The Munda are a tribal (Adivasi) people of the Jharkhand region, which is spread over on five states of India (Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhatisgarh and Orissa), and in parts of Bangladesh. Their language is Mundari, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of the Austro-Asiatic language family; the Munda language group is in fact named after the Munda people. There are some two million Munda people (twenty lakhs). Ä€divāsÄ«s (आदिवासी), literally original inhabitants, comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India. ... , Jharkhand   (Hindi: झारखंड, Bengali: ঝাড়খণ্ড,IPA: ) is a state in eastern India. ... , Bihar (Hindi: बिहार, Urdu: بہار, IPA: ,  ) is a state of the Indian union situated in north India. ... , West Bengal (Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ Poshchimbôŋgo) is a state in eastern India. ... Chhattisgarh (छत्तीसगढ़), a state in central India, formed when the sixteen southeastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained statehood on November 1, 2000. ... , Orissa   (Oriya: ଓଡ଼ିଶା), is a state situated on the east coast of India. ... The Mundari language is a member of the Munda language family, which includes the Austro-Asiatic language group, and is closely related to Santali. ... Munda Languages are spoken in north east India. ... Austro-Asiatic languages The Austro-Asiatic languages are a large language family of Southeast Asia, and also scattered throughout India and Bangladesh. ... A lakh (also spelled lac) is a unit in a traditional number system, still widely used in India, equal to a hundred thousand. ...

Religion and Identity

• About 25 percent of the population are Christians. Mundas have their own religion, called Sarna, in which they worship nature. They believe in a supreme being called Sing Bonga, which literally means "Sun God". 'Sarna' is not part of Hinduism as emphasized by some. It is in fact quite different! It believes in one supreme power.
• Common surnames (Gotras) are: Topno, Barla, Aind, Hemrom, Guria, Herenge, Surin, Horo, Sanga, Samad, Etc.
• Jesuit Father John-Baptist Hoffmann (1857-1928) spent his life studying the language, customs, religion and life of the Mundas, a people with whom he had fallen in love. He published the first Munda grammar in 1903. And later, a most extraordinary Encyclopaedia mundarica (15 volumes) gathering all that was then known on the Munda people. The first edition was published in 1937, after his death. A third edition came out of the press in 1976.

The Nasrani Menorah, the symbol of the Syrian Malabar Nasrani Christian community in South India. ... Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... John-Baptist Hoffmann (21 June 1857, Wallendorf, Germany - 19 November 1928, Trier, Germany) was a German Jesuit priest, Missionary in India (among the Mundas), and Social Worker. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Counting

• "One"-Mi-a-en
• "Two"-Bariya
• "Three"-Apiya
• "Four"-Upuniya
• "Five"-Modeya
• "Six"-Turiya
• "Seven"-Eya
• "Eight"-Irliya
• "Nine"-Ariya
• "Ten"-Geleya
• "Twenty"-Hissi.

 Other higher no. are pronounced by combining words from these in required order like "Twelve"-Gel-bariya[ten-two] 

Notable Mundas

• Birsa Munda, leader of a late 19th century political independence movement during British colonial rule in India

Birsa Munda (1875 – June 9, 1900) was a Munda leader in the late 19th century political independence movement during the British Raj in India. ...

Bibliography

• Mundari Grammar, Calcutta, 1903.
• A Mundari Grammar with exercises, 2 vol., Calcutta, 1905-09.
• Encyclopaedia mundarica, 15 vol., Patna, 1930-37.
• The Munda World. Hoffmann commemoration volume, Ranchi, 1978.

Further reading

• Parkin, R. (1992). The Munda of central India: an account of their social organization. Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195630297

External links

• Sarna - A case study in religion On the religion of the Munda tribals