda subfamily, related to Ho, Mundari, and Santali, primarily spoken by Bhumij peoples in the Indian states Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. As per the 2011 census, only 27,506 people out of 911,349 Bhumij people spoke Bhumij as their mother tongue, as most Bhumijas have shifted to one of the regional dominant languages. Thus the language is considered an extremely endangered language.
The Bhuiyan or Bhuiya are an indigenous community found in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. They are not only geographically disparate but also have many cultural variations and subgroups.
Gopa or Gop or Gope is a synonym of the Yadav (Ahir) caste. It is generally used as a title by the Ahir caste in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal of East India and even in Terai region of Nepal.
The Kudmi Mahato are a tribal community in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha of India. They are primarily agriculturalist.
Ghasi is a caste found in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal. They are traditionally caretakers of horses and village musicians. They are known as Ghasiya in Uttar Pradesh.
The behera is a popular Odia title, Anciently, Dala-Behera was an honorific title reserved for the leader of a group of soldiers.
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 their mother tongue and use Bengali, Hindi and Odia language to communicate with the outside society.
Rajwars or Rajuar is a shifting cultivation community. The people of this community mainly live in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. In Odisha, they are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe, while in Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, they are classified as Scheduled Caste. In other states, the community is considered part of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) or general population.
Kharsawan block is a CD block that forms an administrative division in the Seraikela Sadar subdivision of Seraikela Kharsawan district, in the Indian state of Jharkhand.