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{{Short description|Ethnic group}}
{{Short description|Ethnic group}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = '''Juang'''
| group           = Juang
| image = Juang.jpg
| image           =
| population = 47,095 (2011)
| image_caption    =  
| total_ref = <ref name="census">{{cite web|title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/ST.html|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|publisher=Government of India|access-date=23 October 2017}}</ref>
| population       = 47,095 (2011)
| popplace = {{flag|India}}<br/>[[Odisha]]
| total_ref       = <ref name="census">{{cite web|title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/ST.html|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|publisher=Government of India|access-date=23 October 2017}}</ref>
| languages = [[Juang language]]
| total_source    =
| religions = [[Hinduism]]• [[Sarnaism]]
| popplace         = India<br/>[[Odisha]]
| related = [[Munda people|Munda]]• [[Ho people|Ho]], [[Santhal people|Santhal]] •[[Austroasiatic languages|Mon-Khmer people]]
| languages       = [[Juang language|Juang]], [[Odia language|Odia]]
| native_name =
| religions       = [[Hinduism]] • [[Sarnaism]]
| native_name_lang =
| related         = [[Munda people|Munda]] • [[Ho people|Ho]] •  [[Santhal people|Santhal]] • [[Austroasiatic languages|Mon-Khmer people]]
}}
}}


The '''Juang''' are an [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] ethnic group found only in the Gonsaika hills of [[Keonjhar district]] of [[Odisha]]. Some Juangs, however migrated to neighbouring plains of [[Dhenkanal district]] of [[Odisha]] during the Bhuiyan revolt in the late 19th century. The 2011 census showed their population to be around 50,000. The [[Juang language]] belongs to the [[Munda languages|Munda family]]<ref name="EB1911"/> of the [[Austroasiatic languages]]. They are classified as a [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes|Scheduled Tribe]] by the Indian government.<ref name="census"/>
The '''Juang''' are an [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] ethnic group found only in the Gonsaika hills of [[Keonjhar district]] of [[Odisha]]. Some ''Juangs'', however migrated to neighbouring plains of [[Dhenkanal district]] of Odisha during the Bhuiyan revolt in the late 19th century. The [[Juang language]] belongs to the [[Munda languages|Munda family]]{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} of the [[Austroasiatic languages]]. They are classified as a [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes|Scheduled Tribe]] by the Indian government.<ref name="census"/> The 2011 census showed their population to be around 50,000.


==History==
==History==
The Juang claimed to have no traditions connecting them with any other ethnic group, and they repudiated all connection with the [[Ho people|Hos]] or the [[Santals]], declaring themselves the true aborigines.<ref name="EB1911"/> Their tradition claims that the place where the tribe originated from the earth are the Gonasika Hills, near Keonjhar, at the source of the [[Baitarani River]].<ref>[https://www.panoramio.com/photo/39117421 Gonasika Hill, near Keonjhar, origin of River Baitarani]</ref> They were initially [[hunter-gatherer]]s and cultivated few crops. They did not till the land, but lived on the game they killed or on snakes and insects.<ref name="EB1911"/> They were forced to stop following traditional customs after the British declared their forests as reserves.
[[File:Juang.jpg|thumb|A sketch of Juang people in 1872]]
 
The Juang tradition claims that the place where the tribe originated is the Gonasika Hills, near Keonjhar, at the source of the [[Baitarani River]].<ref>[https://www.panoramio.com/photo/39117421 Gonasika Hill, near Keonjhar, origin of River Baitarani]</ref>  
After the British declared their forests as reserves, the Juangs were forced to look for an alternative way of sustainance. They were skilled at basket-weaving, which was in demand in nearby caste villages. The Juangs would exchange their baskets for salt, oil, food, money from the village traders.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Forest tribes of Orissa : lifestyle and social conditions of selected Orissan tribes|last=Naveen|first=Patnaik|last2=Choudhury|first2=B.P.|last3=Seeland|first3=K.|last4=Rath|first4=A.|last5=Biswal|first5=A.K.|last6=Giri|first6=D.B.|publisher=D.K. Printworld|year=2007|isbn=9788124604151|location=New Delhi|oclc=49332310}}</ref>
After the British declared their forests as reserves, the Juangs were forced to look for an alternative way of sustenance. They were skilled at basket-weaving, which was in demand in nearby caste villages. The Juangs would exchange their baskets for salt, oil, food, money from the village traders.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Forest tribes of Orissa : lifestyle and social conditions of selected Orissan tribes|last1=Naveen|first1=Patnaik|last2=Choudhury|first2=B.P.|last3=Seeland|first3=K.|last4=Rath|first4=A.|last5=Biswal|first5=A.K.|last6=Giri|first6=D.B.|publisher=D.K. Printworld|year=2007|isbn=9788124604151|location=New Delhi|oclc=49332310}}</ref>


== Culture ==
== Culture ==
The Juang traditional huts measured about 6&nbsp;by 8&nbsp;ft., with very low doorways. The interior was divided into two compartments. In the first of these the father and all the females of a family lived together; the second was used as a storeroom. The boys had a separate hut at the entrance to the village, the ''Majang'' or dormitory which served as a guest-house and general assembly place where the musical instruments of the village were kept.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Juangs|volume=15|page=529}} This cites {{Cite book|title=Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal|last=Dalton|first=Edward|publisher=British Library|year=1872|location=London}}.</ref> Their traditional folk dance included vigorous dances mimicking birds and other animals.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/307013/Juang|title=Juang {{!}} people|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-10-23|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:OpenSpeaks-Jun-Opino Gomango-Kshetrabasi Juanga-Short Introduction.webm|thumb|A native Juang speaker introducing himself in [[Juang language|Juang]] in 2025]]
Their traditional folk dance included vigorous dances mimicking birds and other animals.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/307013/Juang|title=Juang {{!}} people|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-10-23|language=en}}</ref> They celebrate festival such as Pusha Purnima, Amba Nuakhia, Pirha Puja, Akhaya Trutiya, Asarhi, Gahma etc.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scstrti.in/index.php/communities/tribes/91-tribes/171-juang|title=Juang|publisher=[[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute|SCSTRTI]]|access-date=22 October 2022}}</ref>


Formerly the Juang used to be also known as ''Patuas'', literally "leaf-wearers". Traditionally the women wore girdles of leaves,<ref>[http://www.swan.ac.uk/visualanthropology/projects/003_Dalton/images/photo_33.jpg Colonel Edward Tuite Dalton - Lithographs & Plates - Juang girls]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.swansea.ac.uk/visualanthropology/projects/003_Dalton/images/photo_33.jpg|title=Lithographs and Plates - Juang girls|last=Dalton|first=Edward Tuite|website=University of Swansea|access-date=2017-10-23}}</ref> while the men wore a small loincloth. The Juangs declare that the river goddess, emerging for the first time from the Gonasika rock, surprised a party of naked Juangs dancing, and ordered them to wear leaves, with the threat that they should die if they ever gave up the custom. The Juangs' weapons were the [[bow and arrow]] and a [[sling (weapon)|sling]] made entirely of cord.<ref name="EB1911"/>
Formerly the Juang used to be also known as ''Patuas'', literally "leaf-wearers". Traditionally the women wore girdles of leaves,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140421064530/http://www.swan.ac.uk/visualanthropology/projects/003_Dalton/images/photo_33.jpg Colonel Edward Tuite Dalton - Lithographs & Plates - Juang girls]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.swansea.ac.uk/visualanthropology/projects/003_Dalton/images/photo_33.jpg|title=Lithographs and Plates - Juang girls|last=Dalton|first=Edward Tuite|website=University of Swansea|access-date=2017-10-23|archive-date=2016-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308063020/http://www.swansea.ac.uk/visualanthropology/projects/003_Dalton/images/photo_33.jpg|url-status=dead}}</ref> while the men wore a small loincloth.


Their traditional religion included a belief in forest spirits. They offered sacrifices of fowls to the sun when in trouble and to the earth for a bountiful harvest. [[Polygamy]] was rare. They burned their dead and disposed of the ashes into any running stream. The most sacred oaths a Juang could take are those on an ant-hill or a tiger-skin.<ref name="EB1911"/>
===Language===
{{Pie chart
|label1= [[Juang language|Juang]]
|value1= 63.17
|label2=[[Odia language|Odia]]
|value2=35.45
|label3=[[Santali language|Santali]]
|value3=0.89
|other=yes
|caption=Mother tongue of Juang people (2011 census)}}


==Notes==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
*{{Cite book |last1=Acharya |first1=Sabita |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFVutAEACAAJ |title=Ethnography of Juang Tribe Odisha |last2=Mohanty |first2=S. K. |date=2015 |publisher=Gyanajuga Publication |isbn=978-93-85798-44-3 |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |last=Dāśa |first=Rabinārāẏaṇa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=94DWAAAAMAAJ |title=Art and Culture of the Juang |date=1992 |publisher=Orissa Lalit Kala Akademi |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |last=Patnaik |first=N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SQM9AAAAMAAJ |title=The Juang |date=1989 |publisher=Tribal and Harijan Research-cum-Training Institute, H. & T.W. Department |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6gpzwEACAAJ |title=Forest Tribes of Orissa: The Juang |date=2002 |publisher=D.K. Printworld |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Sahoo |first1=Madhusmita |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Z-ToAEACAAJ|title=A Heritage of Tribes in India: Ethnic Diversity of the Juang Tribes |last2=Naidu |first2=T. Subramanyam |date=2017 |publisher=SSDN Publishers & Distributors |isbn=978-93-83575-07-7 |language=en}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of India]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Odisha]]
[[Category:Social groups of Odisha]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Odisha]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Odisha]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Odisha]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Weaving communities of South Asia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in South Asia]]

Latest revision as of 22:42, 18 January 2026


Juang
Total population
47,095 (2011)[1]
Regions with significant populations
India
Odisha
Languages
Juang, Odia
Religion
Hinduism • Sarnaism
Related ethnic groups
Munda • Ho • Santhal • Mon-Khmer people

The Juang are an Austroasiatic ethnic group found only in the Gonsaika hills of Keonjhar district of Odisha. Some Juangs, however migrated to neighbouring plains of Dhenkanal district of Odisha during the Bhuiyan revolt in the late 19th century. The Juang language belongs to the Munda family[citation needed] of the Austroasiatic languages. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government.[1] The 2011 census showed their population to be around 50,000.

History[edit | edit source]

A sketch of Juang people in 1872

The Juang tradition claims that the place where the tribe originated is the Gonasika Hills, near Keonjhar, at the source of the Baitarani River.[2] After the British declared their forests as reserves, the Juangs were forced to look for an alternative way of sustenance. They were skilled at basket-weaving, which was in demand in nearby caste villages. The Juangs would exchange their baskets for salt, oil, food, money from the village traders.[3]

Culture[edit | edit source]

A native Juang speaker introducing himself in Juang in 2025

Their traditional folk dance included vigorous dances mimicking birds and other animals.[4] They celebrate festival such as Pusha Purnima, Amba Nuakhia, Pirha Puja, Akhaya Trutiya, Asarhi, Gahma etc.[5]

Formerly the Juang used to be also known as Patuas, literally "leaf-wearers". Traditionally the women wore girdles of leaves,[6][7] while the men wore a small loincloth.

Language[edit | edit source]

Mother tongue of Juang people (2011 census)

  Juang (63.17%)
  Odia (35.45%)
  Santali (0.89%)
  Other (0.49%)

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India". www.censusindia.gov.in. Government of India. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. ↑ Gonasika Hill, near Keonjhar, origin of River Baitarani
  3. ↑ Naveen, Patnaik; Choudhury, B.P.; Seeland, K.; Rath, A.; Biswal, A.K.; Giri, D.B. (2007). Forest tribes of Orissa : lifestyle and social conditions of selected Orissan tribes. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld. ISBN 9788124604151. OCLC 49332310.
  4. ↑ "Juang | people". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  5. ↑ "Juang". SCSTRTI. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  6. ↑ Colonel Edward Tuite Dalton - Lithographs & Plates - Juang girls
  7. ↑ Dalton, Edward Tuite. "Lithographs and Plates - Juang girls". University of Swansea. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2017-10-23.

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

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