Kudmi were classified as a Notified Tribe by the British Raj under the terms of the Indian Succession Act introduced in 1865 as they have customary rules of succession.[5][pageneeded][6][7] Kudmi of Chotanagpur are different from Kurmi of Gangetic plain.[8] According to Mahanta (2003) kudmi follow totemism which stamps them as Dravidian descent and resembles to Dravidian tribe around them according to book The Tribes and Castes of Bengal (1891) written by Herbert Hope Risley.[9][10][11][12] Subsequently, in 1913, they were classified as a Primitive tribe. Then they were omitted from the list of communities listed as tribes in the 1931 census.[13]
The language of Kudmi is Kudmali/Kurmali. But according to study, Kurmali language have vocabulary which is neither Dravidian nor Austroasiatic. The Kudmi people once spoke a distinct language, neither Munda nor Dravidian but also not Indo-Aryan, and at some point switched to the regional Indo-Aryanlingua franca of that time, leaving a distinct substrate in their new language.[22][23]
In April 2023, a Kudmi organization of West Bengal and Jharkhand engaged in rail blockages and demanded Scheduled Tribe status,[24] a demand which was opposed by some scheduled tribes.[25][26]
Religion and culture
Social organisations of this tribal community have agitated for scheduled tribe status and recognition of their traditional Sarna religion.[27] During the 20th century, some Kudmis of Chhotanagpur underwent a social change of Kshatriyaization along with the Kurmi of North India[28] and elevated their status as Kshatriya.[29][30]
Historically, the Kudmi Mahatos have been a noble class[31] who were landowning zamindars.[32][33][34] They exhibit upper-caste status[35][36] and performed priestly functions in the temples situated in western Rarh region.[37]
The traditional occupation of Kudmi is agriculture. Kudmi are divided into 81 clans or gushti including Keshria, Hindowar, Bagh Banwar, Nagwar, Punoriar, Bangsoar, Sankhwar, Kanbindha, Katiar, Dumriar, Karwar etc.[21][38][39]
They are nature worshipers.[40][41][42][43] Bari Puja, Karam, Chait Parab, Jitiya, Bandna, Tusu Parab are some of the major festivals of Kudmis. They worship Budha Baba in Madapthan and Garam at garamthan. Jhumair and Chhau are their folk dance.[44][45]
According to National Institute of Biomedical Genomics(NIBMG), the Kudmi Mahatos genetically cluster together with other Indo-European speaking populations of Bengal & Orissa region[46] indicating less genetic distance between both the populations. The study also identifies the Kudmi population as Indo-European speaking who have a geographic proximity with the Mundari speaking populations, also mentioned by Genome India Project(GIP).[47]
Although clustered together with other Indo-European populations such as Rahri Brahmins, Kayastha, Mahishya and Oriya Brahmin, they show a considerable affinity with the Austroasiatic populations.[46]
Buli Mahato was the hero martyr of Kol Rebellion and Bhumij Rebellion.[53][54][55][56] Then came the Neel Rebellion 1843-1848 led by Gopal Mahato. Chanku Mahato then led the Santhal Rebellion in Godda district.[57] Also, in the Sepoy Mutiny, eleven were hanged together with Sukdev Mahato. In addition, Kanka Mahato, Rajani Mahato, Suchand Mahato, Kalicharan Mahato, Gopinath Mahato, Kalia Mahato etc. led the Medi Movement of Orissa. After that, the Kudmis also actively participated in the non-cooperation movement. Five Kudmi Mahato youths were martyred in this movement. These are Gokul Mahato, Mohan Mahato, Sheetal Mahato, Sahadeva Mahato, Ganesh Mahato.[58][59] Many were also jailed. Girish Mahato, Nanku Chandra Mahato, Govinda Mahato, Dasharath Mahato, Chunaram Mahato, Mathan Mahato and others were imprisoned in Hazaribagh Jail during Mahatma Gandhi'scivil disobedience movement. Padak Mahato was also imprisoned in Bhagalpur Jail. Sagar Mahato, Bhajahari Mahato, Bhim Mahato, Satyakinkar Mahato, Mohini Mahato were imprisoned for doing satyagraha in 1941. Then in 1942, Satyakinkar Mahato was imprisoned from Manbazar during the Quit India movement. Chunaram Mahato and Govinda Mahato were martyred during the siege of Manbazar police station in 1942. Among the women Bhavini Mahato played a prominent role. Jagadish Mahato of (Dhanbad-Parabasnia) also took an active part in the Quit India movement. Many others are also involved.[60][61][62][63][64]
↑ Singh, K. S. (2006). Tribal Movements in India. Ajay Kumar Jain. p.116. ISBN978-81-7304-704-6. Another remarkable thing is that the Kurmis of Chota nagpur have no sub-division, no sub-caste or even no sub groups. This singleness of the unity of the community totally differentiates it from the Kurmis of Bihar who are divided into sub-castes, e.g., the Awadhia, Ghamaila, Kochaisa, Dhanuk, Joshwar, Sindriya, etc. This lack of division singularly confirms that the Kurmis of Chotanagpur have migrated somewhere from central part of India, where they have their original kinsmen, Kunbis. .. The totemistic organization of the Kurmis further indicate that Kurmis of Chotanagpur are distinct and different from the Kurmis of North Bihar who have titular gotras.
↑ Pinch; R., William (1996). Peasants and monks in British India. Berkeley: University of California Press. p.89. A striking feature of these peasant based social movements in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is the quality of their leadership. A new educated elite, which had begun to penetrate the lower and middle rungs of government service, provided the organizational frame for the status claims among communities formerly identified as servile. This is most evident among Kurmis, the first peasant community to organize a campaign for Kshatriya identity. By the 1890s the Kurmi-Kshatriya movement was being coordinated on a broad, transregional level.
↑ W.G., Lacey (1933). "Some Aspects Of The Census Operations Of 1931". archive.org. p.126. Retrieved 10 April 2024. And there was much wonder in the mind of the non-Kurmis of Manbhum that Panchet raja, having come up from the ancient Kshatriya royal family of the district, accepts the Kurmis as Kurmi Kshatriyas.
↑ W.G., Lacey (1933). "Some Aspects Of The Census Operations Of 1931". archive.org. p.124. Retrieved 10 April 2024. There can be no question but that the Kurmi Mahtos are completely Hinduized and have been for many years. They are in general much better educated, much more prosperous and enterprising, than the other aboriginal tribes or the low-caste Hindus, and they have succeeded in retaining their self-respect in a degree which is uncommon among primitive tribes converted to Hinduism. It is doubtless this circumstance which is now leading them not only to identify themselves with a Hindu caste which happens to bear the same name but also to join with that caste in affirming their Kshatriya origin.
↑ Dalton (1872). Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal. India. p.318. Though the Kurmis include so many noble families, their social position in Bengal Proper is not high.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Mondal, Bikram (2021-09-07). Broken Palace: The Lost Majesty of Bengal. Notion Press. p.100. ISBN978-1-68554-408-9. Panchkote Raj, also known as Panchkot Zamindari or Kashipur Raj, was a family of Kudmi (Kurmi) community Zamindars who ruled in the western fringe areas of present-day West Bengal, India and some of the adjacent areas in present-day Jharkhand.
↑ Mahato, Lakshmi Kanta (December 2022). "Socio-Political Mobilization of Kudmis in Junglemahal Region of West Bengal"(PDF). International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research. 4 (6): 3. The major community of this region is Kudmi community and it is historically proven that they are rebellious in nature and are reluctant to be a slave, in other words they like to be independent and non-interference of outsiders, preferring the profession of cultivation. As they are one of the major community and are cultivators, owned a vast track of land. It is widely believed that if the said community was being included in the Schedule Tribe list, it was impossible to acquire their land to establish major industrial city like Bokaro, Dhanbad, and Jamshedpur.
↑ Coupland, H. (1911). Manbhum - Bengal District Gazetteers(PDF). Bengal Secretariat Book Depot. pp.94–95. Both the Ind and the Chhata festivals are closely connected with what may be called the semi-feudal zamindari system of the district, and the celebrations take place only at present or past headquarters of one or other of the local Rajas, and by way of imitation, of one or two wealthy Kurmi landholders.
↑ Sarkar, Prabhat Ranjan (1981). "Ráŕh -The Cradle of Civilization, Part 1". Academia.edu: 13. The Kurmi Mahatos of western Ráŕh also performed priestly functions in many such temples.
↑ झारखंड। लेखकः डाॅ अनुज कुमार धान एवं मंजू ज्योत्स्ना। प्रकाशकः प्रकाशन विभाग सूचना और प्रसारण मंत्रालय। भारत सरकार। प्रकाश कालः 2008। पृष्ठाः 113।[verification needed]
↑ रघुनाथ महतोः विद्रोही "दी ग्रेट"। (चुहाड़ विद्रोह का संक्षिप्त वृत्तांत)। लेखकः डाॅ शशी भूषण महतो एवं रतन कुमार महतो। प्रकाशकः आदिवासी कुड़मी समाज, राँची। प्रकाश कालः 2010। पृष्ठाः 1-12।[self-published source?]
↑ Singh, Kumar Suresh; Bandyopādhyāẏa, Śekhara; Bagchi, Tilak; Bhattacharya, Ranjit Kumar; India, Anthropological Survey of (2008). West Bengal. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN978-81-7046-300-9.
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