The Samanthas of Andhra Pradesh - Monographic Series-1

Abstract

The present ethnographic study, The Samanthas of Andhra Pradesh, aims at giving a comprehensive account of the total culture of the Samantha (or Khond or Jatapu) tribes spread over the agency areas of Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam districts. The monograph is the outcome of intensive fieldwork conducted by Cultural Research Institute, Andhra University and financed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The fieldwork has been carried out nearly 14 months in different time periods in the agency areas of Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam. The fieldwork is based mainly on observation and semi-structured interviews. Genealogies and case histories were collected apart from the filling up schedules meant for eliciting data on the basic social and economic condition of the Samantha tribe. No sampling method was adopted, but care was taken to cover the Samanthas living in the interior as well as the plains, and also those who were converted into Christianity. The Samantha tribal people are the inhabitants of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha states of India. Samanthas have synonyms like Jatapu, Khond, Kodulu and Kondulu. A good number of reports, official and unofficial references to the tribe under discussion viz., the Samantha. But, there is some confusion with regard to the name of the tribe. But an intensive study undertaken in the agency area for the preparation of this monograph reveals beyond doubt that Khonds, Kodulu, Samanthas and Jatapus are different names for one and the same tribe. They have the same social and religious organizations with minor local variations. The Samanta follow patrilineal descent and patrillocal rule of residence. Monogamy is the norm but polygyny is also allowed. The Samanta is an endogenous tribe, however there exist several organizations are exogamous patrilineages which are totemic by nature and are named after plant and animal objects. Those totemic groups are Kondagorre (sheep), Arika (a millet), Toyika (tortoise), Thorika (wild fowl), Addakula (a leaf used to make meal plates), Palaka, Uyika, Nimmaka, Biddika, Kondangi, Mandangi, Pattika etc. These totemic groups are called as VAMSHA in their linguistic terms. Members of the vamsha consider themselves to be descendants from a common ancestor for which marriage within them is tabooed.