Lohra (tribe)

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Lohra
Regions with significant populations
Flag of India.svg  India
Jharkhand 216,226 (2011 Census) [1]
Languages
Nagpuri, Mundari
Related ethnic groups
Lohar, Asur

Lohra is a community found in Jharkhand. They are traditionally associated with works of iron smelting. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Historians have no idea from which period the Lohra are residing in Chota-nagpur plateau. There is also no oral or folklore about the origin of Lohra. [2]

The use of iron tool and pottery spread in the Chotanagpur region during 1400 to 800 BCE according to carbon dating of iron slag, sickle and wheel made pottery which was found in Barudih of Singhbhum district. [3] According to carbon dating, Iron celt was dated to 1200 BCE. [4]

Distribution

They are mainly distributed in the state of Jharkhand in district of Ranchi, Simdega, Gumla, Lohardaga, Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, Palamu, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Giridih district. Their population in Jharkhand is 2,16,226. [1] [5]

Subgroups

Loharas are divided into two subgroups i.e. Kanujia Lohra, who are migrants from Bihar, and the indigenous Kol Lohra or Nagpuria Lohra. The Nagpuria Lohra are further divided into two groups i.e. Sad Kamar and Lohra. Sad Kamar have abandoned their occupation and do farming. Sad Kamar still speaks Mundari and eats only fowl and goat.

Lohra follows very few restrictions on foods and eat carcasses of dead animals. Lohra are distributed all over South Bihar. The Sad Kamar live in the Pach Pargana area. The Lohra speak Sadri and Mundari. [6]

Culture

Their traditional occupation is smelting iron and making agricultural and household equipment of iron. They make sickle, axes, arrow heads and Plowshares. [6] They speak Sadani or Nagpuri. [1] [7]

Clans

They have clans such as Sath, Son (Son river), Magahia, Tutli, Kachhua (turtle), Dhan (rice), Tirkey (a bird) etc. In marriage, the bride price is prevalent. Their festivals are Sarhul, Karam, Sohrai, Fagua. [1]

Official Classification

Lohra are included in Scheduled Tribe in Jharkhand. [1] [8]

Related Research Articles

Bihari languages is a group of the Indo-Aryan languages. The Bihari languages are mainly spoken in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, and also in Nepal. The most widely spoken languages of the Bihari group are Bhojpuri, Magahi and Maithili.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Singhbhum district</span> District of Jharkhand in India

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.

The Mahli are a community in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. Basketry was main occupation of mahlis. Mahli speak Sadri, Mundari and Santali as their mother tongue rather than Mahli. May be Mahli is a threatened language. Also use Bengali, Hindi and Odia. They are included in list of Scheduled Tribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lohar</span> Caste or clan in India and Nepal

Lohar are considered to be a caste among Hindus and a clan among Muslims and Sikhs in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, and in Nepal. They form traditionally artisanal castes. Regional synonyms include.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagpuri language</span> Eastern Indo-Aryan language

Nagpuri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Bihar. It is primarily spoken in the west and central Chota Nagpur plateau region. It is sometimes considered a dialect of Bhojpuri.

<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 neighboring states of Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar bringing the total to 806,921 as of 2001. They also live in Bangladesh and Nepal.

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The region have been inhabited since the Stone Age. Copper tools from the Chalcolithic period have been discovered. This area entered the Iron Age during the mid-2nd millennium BCE.

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Most of the languages of Bihar, the third most populous state of India, belong to the Bihari subgroup of the Indo-Aryan family. Chief among them are Bhojpuri, spoken in the west of the state, Maithili in the north, Magahi in center around capital Patna and Angika in the South-Eastern region. Of these, only Maithili has official recognition under the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. The official language of Bihar is Modern Standard Hindi, with Standard Urdu serving as a second official language in 15 districts.

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Jhumair or Jhumar is an Indian folk dance from the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar and West Bengal. It is folk dance of Sadan, the Indo-Aryan ethnic groups of Chotanagpur. It is mainly performed during harvest season. The musical instruments used are Mandar, Dhol, Nagara, Bansuri. This dance style consists of performers standing in a row holding hands, singings couplets, swaying their bodies, clapping their hands and occasionally adding timed jumps.

Tourism in Jharkhand refers to tourism in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Jharkhand is known for its waterfalls, hills and holy places.

The Nagpuria people, also Nagpuri or Sadan, are an Indo-Aryan speaking ethnolinguistic group who are the native speakers of the Nagpuri language and natives of the western Chota Nagpur Plateau region of Indian states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

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, Panchpargania and Kurmali language as their native language.

Ram Shah was Nagvanshi king in 17th century. He succeed his brother Durjan Shah and ruled from 1640 to 1663 CE. Earlier their capital was at Khukhragarh, but later they shifted to Navratangarh. He was brother of king Durjan Shah.

Potka block is a CD block that forms an administrative division in the Dhalbhum subdivision of East Singhbhum district, in the Indian state of Jharkhand.

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Govind Sharan Lohra is an Indian folk artist. He is a Nagpuri folk singer, songwriter and dancer. He had performed in many national events. He is recipient of several awards including Akruti Samman, Peter Naurangi Sahitya Samman and Jharkhand Bibhuti. He was awarded Jaishankar Prasad Smriti Award in 2021.

Nagpuri culture refers to the culture of the Nagpuria people, the native speakers of the Nagpuri language, which includes literature, festivals, folk song and dance. It is also referred to as the culture related to the Nagpuri language.

Saridkel is an ancient site located in the khunti district of Jharkhand. There are ancient ruins of burnt brick houses found on the site along with redware pottery, copper tools, coins, gold earrings and iron tools. Well fortified buildings suggest that it was probably a royal house or Monastery belonging to the 1st or 2nd century CE, according to the archeological department.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 MANISH RANJAN (2022). Jharkhand General Knowledge 2022. Prabhat Prakashan. p. 18. ISBN   978-9354883002.
  2. 1 2 "Lohara". Jharkhandculture. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  3. Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. p. 225. ISBN   9788131711200 . Retrieved 30 October 2022 via Google Books.
  4. Jyoti Bhusan Das Gupta (2007). Science, Technology, Imperialism, and War. Pearson Education India. p. 268. ISBN   978-8131708514.
  5. JHARKHAND PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION PRELIMS EXAMS COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE PAPER. Manish Ranjan. 2021. ISBN   978-9390906321.
  6. 1 2 Pranab Chandra Roy Choudhury (1970). Bihar District Gazetteers, Volume 12; Volume 16. Superintendent, Secretariat Press, Bihar. p. 126.
  7. "Language: जो भाषा बोली ही नहीं जाती, वह भी है पंजीकृत; सरकार को इन भाषाओं को लेकर है भ्रम". jagran. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  8. "रांची में आदिवासी लोहरा समाज के केंद्रीय समिति की बैठक, आप भी जानें किन-किन मुद्दों पर हुई चर्चा". etvbharat. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2022.