Subject: munda tribal warrior chief
Culture: Khond
Setting: Chota Nagpur 19thc
Evolution:
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
"The Khonds are a hardy, war-like race of men, well accustomed to jungle life. They were also bold and fitfully laborious mountain peasantry of dignified manners, proud of their positions as landowners; and tenacious of their rights (E. Thurston, 2001). With only the slightest contact with the plains, the Khonds preserved their independence as a distinct nationality but they remained conservative and backward. Their vices were the indulgences in revenge, and occasionally of brutal passion. Drunkenness was universal."
* Uprising among the Khonds against the Government, 1817 online
"Invasion by the Pindari raiders was a common phenomenon in Odisha. However, a severe Pindari invasion shook the region of Ghumusar in the Kandhamal district of Odisha, in 1817-18 which was tackled by the British government in a very callous manner. This was coupled with the dissatisfaction of the tribal people over the exploitative policies of the administration.
"A tribal named Kamal Lochan acted as the guardian of the affairs of the area of Ghumusar as Rajapilla from 1815-18. He confronted the British over the forest policies and who responded by plotting against him and having him removed from the position. In retaliation, Lochan organised resistance by assembling the Khonds of the hills and the forests. On his insistence, the Paik rebellion received reinforcements from Khonds of Ghumusar making it count. Lochan was finally captured and put to death in Ooty in 1846.
"The event was one among the numerous attempts by the tribal people of Odisha to register their myriad grievances against the British policies that interfered with their way of life."
* Mishra/Devi/Singh/Kumar 2025 p.xii-xv
"The British policies disturbed the traditional tribal systems. The Tribal land system was marked by its community ownership of land and absence of the landlords. Although during the Mughal rule the formal allegiance of local rulers like the Nagvanshis and the Cheros was obtained but it never penetrated deep into the villages so as to exercise direct control. Different tribal communities were governing their own villages. This village based administrative system was usually governed by the village headman known as Munda and the priest known as Pahan. Network of 8-10 villages were headed by a Manki who used to solve disputes arising among different Mundas.
"The pieces of land were held jointly by the villagers and there was no concept of an individual holding of land. Different portions of land were earmarked for different purposes, like some portion of land was marked as 'rajhas', the produce of which was reserved to be sent to the king as tribute; certain portion was reserved for religious activities called 'sarana land'; and some portion of land for community dancing and celebration known as 'akharas land'.
"Besides the tribes of Chota Nagpur had their Parha panchayats under Manki or Munda. Parha had access to all important welfare activities such as security, hunting, fairs and festivals, verdicts over disputes etc. It acted as an appellate courtand dealt with serious breaches of social customs and punishes the offenders suitably by either excommunicating them or imposing a fine on them according to the nature and gravity of offences. The chief of the Panchayat was selected from the rank of the Mundas and was helped in discharging his duties by petty local officials called Pahan, Painbhara and Pandey etc.
"But the British rule created the hitherto unknown class of zamindars in the tribal areas. The tribals were reduced to the position of tenants. The British also introduced Thekedars or contractors in the tribal areas. The zamindars and thekedars introduced the land rent in the tribal areas.
"Following the introduction of the market economy, a class of traders also developed in the tribal areas. The tribal tenants had to pay the rent in cash. As they did not have cash with them, they had to borrow from the money-lenders. Hence, a class of money-lenders also came into being in these areas. The isolated tribal communities were connected to the outside world following the introduction of means of communication and transport. The self-sufficient tribal economy was converted into market economy. The customary system of justice was replaced by the new legal system. The tribals could not utilize the new legal system, as they were not educated & did not have money for the fees of the lawyers. The British brought a host of petty government officials and clerks in the tribal areas.
"All these classes (zamindars, thekedars, traders, money-lenders, govt. officials, Christian missionaries) were not natives of these areas nor did they belong to tribal communities. Hence, they were considered outsiders (Dikus) by the tribals. These classes collaborated with the British administration in the process of exploitation and oppression of the tribals. The landlords' [sic] extracted exorbitant amount of rent from the tribals; evicted them from their land and extracted begar (forcible labour) from them. In case of defiance, the tribals were physically assaulted and often they were deprived of their belongings.
[....] During the British rule in India, there has been encroachment on tribal hills and plain territories and oppression of the tribes by aliens. Tribals by temperament are simple minded and nature-loving people. When they found their life-style and culture jeopardized by aliens' activities, they rose agaisnt the latter who were exploiting their economic resources including land, labour and forests."
Ax
* Royal Armouries Museum > Oriental Gallery
"... The principal weapon of the Khond tribes was the two-handed axe. It is distinguished by its wide variety of often multiple-pointed blades.
Tongi is the Hindi name for them; indigenously, they were called pharetri."
Costume
*
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