Oraon Religion and Customs

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About the Book The Oraons form an ethnic community who live in the Chhotanagpur area of South Bihar. Though they are settled among speakers of the Munda (Austro Asiatic family) group of languages yet they speak Kuruk language which belongs to the Dravidian family. A study of the religious beliefs and socio religious customs of this tribe is of great value and interest not only to the students of anthropology, ethnology but also the administrators who seek or should seek to understand the forces which govern human activities. No doubt it is full of charm and interest for the general reader who desires to gain knowledge about this community.

The author has examined religious beliefs and customs of the Oraons, without any prejudice and passion. He has critically analysed how much of such beliefs and customs belong to the original Oraon traditions and how much is borrowed from the Mundas and the Hindus.

The work is quite exhaustive in the sense that it does not treat the religious beliefs and practices as isolated facts but analyses them in the social setting. We, therefore, find accurate information about the deities, spirits and supernatural powers in their religious beliefs, as well as details of xxx their religious feasts and festivals, socio-religious rites and ceremonies and magical elements in the faith.

In this book light is thrown on many interesting points like revival movements and modern tendencies in this tribe.

About the Author Sarat Chandra Roy, M.A., B.L., M.L.C., Honorary Member, Folklore Society, London: Corresponding Member of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, etc.

Preface In the Preface to my earlier volume on The Oraons of Chota-Nagpur, published in 1915, I promised to follow up that work 'by another volume in which the religious beliefs and socio-religious customs of the tribe would be dealt with in detail. During the twelve years that have elapsed since the publication of my earlier work on the Orãons, I have continued my investigations into the religion and customs of this tribe. And a considerable portion of the results of those investigations is embodied in this book. Some of these results were from time to time published in the form of articles in the Journal of the Bihar and Orissä Research Society and in Man in India, and they have been incorporated in this volume with modifications and additions made in the light of further researches.

Introduction GOOD wine needs no bush. A book on the Orãons by Sarat G Chandra Roy needs no introduction. A book like this sane, clear, scientific, sympathetic, comprehensive is of prime importance to the student of anthropology, to the student of religion and to the administrator who seeks or should seek to understand the forces which govern human activities, and it is full of charm and interest for the general reader who desires to know something at once accurate and intelligible of the Peoples of India.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages