https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Sauria_Paharia_peopleSauria Paharia people - Revision history2026-11-07T04:50:38ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sauria_Paharia_people&diff=260922&oldid=prev->Aloobhorta at 16:28, 10 July 20212021-07-10T16:28:11Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Infobox ethnic group<br />
| group = Sauria Paharia<br />
| native_name = <br />
| native_name_lang = <br />
| image = The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi distributing the Certificate of Appointment to constables of Paharia Special India Reserve Batallion, at a function, at Sahibganj, Jharkhand.jpg<br />
| pop = 51,634<br />
| total_ref = <ref>{{cite web|title=State and district-wise Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe population for each caste and tribe separately|url=https://data.gov.in/catalog/state-and-district-wise-scheduled-caste-and-schedule-tribe-population-each-caste-and-tribe#web_catalog_tabs_block_10|website=data.gov.in|publisher=GOVERNMENT OF INDIA|access-date=9 February 2016}}</ref><br />
| total_year = 2011 census<br />
| popplace = {{flag|Bangladesh}} {{flag|India}}<br />
| region1 = [[Jharkhand]]<br />
| pop1 = 46,222<br />
| region2 = [[Sylhet]]<br />
| pop2 = 5,000<br />
| region3 = [[West Bengal]]<br />
| pop3 = 3,480<br />
| region4 = [[Bihar]]<br />
| pop4 = 1,932<br />
| languages = [[Malto language|Malto]]{{*}}Regional languages [[Sylheti language]]<br />
| religions = [[Hinduism]]<ref>"Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". www.censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 2 November 2017.</ref> and [[Christianity]]<br />
| related = [[Oraon]]{{•}}Kumarbhag Paharia{{*}}[[Mal Paharia people|Mal Paharia]]<br />
}}<br />
The '''Sauria Paharia people''' (also known as '''Maler Paharia''') are a tribal people of [[Bangladesh]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Project|first=Joshua|title=Sauria Paharia in Bangladesh|url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/18044/BG|access-date=2021-07-10|website=joshuaproject.net|language=en}}</ref> and the Indian states of [[Jharkhand]], [[West Bengal]], and [[Bihar]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Scheduled Tribe List Of West Bengal State|url=http://www.anagrasarkalyan.gov.in/htm/st_list.html|website=anagrasarkalyan.gov.in|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150308083956/http://www.anagrasarkalyan.gov.in/htm/st_list.html|archive-date=2015-03-08}}</ref><ref>http://www.jharkhand.gov.in/documents/10179/54299/List%20Of%20Caste%20And%20SubCast%20under%20CNT%20ACT</ref> They are found mostly in [[Santhal Parganas]] region in the [[Rajmahal hills|Rajmahal Hills]].<br />
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==Origins==<br />
According to [[Kurukh people|Kurukh]] traditions, when they were driven out of their home in the [[Son River|Son]] valley, the main group migrated towards [[Palamu division|Palamu]] but a smaller group moved down the [[Ganges|Gangetic]] valley till they reached [[Rajmahal Hills]], where they settled mostly in [[Damin-i-koh]]. The language of the Sauria Paharias is closely linked to that of the Oraons.<ref>Houlton, Sir John, Bihar, the Heart of India, p. 81, Orient Longmans, 1949</ref><br />
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==Demographics==<br />
Sauria Paharias are listed as a primitive tribe and have a population of around 45,000 in [[Jharkhand]], with a possible negligible population in [[West Bengal]]. They constitute less than 1 per cent of the tribal population in [[Jharkhand]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://paa2006.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=61800 | title = Growth and Distribution of Tribal Population in Jharkhand -1961-2001: A Census Analysis By Shubhangi Thatte |access-date = 2010-05-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gumla.nic.in/ |title=Tribal population profile in Jharkhand state |access-date=2010-05-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314072803/http://gumla.nic.in/ |archive-date=March 14, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2008/Dec/r2008121914.pdf | title = Primitive Tribal Groups and their Population in India as per 2001 Census |access-date = 2010-05-01 }}</ref><br />
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== Religion ==<br />
The Sauria Paharias mainly worship their ancestral spirits, known as ''Jiwe Urkkya'' ("the spirit that has left"), especially before sowing a new field. The ''Jiwe Urkkya'' is at first a fierce spirit, until a feast is given on the 5th day after the funeral, after which he becomes benevolent. Afterwards, the death anniversary, known as ''Bhoje'', is celebrated by ''karra pujar'', animal sacrifices. For the ''Karra pujar'', the buffalo is most preferred. The feasts and offerings to ancestors are given by the ''demano'', the village priest, who is believed to speak with the voices of the ''Jiwe Urkkya''. Offerings are typically made during harvest season or during the ''Bandana'' festival. Ancestral worship is important for Saurias because they believe that, once he is satiated with offerings, he joins ''Bero Gosaiyya'', the sun god.<br />
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The Saurias also worship a group of spirits called ''Gosain''. These are associated with every phenomenon in the world around them. The Saurias make a distinction between male and female ''Gosain'', but each village has different conceptions of which ''Gosain'' are male and which are female. The names of the ''Gosain'' are generally local to their area, and vary depending on the village. The home deity is represented by a door and is worshipped during the construction of a new house. The ''Gomo'' (pillar of the house) ''Gosain'' provides health and well-being, and the ''Sohar Gosain'' lives in the cattle shed and protects the cattle from harm. The Saurias also believe in evil spirits, called ''Alchi'' or ''Bhoote'', as well as witchcraft (''Chargani'').<br />
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The most important place for veneration of the ''Gosain'' is the ''Manjhi Than'', where the most significant ''Gosain'' is worshipped. This ''Gosain'' is male and is represented by five black stones under a small tree. The ''Manjhiya'' makes two sacrifices a year: one during the ''Bandana'' festival and just before sowing in a ''Kurwa'' field. Female ''Gosains'' are worshipped at the ''Gosain Adda'' and ''Bender Nadu'', at which are sacrificed black fowl and pigs respectively. The ''Chal Nadu'', on the nearest hilltop, is the place at which sacrifices are conducted if a calamity befalls the village.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tribhuwan|first=Robin D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JC-014hKeKAC&q=sauria+paharia&pg=PA39|title=Fairs and Festivals of Indian Tribes|date=2003|publisher=Discovery Publishing House|isbn=978-81-7141-640-0|language=en}}</ref><br />
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==Society==<br />
Sauria Paharias practice shifting cultivation, called ''jhum''. They lead family lives.<ref>{{cite web|url =http://jharkhandi.com/sauriapaharia.aspx | title =Sautia Paharia Adivasi | publisher = Jharkhand Org |access-date = 2010-08-25 }}</ref><br />
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The Saurias are divided into three distinct cultural groups, namely the Probia, the Bare and the Chete.<ref>{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2-wsjaChM_QC&q=Sauria+Paharia&pg=PA403 | title =Contemporary Society: Identity, intervention and ideology in tribal India<br />
| work = p. 404|author1=S. N. Ratha |author2=Georg Pfeffer |author3=Deepak Kumar Behera | year =1997<br />
| isbn =9788180695346<br />
|access-date = 2010-08-25 }}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist|2}}<br />
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{{Scheduled tribes of West Bengal |state=expanded}}<br />
{{Tribes of Jharkhand}}<br />
{{Ethnic groups in Bangladesh}}<br />
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{{authority control}}<br />
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[[Category:Tribes of Jharkhand]]<br />
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]<br />
[[Category:Dravidian peoples]]<br />
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of South Asia]]<br />
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of India]]<br />
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Bangladesh]]<br />
[[Category:Adivasi]]</div>->Aloobhorta