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Ho people

February 26, 2023

This article is about the Austroasiatic ethnic group of India. For the Tibeto-Burman people also known as Ho of China, Vietnam and Laos, see Hani people.

The Ho people are an Austroasiatic Munda ethnic group of India. They call themselves the Ho, Hodoko and Horo, which mean 'human' in their own language. Officially, however, they are mentioned in different subgroups like Kolha, Mundari, Munda, Kol and Kolah in Odisha.[2][3][4][5][6] They are mostly concentrated in the Kolhan region of Jharkhand and Odisha where they constitute around 10.7% and 7.3% of the total Scheduled Tribe population respectively, as of 2011 .[7] With a population of approximately 700,000 in the state in 2001, the Ho are the fourth most numerous Scheduled tribe in Jharkhand after the Santals, Kurukhs, and Mundas.[8] Ho also inhabit adjacent areas in the neighboring states of Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar bringing the total to 806,921 as of 2001.[7][9][10] They also live in Bangladesh and Nepal.[11]

Ho
Ho tribe woman in traditional attire.
Total population
1,658,104 (2011 census)[1]
Regions with significant populations
 India
              Jharkhand928,289[1]
              Odisha705,618[1]
              West Bengal23,483[1]
              Bihar715[1]
Languages
Ho language
Religion
Sarnaism  • Hinduism  • Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Mundas  • Kharias  • Juangs  • Santals  • Bhumijs
Odisha population figures include Kolha, Mundari, Kolah, Munda & Kol who although listed as a separate Scheduled Tribe, are another name for the Hos.

The ethnonym "Ho" is derived from the Ho language word hō meaning "human". The name is also applied to their language which is an Austroasiatic language closely related to Mundari. According to Ethnologue, the total number of people speaking the Ho language was 1,040,000 as of 2001.[12] Similar to other Austroasiatic groups in the area, the Ho report varying degrees of multilingualism, also using Hindi and English.[13]

Over 90% of the Ho practice the indigenous religion Sarnaism. The majority of the Ho are involved in agriculture, either as land owners or labourers, while others are engaged in mining. Compared to the rest of India, the Ho have a low literacy rate and a low rate of school enrollment. The government of Jharkhand has recently approved measures to help increase enrollment and literacy among children.[14][15][16]

History

Linguistic studies suggest that the Austroasiatic homeland was in Southeast Asia and Austroasiatic languages arrived on the coast of Odisha from Southeast Asia about 4000–3500 years ago.[17] The Austroasiatic speaker spread from Southeast Asia and mixed extensively with local Indian populations.[18]

 
Dalton's painting of Ho man and woman in 1872

According to historian Ram Sharan Sharma in his book India's Ancient Past mentioned that, many Austroasiatic, Dravidian, and non-Sanskrit terms occur in the Vedic texts ascribed to 1500-500 BC.[19] They indicate ideas, institutions, products, and settlements associated with peninsular and non-Vedic India. The people of this area spoke the proto-Munda language. Several terms in the Indo-Aryan languages that signify the use of cotton, navigation, digging, stick, etc. have been traced to the Munda languages by linguists. There are many Munda pockets in Chota Nagpur Plateau, in which the remnants of Munda culture are strong. It is held that changes in the phonetics and vocabulary of the Vedic language can be explained as much on the basis of the Dravidian influence as that of the Munda.[19]

Starting from the period between the 9th and 12th centuries, copper was smelted in many parts of old Singhbhum district. It is believed that many immigrants entered Singhbhum from Manbhum in the 14th century or earlier. When the Hos entered old Singhbhum, they overcame the Bhuiyas, who were then inhabitants of the forest country. In the latter half of the eighteenth century, the Hos fought several wars against the Rajas of the Chota Nagpur States and Mayurbhanj to retain their independence. As far as is known, the Muslims left them alone.[20] Although the area was formally claimed to be a part of the Mughal Empire, neither the Mughals nor the Marathas, who were active in the surrounding areas during the decline of the Mughals, ventured into the area.[21]

In 1765, Chota Nagpur was ceded to the British East India Company as part of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa Provinces. The Raja of Singhbhum asked the British Resident at Midnapore for protection in 1767, but it was not until 1820 that he acknowledged himself as a feudatory of the British. The restless Hos broke the agreement soon and took part in a fierce rebellion of 1831–33, called the Kol uprising, along with the Mundas.[21][22] The immediate cause of the Kol uprising was the disposition of Mankis and extraction of taxes by thikadars (literally meaning contractors) or farmers of rent. The Hos and Mundas were joined by the Kurukh and the houses of many thikedars, landlords were burnt and a number of people were killed. They also plundered, killed and destroyed villages Hindus.[20] It compelled the British to recognise the need for a thorough subjugation of the Hos.[21] The uprising was suppressed with a good deal of trouble by several hundred British troops.[20] While local troops quelled the uprising, another group under Colonel Richards entered Singhbhum in November 1836. Within three months all the ringleaders surrendered. In 1857, the Raja of Porahat rose in rebellion and a sizeable section of the Hos joined in the revolt. Troops were sent who put an end to the disturbances by 1859.[21]

Language

Main article: Ho language

Ho people speak the Ho language, an Austroasiatic language closely related to Mundari and more distantly related to languages of Southeast Asia such as Khmer and Mon. The Austroasiatic languages of India, including Ho, are inflected fusional languages unlike their distant relatives in Southeast Asia which are analytic languages. This difference in typology is due to extensive language contact with the unrelated Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. The phonology of Ho has also been influenced by the nearby unrelated languages.[17] There are at least three dialects of Ho: Lohara, Chaibasa and Thakurmunda. All dialects are mutually intelligible with approximately 92% of all Ho speakers able to understand a narrative discourse in both Chaibasa and Thakurmunda dialects.[12] The most divergent dialects are in the extreme south and east of Ho territory.

While fewer than five percent of Ho speakers are literate in the language, Ho is typically written in Devanagari, Latin, scripts. A native alphabet, called Warang Citi and invented by Lako Bodra in the 20th century, also exists.[12][23]

Culture

Ho village life revolves around five main parab or festivals. The most important festival, Mage Parab, takes place in the late winter month of Magha and marks the completion of the agricultural cycle.[24] It is a week-long celebration held to honor Singbonga, the creator god. Other lesser bonga (spirits) are also honored throughout the week. Baa Parab, the festival of flowers held in mid-spring, celebrates the yearly blossoming of the sacred Sal trees. Sohrai or Gaumara is the most important agricultural festival, the date of which usually coincides with the nationwide festivities in the fall. It is a village wide celebration with music and dancing held in honor of the cattle used in cultivation. During the ceremonies, the cows are painted with a flour and dye mix, anointed with oil and prayed over after a black chicken is sacrificed to an image of the cattle bonga. Baba Hermutu is the ceremonial first sowing. The date is set each year in the early spring by the deurior priest pahan who also officiates the three-day ceremony by praying and commencing his first sowing of the year. Jomnama Parab is held in late fall before the first harvest is eaten to thank the spirits for a trouble-free harvest.[24][25][26]

Dance is important to Adivasi culture in general and for the Ho, it is more than simply a means of entertainment. Their songs are generally accompanied by dances which change with the seasons. Songs and distinctively choreographed dance are integral parts of Ho culture and art,[20][27] as well as important parts of their traditional festivals, especially Mage Parab. Most villages have a dedicated dancing ground, called akhra, usually consisting of a cleared space of hard ground under a spreading tree. Dances are organised on a staggered basis in the villages so that other villagers can participate. Traditional Ho music incorporates native instruments including a dama (drum), dholak, dumeng (mandar), and the rutu (flute).[20]

The Ho people brew handia, called by them diyeng.

Religion

See also: Sarnaism

In the 2001 national census, 91% of the Hos declared that they professed "other religions and persuations", meaning that they do not consider themselves to belong to any of the major religious groups and follow their indigenous religious systems called "Sarna" or Sarnaism.[8] Also known as sarna dhorom ("religion of the holy woods"), this religion plays an important part in the life of adivasi.[28] Their beliefs in gods, goddesses and spirits are ingrained in them from childhood. The religion of the Hos resembles, to a great extent that of Santhals, Oraons, Mundas, and other tribal people in the region. All religious rituals are performed by a village priest known as a deuri. However, he is not required to propitiate malevolent spirits or deities. The spirit doctor deowa takes care of this.[21]

Position of women

Houlton writes, "I do not want to give the impression, by mentioning occasional divergences from the straight and narrow path, that aboriginals are immoral. On the contrary, their standards of post-marital morality and fidelity are probably a good deal higher than in some races that claim to be more civilised. The status of women is high. Wives are partners and companions to their husbands. It is even whispered that hen-pecked husbands are not uncommon among the tribesmen."[20]

There is a system of payment of bride-price amongst the Hos. The bride-price is often a status symbol and in modern times it remains not more than 101-1001 rupees. As a result, many Ho girls remain unmarried till advanced age.[20] Among the total Ho population, females outnumber the males.[8]

Economy

Almost half the population is engaged in cultivation and another one third also work as land-less agricultural labourers.[8] The Hos, along with Santals, Oraons and Mundas, are comparatively more advanced, and have taken to settled cultivation as their mode of life.[27]

The discovery of iron ore in Ho territory opened the way for the first iron ore mine in India at Pansira Buru in 1901.[29] Over the years iron ore mining spread out in the area. Many Hos are engaged in mining work but that does not add up to any sizeable percentage. However, small, well planned mining towns dotting the territory have brought the Ho people in close touch with the good and bad aspects of urbanization. Some of the prominent mining towns in the area are Chiria, Gua, Noamundi and Kiriburu.

Forests

 
Sal tree

Sal (Shorea robusta) is the most important tree in the area and it seems to have a preference for the rocky soil there. Although sal is a deciduous tree and sheds its leaves in early summer, the forest undergrowth is generally evergreen, which has such trees as mangoes, jamun, jackfruit, and piar. Other important trees are mahua, kusum, tilai, harin hara (Armossa rohitulea), gular (Fiscus glomerata), asan. The Singhbhum forests are best in the Kolhan area in the south-west of the district.[27] The lives of Ho people have long been intertwined with sal forests and there is a strong resentment against the efforts of timber merchants to replace sal forests with teak plantations.

The reserved forests are the haunt of many animals. Wild elephants are common in Saranda (literally meaning seven hundred hills) and Porahat forests. Herds of sambar and chital roam about the forests. Bison is still found (locally extinct when a study was undertaken in 2005 by Kisor Chaudhuri FRGS). Tigers were never numerous but they are there (locally extinct when a study was undertaken in 2005 by Kisor Chaudhuri FRGS). Leopards are more common. The Hos are keen hunters and have practically exterminated game in Kolhan. They organise great battues, in which thousands of people join. They beat their drums in a huge circle, and gradually close in over hills and across forests, driving the wild animals on to a central point, on to which lines of hunters converge until the animals are surrounded and slaughtered.[20]

Literacy

As per the 2011 census, the literacy rate for the Ho population was around 44.7% for all and 33.1% for women, much lower than the Jharkhand averages of 66.4% for all and 55.4% for women.[30]

In order to help increase the literacy rates, the government announced in 2016 that it had designed text books to teach Hindi and mathematics in Ho.[14] In 2017 those textbooks were made available on the central government's e-library platform.[15] In a 2016 effort to help promote tribal languages Tata Steel, a private company, began teaching the Ho language on weekends to dropout schoolgirls at a "camp school" in Naomundi.[31] As of November 2016, 100 girls were enrolled in the camp school. The company has also run private Ho language centres in East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts since 2011. Approximately 6000 people have undergone Ho language and Warang Chiti script training in these centres.[32] In 2017 the government of Jharkhand announced it would soon begin teaching five- and six-year-old primary school students in their local language in order to help reduce the high dropout rate.[16] Among the Hos, 19.7% have completed schooling and 3.1% are graduates.[8] The percentage of school-going children in the age group 5 –14 years was 37.6.[8]

Notable Ho people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "ST-14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community". Census of India. Ministry of Home Affairs, India. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Odisha State Tribal Museum | Kolha". Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Odisha State Tribal Museum | Munda".
  4. ^ "Odisha State Tribal Museum | Mundari".
  5. ^ "Odisha State Tribal Museum | Kolah".
  6. ^ "Odisha State Tribal Museum | Kol".
  7. ^ a b "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India".
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Jharkhand: Data Highlights the Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Census of India 2001. Census Commission of India. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  9. ^ "Scheduled Tribals" (PDF). tribal.nic.in. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  10. ^ "High hopes for Ho". The Times of India. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Journeying together with Ho tribes in Odisha". 16 February 2015.
  12. ^ a b c "Ho: A Language of India". Ethnologue. SIL International. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  13. ^ Mohan, Shailendra (2013). "20" (PDF). In Hashnain, Imtiaz; Bagga-Gupta, Sangeeta; Mohan, Shailendra (eds.). Linguistic Identity and Language Preferences Among the Austro-Asiatic Language Speakers of Jharkhand. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 286–303. ISBN 9781443847162. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  14. ^ a b "CM Raghubar das talks about 'New Jharkhand', Governor underlines several projects in Santhal Pargana region". 15 August 2017.
  15. ^ a b "Jharkhand: Central e-library to have textbooks in tribal languages". 7 June 2016.
  16. ^ a b "Jharkhand Government to Introduce KG Education in 25,000 Primary Schools".
  17. ^ a b Sidwell, Paul, and Roger Blench. 2011. "The Austroasiatic Urheimat: the Southeastern Riverine Hypothesis." Enfield, NJ (ed.) Dynamics of Human Diversity, 317-345. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. http://rogerblench.info/Archaeology/SE%20Asia/SR09/Sidwell%20Blench%20offprint.pdf
  18. ^ Schliesinger, Joachim (2016). Origin of the Tai People 3: Genetic and Archaeological Approaches. Booksmango. p. 71. ISBN 9781633239623. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  19. ^ a b Ancient History by R.S Sharma, pp 1-4
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h Houlton, Sir John, Bihar: The Heart of India, 1949, pp. 132, 138-139, 166-169, Orient Longmans, Kolkata.
  21. ^ a b c d e Prasad, Hem Chandra. Bihar. 1983/2003, pp. 36, 67, 159, 162, 184. National Book Trust, New Delhi. ISBN 81-237-0151-9
  22. ^ The Ho Tribe of Singhbhum by C.P.Singh
  23. ^ Hoffman, Paul. "(Re)inventing writing: stories and histories" (PDF): 5. Retrieved 16 October 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  24. ^ a b Hebbar, Ritambhara (January 2005). "Homecoming: Ho Women, Work, and Land Rights in Jharkhand". Sociological Bulletin. 54 (1): 18–39. doi:10.1177/0038022920050102. S2CID 156749590. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  25. ^ Duary, Nabakumar (2000). "12. Change and continuity in Ho religion--an impact study in South Bihar". In Behera, M.C. (ed.). Tribal Religion : Change and Continuity. New Delhi, India: Vedams Ltd. ISBN 978-8171696192.
  26. ^ "The Sohrai". Ho Cultural Preservation Website. keraientertainment. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  27. ^ a b c Prasad, Hem Chandra, Bihar, pp. 13, 34, 179, 194.
  28. ^ Pal, T (December 2016). "Sacred Grove in Jharkhand" (PDF). Indian International Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science Research. I (I). ISSN 2456-4389. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  29. ^ Srinivasan, N.R., History of The Indian Iron and Steel Company, 1983, p. 137
  30. ^ "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". www.censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  31. ^ "Jharkhand: School dropout girls to get lessons in Ho language". The Indian Express. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  32. ^ "Ho classes launched at Noamundi Camp School". 14 October 2016.
  33. ^ Balmuchu, Pradeep Kumar (31 May 2018). "Demand to include the language 'Ho' spoken in Jharkhand, in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  34. ^ "हो भाषा को संविधान की आठवीं अनुसूची में शामिल करने की मांग के साथ जंतर मंतर पर प्रदर्शन". Prabhat Khabar (in Hindi). 3 December 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  35. ^ a b Thaker, Jayesh (28 November 2014). . The Telegraph India. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  36. ^ http://www.pressreader.com/india/hindustan-times-ranchi/20140412/281706907663747 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  37. ^ "Ranchi diary".

External links

February 26, 2023
people, this, article, about, austroasiatic, ethnic, group, india, tibeto, burman, people, also, known, china, vietnam, laos, hani, people, austroasiatic, munda, ethnic, group, india, they, call, themselves, hodoko, horo, which, mean, human, their, language, o. This article is about the Austroasiatic ethnic group of India For the Tibeto Burman people also known as Ho of China Vietnam and Laos see Hani people The Ho people are an Austroasiatic Munda ethnic group of India They call themselves the Ho Hodoko and Horo which mean human in their own language Officially however they are mentioned in different subgroups like Kolha Mundari Munda Kol and Kolah in Odisha 2 3 4 5 6 They are mostly concentrated in the Kolhan region of Jharkhand and Odisha where they constitute around 10 7 and 7 3 of the total Scheduled Tribe population respectively as of 2011 7 With a population of approximately 700 000 in the state in 2001 the Ho are the fourth most numerous Scheduled tribe in Jharkhand after the Santals Kurukhs and Mundas 8 Ho also inhabit adjacent areas in the neighboring states of Odisha West Bengal and Bihar bringing the total to 806 921 as of 2001 7 9 10 They also live in Bangladesh and Nepal 11 HoHo tribe woman in traditional attire Total population1 658 104 2011 census 1 Regions with significant populations India Jharkhand928 289 1 Odisha705 618 1 West Bengal23 483 1 Bihar715 1 LanguagesHo languageReligionSarnaism Hinduism ChristianityRelated ethnic groupsMundas Kharias Juangs Santals BhumijsOdisha population figures include Kolha Mundari Kolah Munda amp Kol who although listed as a separate Scheduled Tribe are another name for the Hos The ethnonym Ho is derived from the Ho language word hō meaning human The name is also applied to their language which is an Austroasiatic language closely related to Mundari According to Ethnologue the total number of people speaking the Ho language was 1 040 000 as of 2001 12 Similar to other Austroasiatic groups in the area the Ho report varying degrees of multilingualism also using Hindi and English 13 Over 90 of the Ho practice the indigenous religion Sarnaism The majority of the Ho are involved in agriculture either as land owners or labourers while others are engaged in mining Compared to the rest of India the Ho have a low literacy rate and a low rate of school enrollment The government of Jharkhand has recently approved measures to help increase enrollment and literacy among children 14 15 16 Contents 1 History 2 Language 3 Culture 4 Religion 4 1 Position of women 5 Economy 6 Forests 7 Literacy 8 Notable Ho people 9 See also 10 References 11 External linksHistoryLinguistic studies suggest that the Austroasiatic homeland was in Southeast Asia and Austroasiatic languages arrived on the coast of Odisha from Southeast Asia about 4000 3500 years ago 17 The Austroasiatic speaker spread from Southeast Asia and mixed extensively with local Indian populations 18 Dalton s painting of Ho man and woman in 1872 According to historian Ram Sharan Sharma in his book India s Ancient Past mentioned that many Austroasiatic Dravidian and non Sanskrit terms occur in the Vedic texts ascribed to 1500 500 BC 19 They indicate ideas institutions products and settlements associated with peninsular and non Vedic India The people of this area spoke the proto Munda language Several terms in the Indo Aryan languages that signify the use of cotton navigation digging stick etc have been traced to the Munda languages by linguists There are many Munda pockets in Chota Nagpur Plateau in which the remnants of Munda culture are strong It is held that changes in the phonetics and vocabulary of the Vedic language can be explained as much on the basis of the Dravidian influence as that of the Munda 19 Starting from the period between the 9th and 12th centuries copper was smelted in many parts of old Singhbhum district It is believed that many immigrants entered Singhbhum from Manbhum in the 14th century or earlier When the Hos entered old Singhbhum they overcame the Bhuiyas who were then inhabitants of the forest country In the latter half of the eighteenth century the Hos fought several wars against the Rajas of the Chota Nagpur States and Mayurbhanj to retain their independence As far as is known the Muslims left them alone 20 Although the area was formally claimed to be a part of the Mughal Empire neither the Mughals nor the Marathas who were active in the surrounding areas during the decline of the Mughals ventured into the area 21 In 1765 Chota Nagpur was ceded to the British East India Company as part of Bengal Bihar and Orissa Provinces The Raja of Singhbhum asked the British Resident at Midnapore for protection in 1767 but it was not until 1820 that he acknowledged himself as a feudatory of the British The restless Hos broke the agreement soon and took part in a fierce rebellion of 1831 33 called the Kol uprising along with the Mundas 21 22 The immediate cause of the Kol uprising was the disposition of Mankis and extraction of taxes by thikadars literally meaning contractors or farmers of rent The Hos and Mundas were joined by the Kurukh and the houses of many thikedars landlords were burnt and a number of people were killed They also plundered killed and destroyed villages Hindus 20 It compelled the British to recognise the need for a thorough subjugation of the Hos 21 The uprising was suppressed with a good deal of trouble by several hundred British troops 20 While local troops quelled the uprising another group under Colonel Richards entered Singhbhum in November 1836 Within three months all the ringleaders surrendered In 1857 the Raja of Porahat rose in rebellion and a sizeable section of the Hos joined in the revolt Troops were sent who put an end to the disturbances by 1859 21 LanguageMain article Ho language Ho people speak the Ho language an Austroasiatic language closely related to Mundari and more distantly related to languages of Southeast Asia such as Khmer and Mon The Austroasiatic languages of India including Ho are inflected fusional languages unlike their distant relatives in Southeast Asia which are analytic languages This difference in typology is due to extensive language contact with the unrelated Indo Aryan and Dravidian languages The phonology of Ho has also been influenced by the nearby unrelated languages 17 There are at least three dialects of Ho Lohara Chaibasa and Thakurmunda All dialects are mutually intelligible with approximately 92 of all Ho speakers able to understand a narrative discourse in both Chaibasa and Thakurmunda dialects 12 The most divergent dialects are in the extreme south and east of Ho territory While fewer than five percent of Ho speakers are literate in the language Ho is typically written in Devanagari Latin scripts A native alphabet called Warang Citi and invented by Lako Bodra in the 20th century also exists 12 23 CultureHo village life revolves around five main parab or festivals The most important festival Mage Parab takes place in the late winter month of Magha and marks the completion of the agricultural cycle 24 It is a week long celebration held to honor Singbonga the creator god Other lesser bonga spirits are also honored throughout the week Baa Parab the festival of flowers held in mid spring celebrates the yearly blossoming of the sacred Sal trees Sohrai or Gaumara is the most important agricultural festival the date of which usually coincides with the nationwide festivities in the fall It is a village wide celebration with music and dancing held in honor of the cattle used in cultivation During the ceremonies the cows are painted with a flour and dye mix anointed with oil and prayed over after a black chicken is sacrificed to an image of the cattle bonga Baba Hermutu is the ceremonial first sowing The date is set each year in the early spring by the deurior priest pahan who also officiates the three day ceremony by praying and commencing his first sowing of the year Jomnama Parab is held in late fall before the first harvest is eaten to thank the spirits for a trouble free harvest 24 25 26 Dance is important to Adivasi culture in general and for the Ho it is more than simply a means of entertainment Their songs are generally accompanied by dances which change with the seasons Songs and distinctively choreographed dance are integral parts of Ho culture and art 20 27 as well as important parts of their traditional festivals especially Mage Parab Most villages have a dedicated dancing ground called akhra usually consisting of a cleared space of hard ground under a spreading tree Dances are organised on a staggered basis in the villages so that other villagers can participate Traditional Ho music incorporates native instruments including a dama drum dholak dumeng mandar and the rutu flute 20 The Ho people brew handia called by them diyeng ReligionSee also Sarnaism In the 2001 national census 91 of the Hos declared that they professed other religions and persuations meaning that they do not consider themselves to belong to any of the major religious groups and follow their indigenous religious systems called Sarna or Sarnaism 8 Also known as sarna dhorom religion of the holy woods this religion plays an important part in the life of adivasi 28 Their beliefs in gods goddesses and spirits are ingrained in them from childhood The religion of the Hos resembles to a great extent that of Santhals Oraons Mundas and other tribal people in the region All religious rituals are performed by a village priest known as a deuri However he is not required to propitiate malevolent spirits or deities The spirit doctor deowa takes care of this 21 Position of women Houlton writes I do not want to give the impression by mentioning occasional divergences from the straight and narrow path that aboriginals are immoral On the contrary their standards of post marital morality and fidelity are probably a good deal higher than in some races that claim to be more civilised The status of women is high Wives are partners and companions to their husbands It is even whispered that hen pecked husbands are not uncommon among the tribesmen 20 There is a system of payment of bride price amongst the Hos The bride price is often a status symbol and in modern times it remains not more than 101 1001 rupees As a result many Ho girls remain unmarried till advanced age 20 Among the total Ho population females outnumber the males 8 EconomyAlmost half the population is engaged in cultivation and another one third also work as land less agricultural labourers 8 The Hos along with Santals Oraons and Mundas are comparatively more advanced and have taken to settled cultivation as their mode of life 27 The discovery of iron ore in Ho territory opened the way for the first iron ore mine in India at Pansira Buru in 1901 29 Over the years iron ore mining spread out in the area Many Hos are engaged in mining work but that does not add up to any sizeable percentage However small well planned mining towns dotting the territory have brought the Ho people in close touch with the good and bad aspects of urbanization Some of the prominent mining towns in the area are Chiria Gua Noamundi and Kiriburu Forests Sal tree Sal Shorea robusta is the most important tree in the area and it seems to have a preference for the rocky soil there Although sal is a deciduous tree and sheds its leaves in early summer the forest undergrowth is generally evergreen which has such trees as mangoes jamun jackfruit and piar Other important trees are mahua kusum tilai harin hara Armossa rohitulea gular Fiscus glomerata asan The Singhbhum forests are best in the Kolhan area in the south west of the district 27 The lives of Ho people have long been intertwined with sal forests and there is a strong resentment against the efforts of timber merchants to replace sal forests with teak plantations The reserved forests are the haunt of many animals Wild elephants are common in Saranda literally meaning seven hundred hills and Porahat forests Herds of sambar and chital roam about the forests Bison is still found locally extinct when a study was undertaken in 2005 by Kisor Chaudhuri FRGS Tigers were never numerous but they are there locally extinct when a study was undertaken in 2005 by Kisor Chaudhuri FRGS Leopards are more common The Hos are keen hunters and have practically exterminated game in Kolhan They organise great battues in which thousands of people join They beat their drums in a huge circle and gradually close in over hills and across forests driving the wild animals on to a central point on to which lines of hunters converge until the animals are surrounded and slaughtered 20 LiteracyAs per the 2011 census the literacy rate for the Ho population was around 44 7 for all and 33 1 for women much lower than the Jharkhand averages of 66 4 for all and 55 4 for women 30 In order to help increase the literacy rates the government announced in 2016 that it had designed text books to teach Hindi and mathematics in Ho 14 In 2017 those textbooks were made available on the central government s e library platform 15 In a 2016 effort to help promote tribal languages Tata Steel a private company began teaching the Ho language on weekends to dropout schoolgirls at a camp school in Naomundi 31 As of November 2016 100 girls were enrolled in the camp school The company has also run private Ho language centres in East Singhbhum West Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharsawan districts since 2011 Approximately 6000 people have undergone Ho language and Warang Chiti script training in these centres 32 In 2017 the government of Jharkhand announced it would soon begin teaching five and six year old primary school students in their local language in order to help reduce the high dropout rate 16 Among the Hos 19 7 have completed schooling and 3 1 are graduates 8 The percentage of school going children in the age group 5 14 years was 37 6 8 Notable Ho peoplePradeep Kumar Balmuchu Indian politician and a former member of the 14th Lok Sabha 33 Debendranath Champia Indian politician and a former member of the Bihar constituency assembly Laxman Giluwa Indian politician and the president of the Jharkhand unit of Bhartiya Janta Party 34 Geeta Koda Indian politician and member of Indian National Congress 35 Madhu Koda former Chief Minister of Jharkhand 35 Chitrasen Sinku Indian politician and a member of the Eleventh Lok Sabha 36 Bagun Sumbrai Indian politician and a former member of the 14th Lok Sabha 37 See alsoTribes of JharkhandReferences a b c d e ST 14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community Census of India Ministry of Home Affairs India Retrieved 15 October 2017 Odisha State Tribal Museum Kolha Retrieved 2 April 2021 Odisha State Tribal Museum Munda Odisha State Tribal Museum Mundari Odisha State Tribal Museum Kolah Odisha State Tribal Museum Kol a b Census of India Website Office of the Registrar General amp Census Commissioner India a b c d e f Jharkhand Data Highlights the Scheduled Tribes PDF Census of India 2001 Census Commission of India Retrieved 6 March 2008 Scheduled Tribals PDF tribal nic in Retrieved 30 June 2019 High hopes for Ho The Times of India 19 July 2011 Retrieved 23 April 2022 Journeying together with Ho tribes in Odisha 16 February 2015 a b c Ho A Language of India Ethnologue SIL International Retrieved 14 October 2017 Mohan Shailendra 2013 20 PDF In Hashnain Imtiaz Bagga Gupta Sangeeta Mohan Shailendra eds Linguistic Identity and Language Preferences Among the Austro Asiatic Language Speakers of Jharkhand United Kingdom Cambridge Scholars Publishing pp 286 303 ISBN 9781443847162 Retrieved 9 October 2017 a b CM Raghubar das talks about New Jharkhand Governor underlines several projects in Santhal Pargana region 15 August 2017 a b Jharkhand Central e library to have textbooks in tribal languages 7 June 2016 a b Jharkhand Government to Introduce KG Education in 25 000 Primary Schools a b Sidwell Paul and Roger Blench 2011 The Austroasiatic Urheimat the Southeastern Riverine Hypothesis Enfield NJ ed Dynamics of Human Diversity 317 345 Canberra Pacific Linguistics http rogerblench info Archaeology SE 20Asia SR09 Sidwell 20Blench 20offprint pdf Schliesinger Joachim 2016 Origin of the Tai People 3 Genetic and Archaeological Approaches Booksmango p 71 ISBN 9781633239623 Retrieved 20 September 2019 a b Ancient History by R S Sharma pp 1 4 a b c d e f g h Houlton Sir John Bihar The Heart of India 1949 pp 132 138 139 166 169 Orient Longmans Kolkata a b c d e Prasad Hem Chandra Bihar 1983 2003 pp 36 67 159 162 184 National Book Trust New Delhi ISBN 81 237 0151 9 The Ho Tribe of Singhbhum by C P Singh Hoffman Paul Re inventing writing stories and histories PDF 5 Retrieved 16 October 2017 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help a b Hebbar Ritambhara January 2005 Homecoming Ho Women Work and Land Rights in Jharkhand Sociological Bulletin 54 1 18 39 doi 10 1177 0038022920050102 S2CID 156749590 Retrieved 11 October 2017 Duary Nabakumar 2000 12 Change and continuity in Ho religion an impact study in South Bihar In Behera M C ed Tribal Religion Change and Continuity New Delhi India Vedams Ltd ISBN 978 8171696192 The Sohrai Ho Cultural Preservation Website keraientertainment Retrieved 11 October 2017 a b c Prasad Hem Chandra Bihar pp 13 34 179 194 Pal T December 2016 Sacred Grove in Jharkhand PDF Indian International Journal of Humanities Arts and Social Science Research I I ISSN 2456 4389 Retrieved 10 October 2017 Srinivasan N R History of The Indian Iron and Steel Company 1983 p 137 Census of India Website Office of the Registrar General amp Census Commissioner India www censusindia gov in Retrieved 4 July 2019 Jharkhand School dropout girls to get lessons in Ho language The Indian Express 15 October 2016 Retrieved 12 April 2021 Ho classes launched at Noamundi Camp School 14 October 2016 Balmuchu Pradeep Kumar 31 May 2018 Demand to include the language Ho spoken in Jharkhand in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help ह भ ष क स व ध न क आठव अन स च म श म ल करन क म ग क स थ ज तर म तर पर प रदर शन Prabhat Khabar in Hindi 3 December 2018 Retrieved 12 April 2021 a b Thaker Jayesh 28 November 2014 Poll Power Trips Geeta Koda means business The Telegraph India Archived from the original on 28 November 2014 Retrieved 11 November 2017 http www pressreader com india hindustan times ranchi 20140412 281706907663747 via PressReader a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help Ranchi diary External linksHo Language webpage by K David Harrison Swarthmore College Sinlung Sinlung Indian tribes RWAAI Projekt RWAAI Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage http holanguageodishaedu in hdl 10050 00 0000 0000 0003 A6AC 8 view http hdl handle net 10050 00 0000 0000 0003 A6AC 8 view permanent dead link Ho language in RWAAI Digital Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ho people amp oldid 1139702744, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, 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