Geography and population People

1 1 Introduction

1.1 People

1.1.1 Geography and population

The Bhumij people inhabit a three-state region in India – Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. The group is classified as a scheduled tribe in all three states Singh 1993. According to the 1981 census, the Bhumij population in Bihar is 136,109, located primarily in the Ranchi, Paschim Singhbhum and Purba Singhbhum districts. In Orissa, the census returns give 157,614 Bhumij people Singh 1994:170. About half of this total resides in Mayurbhanj district with smaller numbers in Balasore, Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts Das Patnaik 1990:55. In West Bengal, 233,906 Bhumij individuals inhabit the districts of Medinapur, Purulia, Bankura and Twenty-four Parganas Singh 1994:168. Adding these state-wide figures, the total Bhumij population amounts to approximately 528,000 people. It was found through previous documented research, as well as during the course of this investigation, that not all people who call themselves Bhumij speak Bhumij as their mother tongue, since language shift has occurred in several areas. 1 Thus, no accurate information could be obtained for the number of Bhumij speakers, so the survey team gives the following estimated range of percentages in each state for Bhumij tribal people who speak Bhumij as their primary means of communication: Bihar, 80–90; Orissa, 75–85; and West Bengal, 15–25. Much of the area that the Bhumij community inhabits is located in the Chotanagpur plateau, which rises an average of 2,000 feet above sea level Dalton 1872:163. The region is home to several scheduled tribes such as the Munda, Ho and Santali. Maps 1 and 2 show the areas the Bhumij inhabit, and Map 3 indicates sites where data utilised for this survey was obtained. 1 The Bhumij used here is referring to the speech variety found in the Munda language family. There were some language consultants in West Bengal who called their language “Bhumij,” but which was in their words, a mixture of non-standard Bengali and Oriya. Map 1. India and states where Bhumij reside Map 2. Concentration of Bhumij Map 3. Survey data collection points

1.1.2 Historical background