Oraon Adivasi
The Oraon, one of the biggest Adivasi Groups are found in the districts of Ranchi, Gumla, Lohardaga, Latehar, Palamau, Garhawa, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Santhal Pargana, Singhbhum, Rohtas, Bhabhua etc. The Munda and the Oraon had jointly elected as "Nagvanshi Raja" to rule the Chotanagpur state, probably in 64 A.D. The Raja was not the landlord but was given some share from the agricultural and forest produce for the maintenance and the services rendered during ceremonies and war time.
The Oraon language, Kurukh, belongs to the Dravidian family, and is most closely related to Brahui and Malto (Paharia). Kurukh language is being taught in Ranchi University in Jharkhand. A Kurukh Literary Society have been formed after the first Kurukh Conference held in Ranchi in October, 2006.
The Oraon people have a rich and vast range of folk songs, dances and tales, as well as traditional musical instruments. Both men and women participate in dance, which are performed at social events and festivals. Mandar, Nagara and kartal are the main musical instruments.
A sizable numbers of Oraon have immigrated to the northeastern part of India, where they are mainly employed in Tea Estates of West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura. A sizable numbers of Oraon have settled down in Nepal. Many have settled down in the lower part of Bhutan (Samchi district).
The majority of Oraon write their gotra along with their name. However, those who follow Tana Bhagat principle or Sarna Dharma write the Bhagat in place of their gotra. Many prefer to write Oraon as a second name in place of a gotra.
Majority of oraon write their gotra (Kerketta, Xalxo, Xaxa, Xess, Tirkey, Toppo, Tigga, Kujur,Minz, Ekka Barla, Barwa, Indwar, Lakra, Beck, Dhanwar, Baghwar, Kachhap, kindo, Kispota, kanda, Kokro, Gaddi, Khoya, Chermanko,Dadel, Niya, Panna, Bakula, Basa, Bando, Bhagat, Binko, Beck, Munjni, Runda, Linda, Son, Rawna, etc) with their name. However, those who follow Tana Bhagat principle or Sarna Dharma write Bhagat in place of gotra.
Many Oraon who have converted to Chritianity have opted new names in place of gotra. Oraon prefer to marry a oraon only. However, Christian Oraon often marry other community (Munda, Kharia, Santal) due to influence of Christianity. However, Sarna Oraon prefer marriage to Oraon only with full traditional fashion.
1. Social Rules
The Oraons do not now admit outsiders into the tribe. There is no offence for which a man is permanently put out of tribe, but a woman living with any man other than an Oraon is expelled. Temporary expulsion is meted out for the usual offences. The head of the tribe is called Pannu, and when an offender is reinstated, the Panna first drinks water from his hand, and takes upon himself the burden of the erring one’s transgression. For this he usually receives a fee of few rupees, and in some States the appointment is in the hands of the Raja, who exacts a fine of a hundred rupees or more from a new candidate. The Oraons eat almost all kinds of food, including pork, fowls and crocodiles, but abstain from beef.
2. Social Customs
Mr. Ball mentions their dance as follows: “The Oraon dance was distinct from any I had seen by the Santals or other races. The girls, carefully arranged in lines by sizes, with the tallest at one end and the smallest at the other, firmly grasp one another’s hands, and the whole movements are so perfectly in concert that they spring about with us much agility as could a single individual.” Fr Dehon gives the following interesting notice of their social customs: “The Oraons are very sociable beings, and like to enjoy life together. They are paying visits or pahis to one another nearly the whole year round. In these the handia (beer-jar) always plays a great part. Any man who would presume to receive visitors without offering them a handia would be hooted and insulted by his guests, who would find a sympathising echo from all the people of the village. One may say that from the time of the new rice at the end of September to the end of the marriage feast or till March there is a continual coming and going of visitors. For a marriage feast forty handias are prepared by the groom’s father, and all the people of the village who can afford it supply one also. Each handia gives about three gallons of rice-beer, so that in one day and a half, in a village of thirty houses, about 200 gallons of rice-beer are despatched. The Oraons are famous for their dances.
They delight in spending the whole night from sunset till morning in this most exciting amusement, and in the dancing season they go from village to village. They get, as it were, intoxicated with the music, and there is never any slackening of the pace. On the contrary, the evolutions seem to increase till very early in the morning, and it sometimes happens that one of the dancers shoots off rapidly from the gyrating group, and speeds away like a spent top, and, whirlwind-like, disappears through paddy-fields and ditches till he falls entirely exhausted. Of course it is the devil who has taken possession of him. One can well imagine in what state the dancers are at the first crow of the cock, and when she finds the girls straggling home one by one, dishevelled, too tired even to enjoy the company of the boys, who remain behind in small groups, still sounding their tom-toms at intervals as if sorry that the performance was so soon over. And, wonderful to say and incredible to witness, they will go straight to the stalls, yoke their bullocks, and work the whole morning with the same spirit and cheerfulness as if they had spent the whole night in refreshing sleep. At eleven o’clock they come home, eat their meal, and stretched out in the verandah sleep like logs until two, when poked and kicked about unmercifully by the people of the house, they reluctantly get up with heavy eyes and weary limbs to resume their work.”
3. Sub-divisions
The Oraons have no proper sub-tribes in the Central Provinces, but the Kudas and Kisans, having a distinctive name and occupation, sometimes regard themselves as separate bodies and decline inter-marriage with other Oraons. In Bengal Sir H. Risley gives five divisions, Barga, Dhanka, Kharia, Khendro of other tribes, and Dhanka may be a variant for Dhangar. The names show that as usual with the tribes of this part of the country the law of endogamy is by no means strict. The tribe have also a large number of exogamous septs of the totemistic type, named after plants and animals. Members of any sept commonly abstain from killing or eating their sept totem. A man must not marry a member of his own sept nor a first cousin on the mother’s side.
4. Tattooing
“When a boy is six or seven years old it is time for him to become a member of the Dhumkuria or common dormitory. The eldest boys catch hold of his left arm and, with burning cloth, burn out five deep marks on the lower part of his arm. This is done so that he may be recognised as an Oraon at his death when he goes into the other world.” The ceremony was probably the initiation to manhood on arrival at puberty, and resembled those prevalent among the Australian tribes. With this exception men are not tattooed, but this decoration is profusely resorted to by women. They have three parallel vertical lines on the forehead which form a distinctive mark, and other patterns on the arms, chest, knees and ankles. The marks on the knees are considered to be steps by which the wearer will ascend to heaven after her death. If a baby cries much it is also tattooed on the nose and chin.
5. Marriage
Marriage rituals in the Oraon community are similar to those of Santhals and Mundas. Marriages are arranges by the guardians in the family, but hte opinions of the brides and bridegrooms are also respected. Child marriage is not recognised. Divorce, as well as widows, can marry more than once but, men are not allowed a second marriage unless they are widowed or are divorcees.
5. A. Pre-marriage Licence
Marriage is adult and pre-nuptial unchastity appears to be tacitly recognised. Oraon villages have the institution of the Dhumkuria or bachelors’ dormitory, which Dalton describes as follows: “In all the order Oraon villages when there is any conservation of ancient customs, there is a house called the Dhumkuria in which all the bachelors of the village must sleep under penalty of a fine. The huts of the Oraons have insufficient accommodation for a family so that separate quarters for the young men are a necessity. The same remark applies to the young unmarried women, and it is a fact that they do not sleep in the house with their parents. They are generally frank enough when questioned about their habits, but on this subject there is always a certain amount of reticence, and I have seen girls quietly withdraw when it was mooted. I am told that in some villages a separate building is provided for them like the Dhumkuria, in which they consort under the guardianship of an elderly duenna, but I believe the more common practice is to distribute them among the houses of the widows, and this is what the girls themselves assert, if they answer at all when the question is asked; but however billeted, it is well known that they often find their way to the bachelor’s hall, and in some villages actually sleep there. I not long ago saw a Dhumkuria in a Sarguja village in which the boys and girls all slept every night.” Colonel Dalton considered it uncertain that the practice led to actual immorality, but the fact can hardly be doubted.
Sexual intercourse before marriage, Sir H. Risley says, is tacitly recognised, and is so generally practised that in the opinion of the best observers no Oraon girl is a virgin at the time of her marriage. “To call this state of things immoral is to apply a modern conception to primitive habits of life. Within the tribe, indeed, the idea of sexual morality seems hardly to exist, and the unmarried Oraons are not far removed from the condition of modified promiscuity which prevails among many of the Australian tribes. Provided that the exogamous circle defined by the totem is respected, an unmarried woman may bestow her favours on whom she will. If, however, she becomes pregnant, arrangements are made to get her married without delay, and she is then expected to lead a virtuous life.” According to Dalton, however, liaisons between boys and girls of the same village seldom end in marriage, as it is considered more respectable to bring home a bride from a distance. This appears to arise from the primitive rule of exogamy that marriage should not be allowed between those who have been brought up together. The young men can choose for themselves, and at dances, festivals and other social gatherings they freely woo their sweethearts, giving them flowers for the hair and presents of grilled field-mice, which the Oraons consider to be the most delicate food. Father Dehon, however, states that matches are arranged by the parents, and the bride and bridegroom have nothing to say in the matter. Boys are usually married at sixteen and girls at fourteen or fifteen. The girls thus have only about two years of preliminary flirtation or Dhumkuria life before they are settled.
5. B. Betrothal
The first ceremony for a marriage is known as pan bandhi or the settling of the price; for which the boy’s father accompanied by some men of his village to represent the elders, goes to the girl’s house. Fr Dehon states that the bride-price is five rupees and four maunds of grain. When this has been settled the rejoicings begin. “All the people of the village are invited; two boys come and anoint the visitors with oil. From every house of the village that can afford it a handia or pot of rice-beer is brought, and they drink together and make merry. All this time the girl has been kept inside, but now she suddenly sallies forth carrying a handia on her head. A murmur of admiration greets her when stepping through the crowd she comes and stands in front of her future father-in-law, who at once takes the handia from her head, embraces her, and gives her one rupee. From that time during the whole of the feast the girl remains sitting at the feet of her father-in-law. The whole party meanwhile continue drinking and talking; and voices rise so high that they cannot hear one another. As a diversion the old women of the village all come tumbling in, very drunk and wearing fantastic hats made of leaves; gesticulating like devils and carrying a straw manikin representing the bridegroom. They all look like old witches, and in their drunken state are very mischievous.”
5. C. Marriage Ceremony
The marriage takes place after about two years, visits being exchanged twice a year in the mean time. When the day comes the bridegroom proceeds with a large party of his friends, male and female, to the bride’s house. Most of the males have warlike weapons, real or sham, and as they approach the village of the bride’s family the young men from thence emerge, also armed, as if to repel the invasion, and a mimic fight ensues, which like a dissolving view blends pleasantly into a dance. In this the bride and bridegroom join, each riding on the hips of one of their friends. After this they have a feast till late in the night. Next morning bread cooked by the bride’s mother is taken to the dari or village spring, where all the women partake of it. When they have finished they bring a vessel of water with some leaves of the mango tree in it. Meanwhile the bride and bridegroom are in the house, being anointed with oil and turmeric by their respective sisters. When everybody has gathered under the marriage-bower the boy and girl are brought out of the house and a heap is made of a plough-yoke, a bundle of thatching-grass and a curry-stone. The bride and bridegroom are made to stand on the curry-stone, the boy touching the heels of the bride with his toes, and a long piece of cloth is put round them to screen them from the public. Only their heads and feet can be seen. A goblet full of vermilion is presented to the boy, who dips his finger it and makes three lines on the forehead of the girl; and the girl does the same to the boy, but as she has to reach him over her shoulder and cannot see him, the boy gets it anywhere on his face, which never fails to provoke hearty bursts of laughter. “When this is complete,” Dalton states, “a gun is fired and then by some arrangement vessels full of water, placed over the bower, are upset, and the young couple and those near them receive a drenching shower-bath, the women shouting, ‘The marriage is done, the marriage is done.’They now retire into an apartment prepared for them, ostensibly to change their clothes, but they do not emerge for some time, and when they do appear they are saluted as man and wife.”
5. D. Special Customs Marriage
Meanwhile the guests sit round drinking handias or earthen pots full of rice-beer. The bride and bridegroom come out and retire a second time and are called out for the following rite. A vessel of beer is brought and the bride carries a cupful of it to the bridegroom’s brother, but instead of giving it into his hand she deposits it on the ground in front of him. This is to seal of tacit agreement that from that time the bridegroom’s brother will not touch his sister-in-law, and was probably instituted to mark the abolition of the former system of fraternal polyandry, customs of an analogous nature being found among the Khonds and Korkus.”Then,” Father Dehon continues, “comes the last ceremony, which is called khiritengna handia or the handia of the story, and is considered by the Oraons to be the true form of marriage which has been handed down to them by their forefathers. The boy and girl sit together before the people and one of the elder men present rises and addressing the boy says: ‘If your wife goes to fetch sag and falls from a tree and breaks her leg, do not say that she is disfigured or crippled. You will have to keep and feed her.’ Then turning to the girl:’When your husband goes hunting, if his arm or leg is broken, do not say, “He is a cripple, I won’t live with him.” Do not say that, for you have to remain with him. If you prepare meat, give two shares to him and keep only one for yourself. If you prepare vegetables, give him two parts and keep only one part for yourself. If he gets sick and cannot go out, do not say that he is dirty, but clean his mat and wash him.’ A feast follows, and at night the girl is brought to the boy by her mother, who says to him, ‘Now this my child is yours; I do not give her for a few days but for ever; take care of her and love her well.’ A companion of the bridegroom’s then seizes the girl in his arms and carries her inside the house.”
5. E. Widow-Remarriage and Divorce
It is uncommon for a man to have two wives. Divorce is permitted, and is usually effected by the boy or girl running away to the Duars or Assam. Widow-remarriage is a regular practice. The first time a widow marries again, Fr Dehon states, the bridegroom must pay Rs. 3-8 for her; if successive husbands die her price goes down by a rupee upon a fresh marriage, so that a fifth husband would pay only eight annas. Cases of adultery are comparatively rare. When offenders are caught a heavy fine is imposed if they are well-to-do, and if they are not, a smaller fine and a beating.
6. Customs at Birth
“The Oraons,” Fr Dehon continues, “are a very prolific race, and whenever they are allowed to live without being too much oppressed they increase prodigiously. What strikes you when you come to an Oraon village is the number of small dirty children playing everywhere, while you can scarcely meet a woman that does not carry a baby on her back. The women seem, to a great extent, to have been exempted from the curse to our first mother:’Thou shalt bring forth, etc.’ They seem to give birth to their children with the greatest ease. There is no period of uncleanness, and the very day after giving birth to a child, you will see the mother with her baby tied up in a cloth on her back and a pitcher on her head going, as if nothing had happened, to the village spring.” This practice, it may be remarked in parenthesis, may arise from the former observance of the couvade, the peculiar custom prevailing among several primitive races, by which, when a child is born, the father lies in the house and pretends to be ill, while the mother gets up immediately and goes about her work. The custom has been reported as existing among the Oraons by one observer from Bilaspur, but so far without confirmation.
7. Naming a Child
“A child is named eight or ten days after birth, and on this day some men of the village and the members of the family assemble at the parents’ house. Two leaf-cups are brought, one full of water and the other of rice. After a preliminary formula grains of rice are let fall into the cup, first in the name of the child and then successively in those of his ancestors in the following order: paternal grandfather, paternal great-grandfather, father, paternal uncle,maternal grandfather, other relatives. When the grain dropped in the name of any relative meets the first one dropped to represent the child, he is given the name of that relative and is probably considered to be a reincarnation of him.”
8. Dormitory Discipline
An important characteristic of the social life of a village have been found in Kurukh is Dhumkuria (Dormitory) life. It is the educational institution for bachelors, where they stay together to get training about their culture, custom, religion and social life. It is usually located on the outside of the village to prevent unnecessary noise. There is a separate rooms for the females. Teacher of the institute are old men or priest (naigas). When a boy is six or seven years old it is time for him to become a member of the Dhumkuria or common dormitory. The eldest boys catch hold of his left arm and, with burning cloth, burn out five deep marks on the lower part of his arm. This is done so that he may be recognised as an Kurukh at his death when he goes into the other world.”
Dalton describes Dhumkuria as follows: “The huts of the Kurukhs have insufficient accommodation for a family so that separate quarters for the young men are a necessity, in which the boys and girls all slept every night.” Colonel Dalton considered it uncertain that the practice led to actual immorality, but the fact can hardly be doubted. Sir H. Risley says, “sexual intercourse before marriage, is tacitly recognised, and is so generally practised that in the opinion of the best observers no Kurukh girl is a virgin at the time of her marriage. However any pairs are practiced transgression, they are punished by the several penalties and get marry each other. They can’t marry with another person.
In this way, Dhumkuria life is a prosperous and disciplined social life among kurukhs. It is admiration to Kurukhs, but modern Kurukhs do’t give importance of dhumkuria life. They have not enough time to stay on dhumkuria. Most villages have not any dhumkuria. They should understand the importance of dhumkuria and keep their richest culture alive. The Dhumkuria fraternity, Dalton remarks, is under the severest penalties, bound down to secrecy in regard to all that takes place in their dormitory; and even girls are punished if they dare to tell tales. They are not allowed to join in the dances till the offence is condoned. They have a regular system of fagging in this curious institution. The small boys serve those of larger growth, shampoo their limbs, comb their hair, and so on, and they are sometimes subjected to severe discipline to make men of them.
9. Disposal of the Dead
Oraon either bury or burn the dead. As the corpse is carried to the grave, beginning from the first cross-roads, they sprinkle a line of rice as far as the grave or pyre. This is done so that the soul of the deceased may find its way back to the house. Before the burial or cremation cooked food and some small pieces of money are placed in the mouth of the corpse. They are subsequently, however, removed or recovered from the ashes and taken by the musicians as their fee. Some clothes belonging to the deceased and a vessel with some rice are either burnt with the corpse or placed in the grave. As the grave is being filled in they place a stalk of orai grass vertically on the head of the corpse and gradually draw it upwardsas the earth is piled on the grave. They say that this is done in order to leave a passage for the air to pass to the nostrils of the deceased. This is the grass from which reed pens are made, and the stalk is hard and hollow. Afterwards they plant a root of the same grass where the stalk is standing over the head of the corpse. On the tenth day they sacrifice a pigand fowl and bury the legs, tail, ears and nose of the pig in a hole with seven balls of iron dross. They then proceed to the grave scattering a little parched rice all the way along the path. Cooked rice is offered at the grave. If the corpse has been burnt they pick up the bones and place them in a pot, which is brought home and hung up behind the dead man’shouse. At night-time a relative sits inside the house watching a burning lamp, while some friends go outside the village and make a miniature hut with sticks and grass and set fire to it. They then call out to the dead man, ‘Come, your house is being burnt,’ and walk home striking a mattock and sickle together. On coming to the house they kick down the matting which covers the doorway; the man inside says, ‘Who are you?’ and they answer, ‘It is we.’They watch the lamp and when the flame wavers they believe it to show that the spirit of the deceased has followed them and has also entered the house. Next day the bones are thrown into a river and the earthen pot broken against a stone.
10. Worship of Ancestors
The pitras or ancestors are worshipped at every festival, and when the new rice is reaped a hen is offered to them. They pray to their parents to accept the offering and then place a few grains of rice before the hen. If she eats them, it is a sign that the ancestors have accepted the offering and a man kills the hen by crushing its head with his closed fist. This is probably, as remarked by Father Dehon, in recollection of the method employed before the introduction of knives, and the same explanation may be given of the barbaric method of the Baigas of crushing a pig to death by a beam of wood used as a see-saw across its body, and of the Gond bride and bridegroom killing a fowl by treading on it when they first enter their house after the wedding.
11. Human Sacrifice
“There is also Anna Kuari or Mahadhani, who is in our estimation the most cruel and repulsive deity of all, as she requires human sacrifice. Those savage people, who put good crops above everything, look upon her in a different light. She can give good crops and make a man rich, and this covers a multitude of sins. People may be sceptical about it and say that it is impossible that in any part of India under the British Government there should still be human sacrifices. Well, in spite of all the vigilance of the authorities, there are still human sacrifices in Chota Nagpur. As the vigilance of the authorities increases, so also does the carefulness of the Urkas or Otongas increase. They choose for their victims poor waifs or strangers, whose disappearance no one will notice. April and May are the months in which the Urkas are at work. Doisa, Panari, Kukra and Sarguja have a very bad reputation. During these months no strangers will go about the country alone and during that time nowhere will boys and girls be allowed to go to the jungle and graze the cattle for fear of the Urkas. When an Urka has found a victim he cuts his throat and carries away the upper part of the ring finger and the nose. Anna Kuari finds votaries not only among the Oraons, but especially among the big zamindars and Rajas of the Native States. When a man has offered a sacrifice to Anna Kuari she goes and lives in his house in the form of a small child. From that time his fields yield double harvest, and when he brings in his paddy he takes Anna Kuari and rolls her over the heap to double its size. But she soon becomes restless and is only pacified by new human sacrifices. At last after some years she cannot bear remaining in the same house any more and kills everyone.”
12. Dance and Music
Like other tribes, Oraons like to dance, sing and play musical instruments.They pass their time in music and dance .They use flute, nagara, mandar, drum and dholak as their musical instrument They sing folk songs in which their life style emerges.Their dances and songs are deeply rooted in their social and cultural life. Mandar, drums, Nagara and Dholak, flute and Mandar are the main musical instruments. Jhumur songs of Oraons reflect their lifestyle and their religious philosophy. Their songs and dances are seasonal and festival wise, hence they sing songs according to the season. All religious ceremonies and seasonal festivals of Oraons such as the Basundhara in the month of Baishakh, Bhadri in Bhadra, Jejuti in Agrahayan, Itu in Falgun and Sarhul in Chaitra reflect the tribe’s link to agriculture. Marriage songs and dances are also different from another seasonal dances and songs. Following are the dances and songs of Kurukhs : Karma, Sharhul, Jhumar, Damkach, Bhadri, Jejuti, Itu and Jatra.
a. Karma Dance: Karma festival is celebrated on Bhadrapad-Suklapaksh Ekadashi. At the Karma festival a party of young people of both sexes spend the whole festival night singing and dancing. The songs sung on this occasion narrate the legends of Karma and Dharma. On the day of worship, devotees fast from morning till the next day – a good 24 hours. A branch from the Karam(Nauclea parvifolia) tree is planted in the middle of an dancing ground(Akhra) and the night is spent singing and dancing around it. All may be festooned with strips of coloured cloth and sham bracelets, java( new rice or wheat plants)and merry laughter of the young people encircling it, reminds one of the gift-bearing tree. Java and wheat is germinated a few days earlier and the small plants are put in a small bamboo basket and placed before the branch of the Karam Tree.
b. Jaudra Dance: During the Indian month of AGHAN & PUSA it is played in the villages at night.
c. Sharhul Dance: Sharhul festival celebrated, when sal tree gives the flowers for the ceremony. It takes place about the beginning of April on any day when the tree is in flower. Sarhul which is a prominent festival of ORAON can’t be thought without dance, the youth of both sexes, gaily decked with the sal blossoms, the pale cream-white flowers of which make the most becoming of ornaments against their dusky skins and coal-black hair, proceed to the Akhara and dance all night. People hold together in a chain and form a circle then practise this dance along with music and song . Musicians with their traditional music instruments remain inside the circle .Men wear white DHOTI with red border and women wear white SARI with red border.
d. Bheja Dance: Dozens or more young boys and girls gather at a particular place ,form a chain by clumping hands of one another in alternate succession then perform dance following different postures with melodious traditional music and songs in a rhythm.
e. Panky Dance: Men hold CHANWAR in hands and on their soldiers then perform dance.
f. Angnai Dance: It is performed in the villages during any festival.
g. Jatra Dance: Jatra is the famous dance of Kurukhs. The tribe are seen to best advantage at the great national dance meetings called Jatras, which are held once a year at convenient centres, generally large mango groves in the vicinity of old villages. As a signal to the country round, the flags of each village are brought out on the day fixed and set upon the road that leads to the place of meeting. This incites the young men and maidens to hurry through their morning’s work and dig up their jatra dresses, which are by no means ordinary attire. Those who have some miles to go put up their finery in a bundle to keep it fresh and clean, and proceed to some tank or stream in the vicinity of the tryst grove; and about two o’clock in the afternoon may be seen all around groups of girls laughingly making their toilets in the open air, and young men in separate parties similarly employed. When they are ready the drums are beaten, huge horns are blown, and thus summoned the group from each village forms its procession. In front are young men with swords and shields or other weapons, the village standard-bearers with their flags, and boys waving yaks’ tails or bearing poles with fantastic arrangements of garlands and wreaths intended to represent umbrellas of dignity. Sometimes a man riding on a wooden horse is carried, horse and all, by his friends as the Raja, and others assume the form of or paint themselves up to represent certain beasts of prey. Behind this motley group the main body form compactly together as a close column of dancers in alternate ranks of boys and girls, and thus they enter the grove, where the meeting is held in a cheery dashing style, wheeling and countermarching and forming lines, circles and columns with grace and precision. The dance with these movements is called kharia, and it is considered to be an Oraon rather than a Munda dance, though Munda girls join in it. When they enter the grove the different groups join and dance the kharia together, forming one vast procession and then a monstrous circle. The drums and musical instruments are laid aside, and it is by the voices alone that the time is given; but as many hundreds, nay, thousands, join, the effect is imposing. In serried ranks, so closed up that they appear jammed, they circle round in file, all keeping perfect step, but at regular intervals the strain is terminated by a hururu, which reminds one of Paddy’s ‘huroosh’ as he ‘welts the floor,’ and at the same moment they all face inwards and simultaneously jumping up, they come down on the ground with a resounding stamp that marks the finale of the movements, but only for a momentary pause. One voice with a startling yell takes up the strain again, a fresh start is made, and after gyrating thus till they tire of it, the ring breaks up, and separating into village groups they perform other dances independently till near sunset, and then go dancing home”.
h. Damkach: It is a variety of dance mainly practiced by SADANS in Jharkhand during marriage ceremony and oroans also accepted to dance domkach.
i. Marriage: Marriage songs and dances are also different from another seasonal dances and songs.
j. Jhumar: Jhumur songs of Oraons reflect their lifestyle and their religious philosophy.