Bhunjia

Abstract

Bhunjia is a small and little-known tribe found in Nuapara, Kalahandi, and Nowrangpur districts of western Odisha. They claim to be the autochthones of Sonabera plateau of Kalahandi district from where they have migrated to the neighbouring plains. The tribe is socially divided into two sections such as Chuktia - the highlanders and Chinda - the plains dwellers. They are said to be offshoots of three important tribes like Gond, Halba and Baiga and the Chuktia section is recognized as an illegitimate descent. Therefore, the Chinda section claims a higher social position over the Chuktias. There is no restriction in marriage between Chuktia and Chinda, but in such cases a rite called dudh-pani is performed. They speak a dialect of Hindi which resembles the dialect of the Halbas. The Bhunjias in Odisha also speak a dialect that is a corrupt form of Odia, having ethno-linguistically affinity with Marathi. One unique feature of their social system is the dual segmentary division anthropologically called moieties. Their two exogamous moiety divisions are named Netam and Markam. Each moiety is further subdivided into groups called Bargas and then into subgroups that regulate their marital alliances. The most important cultural landmark of the Bhunjias and especially the Chuktia Bhunjias is their separate kitchen shed that they consider to be very sacred. Built a little away from other huts it is enclosed around to guard it from the touch of any outsider including their married daughter. If any outsider touches the kitchen shed, it is set on fire and razed down to the ground. Until a new shed is built, the food is cooked in a makeshift kitchen in an enclosed or open space. Sunadei is their chief patron deity installed in a shrine in Sonabera village. Besides their Bargas have their respective patron deities worshipped routinely by their clan priests. The subsistence of Bhunjia is derived from shifting and settled cultivation supplemented by animal husbandry, seasonal forest collections and wage earning. In the present times, due to multifarious development interventions noticeable changes have occurred in their way of life.