Munda
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Munda
An aboriginal tribe of the Chota Nagpur Division, Bengal, where they numbered 438,000 in 1901. They are mainly to be found in Ranchi District, and are closely akin to the Ho, Bhumij, and Santal tribes. The name Munda is of Sanskrit origin and denotes a ' village headman ' ; the people call them.selves Horo (meaning ' man '). Their physical type is Dravidian, but their language is allied to those spoken by the Ho, Santal, Bhumij, and other cognate tribes. These dialects form a distinct linguistic family, variously known as Munda or Kol, the origin of which is one of the most obscure philological problems of the day. It was suggested by Logan that they were evolved from the con- tact of the southern Dravidian languages with Mon-Anam forms of speech brought to India by Mongolian invaders from the north-east. The majority of the tribe (296,000) are returned as Animists, but there are 85,000 Hindus and 56,000 Christians; conversion to Christianity has recently made rapid progress among this race.
The village community retains its primitive form among the Mundas, and is provided with a complete staff of village officials. The munda is the headman ; he is responsible for the rent of the village, which he col- lects and pays to the 7>idnki or head of a group of villages, where there is one, or to the landlord. The mahto is an accountant, the pahn a priest, the bhanddri the landlord's agent, and the gorait a watchman. These officials are remunerated by grants of land held rent-free or at privileged rents, or by payments in grain or in cash, as are also the ah'ir or cowherd, and the lohdr or blacksmith.
The system prevails in its entirety in the tract of RanchT District which borders on Singhbhum and is known as the mdnki-paiti. Here many of the mdnkis and mundas are the descendants of the original chiefs, and still hold the villages which their ancestors founded. These villages are cultivated by the descendants of the original reclaimers, and each family is re- sponsible for the payment of a fixed quota of the village rent. For many years past the landlords have been endeavouring to break down the prescriptive rights of these people, which they are most tenacious in asserting, and the discontent thus engendered culminated in the unda rising of 1899. This outbreak was speedily suppressed ; but, in order to remove the grievances complained of, the Munda tract is being surveyed and settled, and an Act has been passed by the Local Government to protect the rights of these village communities.
In the early part of the last century the Mundas gave a great deal of trouble. There were outbreaks in 18x1 and in 1820; and in 1831 a serious insurrection took place, caused by the lease of some villages by the brother of the Maharaja of Chota Nagpur to Sikhs and other foreigners. This insurrection was suppressed with some difficulty in 1832 by Captain (afterwards Sir Thomas) Wilkinson.
