The Cultural Study of Tribes and Prehistoric Rock
Paintings of Simdega District
Nitesh Kumar Mishra1,*,
Anshu Mala Tirkey2, Baleswar Kumar Besra3
1, 2, 3 School of Studies in Ancient
Indian History, Culture and Archaeology;
Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University,
Raipur, C. G. (India)
*Corresponding Author:
niteshmishra2011@gmail.com
[Received: 17 January 2020; Accepted: 29 September
2020; Published Online: 12 February 2021]
Abstract: This research paper will mainly consist
of the unreported Neolithic site and rock art sites of Simdega district. In
this paper there will be the detailed information about the rock paintings. The
detailed study will be done of the various figures of the paintings. This paper
will also describe the associated remains found along with the rock paintings.
The research paper also consists of the developing phase of the rock art which
can be seen in the tribal communities. Paper will also consist of the study of
saddle quern, its various uses and how it is related to the tribal community.
There will the content about the importance of the rock art in the tribal
society. Various rituals are performed on the rock art site by the tribal
people till today. This research paper will describe these rituals which are
performed by the tribal people. The paper will consists of the study of
correlation between the rock art and the various arts forms and cultures
present in the tribal community.
Keywords: Rock Art, Tribes,
Anthropomorphic, Tradition, Simdega, Chhota Nagpur, Mountain, Worship, Buru,
Hadia, Tahri, Ancestor, Quern, Microlith.
The Chhotanagpur is a continental plateau. The area
of Chhotanagpur region is generally land. The plateau has been formed by
continental uplift from forces acting deep inside the earth. Previously it was
Gondwana land afterwards it got separated. And this was the reason for the
origin of the plateau. It is the part of Deccan plate. This Deccan plate broke
from the southern continent during the cretaceous to emplane on a 50 million
year journey that was violently interrupted by the northern Eurasian continent.
The south Chhotanagpur is one of the five divisions in Indian state of
Jharkhand. The south Chhotanagpur region
of sub part of Jharkhand state was the center of prehistoric art since ancient
times. This region is surrounded by mountains and forests. There are various
mountains which act as the fortification wall of the region. There is basically
granite rock all over this region. There are various rivers flows all over the
region. The main rivers which flow in this region are Shankh and South Koel. There
are also many rain waterfalls and pond inside the forests which make the life
possible of the prehistoric man and it also promotes the life of wild animals,
bird and insects. These wild animals, birds and plants make life easy for
mankind since prehistoric times of rock.
Simdega
district lies on the south – west of Jharkhand. Geographically the district is
surrounded by Gumla district on the north, Ranchi district on the east, Orissa
on the south and Chhattisgarh on the west. The latitude of Simdega district is
22°36ʹ54.83" N and longitude is 84°30ʹ7.49" E. The total area of the
district is approximately 3761.2 sq. km.
The total population of 71% of the Simdega district is tribal
population. Simdega is the second largest state highly tribal populated
district of Jharkhand. Previously Simdega was the part of Gumla district, but
in 30 April 2001 it got separated and became an independent district of
Jharkhand. Simdega district consists of ten blocks. The names of the ten blocks
are Simdega, Kolebira, Basjor, Kurdeg, Kersai, Bolba, Pakartar, Thethetangar,
Bano and Jaldega.
Simdega
district consist of mainly tribal communities. There are mainly Kharia, Munda,
Oraon, Gond, Birhor and Binjhiya tribes etc. On the west side of Simdega
district there are mainly Kharia tribe whereas on the east there the majority
of Munda tribe. These tribes have their own culture and traditions. The names
of the many villages are kept in the language of the Kharia tribe, as this
tribe has the highest population in comparison to other tribes. All the tribes
have their own laws, like the Kharia tribe has (dhelki Sasan). The kharia tribe
which is divided into three sections: the Dudhkharias, the Dhelkikharias and
the Hill kharias.¹
The tribal have the tradition of tattoo making. The make the tattoo on their
forehead, neck, hand and leg. Tattoo making was compulsory among the tribal
communities because they have the belief that after life these tattoos will go
along with the body to the other world. The other tribe is Munda tribe which is
highly populated in Simdega district. The Mundaare one of the tribes of the
central zone of India.²
Along with these two tribe Gond tribe is also found in Simdega district. Gond
tribe is known as the highest populated tribe of India as well as Chhattisgarh.ᶾ This tribe has their own language, culture and
tradition which could be seen among them in living tradition. Birhor tribe is
one of the primitive tribe of Jharkhand. This tribe is getting extinct. This
tribe is nomadic tribe and lived in small groups. They don’t have their
permanent settlement.⁴
Birhor tribe also increase the population of Simdega district. Many
archeological remains are found scattered of this tribe in this region.
The
Simdega represents the prehistoric art of our ancestors in the form painting.
These rock paintings are one of the most magnificent arts among the various
arts present in the culture of prehistoric tribes. The style of prehistoric
Indian art has remained part of a living tradition for 7000 years. The houses
are commonly decorated in many regions today.⁵
The rock art shows the creativity of the prehistoric man. These artistic skills
(rock painting) are found all over Simdega region. The paintings of prehistoric
man are safe till today on the wall and ceilings of the caves. These rock arts
not only present the artistic skills of the prehistoric man but also, it also
shows the achievements of our ancestors. The man used these caves for painting
and as the watch tower for targeting their prey. The making of rock art was
done not only in the prehistoric times but also in the historic period these
paintings were made by the people. We can analyze the developing forms of the
rock painting from the prehistoric times to the historic period. There are the
evidences of prehistoric animals and humans hunting scenes, dancing human
figures of ancient times and on the other there are the figures of the human
domesticating the animals of chalcolithic period. Along with these figures
there are also the figures of processions of humans, the human are show as riding
horses and elephants, these pictures depict the historical period. Along with
these figures there are also the figure of geometrical designs, it is very
difficult to say that these geometrical design belongs to which particular
period. These paintings were made by the natural colors, but it is
controversial that which pigment was used for making the mixture for painting.
The rock art was not only the artistic skill of the prehistoric man but this
rock art also display the survival technique of man and animals of that
particular period.
Like
other regions Simdega also consists of rock art sites. They are namely Biru,
Churiya, and Gupt Ganga or Sonakhain (the other site consists of saddle querns
of Neolithic period). It is interesting to know that all the rock art are made
on the north or northeast side of thecave, so that the sun ray me enter the
cave from the south. This shows that our ancestors make their rock art
generally on the south sides. The first rock art is Biru.The name “Biru” is
taken from the Kharia language which means “mountain”. As there are the
majority of Kharia tribe people they named the village on the name of the
mountain. In Munda language the mountain is known as “Buru” by the Munda tribe
people. So both the tribes named this village as “Biru”. There is a village
named Pholwatangar in the Biru block there is a rock art site on the mountain
named “Likha Pahar” this mountain is located about 3kms east side from the
village. The longitude and latitude of the site are 22.6819⁰ N and 84,5609⁰E.
This rock art side is located about 1200 feet from the surface. Geographically
this site is surrounded by dense forests. These forests enrich the beauty of
the village. On the south side of the rock art site there is the highway for
Simdega and Ranchi. On the east side of the rock art side there is “S” turning
and on the west there is “Bhairo Pahar”. The likha pahar consist of shelter as
well as cave, the outer portion consists of shelter and inner part consists of
cave. The shelter consists of rock art. The paintings are made on the walls of
the shelter. The height of the shelter about 18 feet and width is about 10
feet. The figures are made in panel. There are basically geometrical figures
painted on the wall. From the right side the first figures looks like the
English alphabet “I” in shape. On the inner part of the “I” there four
triangular shaped design on the both side of the line. There is also outline
made outside the “I”. The other figure is also geometrical design which is
unidentified. In this figure there are zigzag lines. The third figure looks
like human moustaches. All the figures found here are red in color. There is
also the engraved figure of fertility cult. There is the natural phallic of
rock and a human made engraved figure of vulwa marks (symbolize birth and
fertility) on the monolith rock. The ancient people worshiped these two figures
as fertility cult. We also get the evidence of the associated material along
with the rock art. There are microlithic tools scattered all over the site,
there are basically scraper, lunet, point, trapeze, fluted core and side
scraper etc. These tools are made of chert, quartzite, quart, agate and
chalcedony.
The
next rock art site is located 25km far from Simdega district. This site is
situated in the Tatahtangar block of Churiya village. On the west side of
Churiya village there is a mountain known as “Bhawar Pahar”, where there is
shelter consisting of prehistoric rock art. The longitude and latitude of the
rock art site are 22.4999⁰N and 84.5144⁰E. This site is surrounded by the
tribal communities mainly Gond and Kharia tribes. This shelter is about 20 feet
in height and width is about 18 feet. In this site there are mainly
pictographs. There is the unidentified figure of an animal, which is the master
piece of this rock art site. The second significant painting of this site is
the hunting scenes. The hunting scenes are made on the roof of the shelter. In
this scene the human is show as chasing the animal. The painting of human and
animal is drawn in single line and it is huge in size from rest of the
paintings. Along with these paintings there are human figures in large number.
There is also a painting of a huge deer which is yellow in colour. There is
also geometrical design which is red in colour. There are also the
anthropomorphic figures of humans. There are the prints of palm, which is
considered to be the palm of females. Along with the rock art there are cup
marks present on the wall of the rock on the highest point of the mountain.
The
third site is located 60km far from Simdega district, named as Dhorijor
village. The longitude and latitude of the site are 22.5272⁰N and 84.2318E.
This village is in Kersai block. This is the Neolithic site known as Sonakhain.
This place is situated on the north side of the village. The site consists of
abundant of querns scattered all over of the site. The querns are rectangle in
shape. Due to the excess use of the quern, it look likes the concave bowl. We
found that in some querns were used from one side which leads to the deep
impression on one side. But in some querns the deep impression could be seen on
all the four sides. These querns were basically used for grinding the medicinal
leafs and colours for making paintings. But it is controversial that, what the
actual use of these querns was.
Rock
art plays an important part the life of tribals. Not only in the past but in
the present era the tribal people were very creative and artistic man. In the
past our ancestors presented they artistic skills through the rock art. But at
present we can see these arts in various forms. Few paintings of rock art still
exist in the arts and culture of the tribal communities. In the form of art
these paintings exist in the form “Alpana” in the marriages, festivals, worship
of god and goddesses and decoration of houses. The alpana were made of the milk
of rice. There were geometrical designs made in alpana, which was similar to
the prehistoric rock paintings. In the marriage ceremony among the tribals of
Chhota Nagpur there is the tradition of white washing the walls of the house,
during the white wash they make Kohbar painting, this painting is specially
made during marriage. In the folk art of tribals, Sohria and Jadu Patia are
popular. The Sohrai paintings are made after Diwali in the honor of animals. In
the Sohrai paintings the houses are decorated with the palm impression which is
also found in the rock paintings. Along with palm impression there are animal
figurines present in this art. Jada patiya art are made on the cloths and
papers. In these arts there are geometrical designs which are similar to the
geometrical designs of prehistoric rock art. Rock art designs are also found on
the art of metallic art. For example, the village Kolebira of Simdega district
one shield is found on which human figurine is made which seems to be
anthropomorphic figure. Tattoo making is also popular among the tribals. Tattoo
making is especially among the females. In some special occasion the males also
do tattoo making. Many designs are made in tattoos which are similar to the
designs of the rock art. There are geometrical designs found in rock arts which
now could be seen in the tattoos of the tribal people. Each figure have
different name of its own, for example Kasaili phool, Khadi phool, Kohara
phool, Pothi Mahdev Jat Mahwa khocha and Nepur etc.
In
tribals there is also the tradition of worshiping the mountain god. The
mountain god is known as “Marang Buru” among the Munda tribe. The most famous
worship of mountain god is done in “Lugu Buru” in Chhota Nagupr region. This
place lies in Bokaro. The worship is done at the time of Kartik Purnima. In
Simdega district the worship of mountain god are done in Thamgadha, Dhorijor
and Purna Pani etc. The worship of mountain god is held on Kartik Purnima as
well as Magh Purnima. For the worship of mountain god the tribal people do
fasting. They take bath in the morning in rivers or pond and then dress
themselves in traditional dress (basically white in colour). Other dresses are
prohibited in this ceremony. After dressing themselves they go bare foot to the
river and fetch water in the brass pot for offering the mountain god. After
reaching the worship place they offer the water and sacrifice the animal to the
mountain god. In some places animal sacrificing is not in tradition. Goat,
sheep, cock and pig are offered to the mountain god. The tribals offer the
varieties of cock to the god, like ‘Ranguwa’ (red colour), ‘Kurethiya’
(spotted), ‘Kasheli’ and ‘Charka (white). There are various material used for
the worship of god expect the animal sacrifice, like ‘Hadia (rice beer) (during
the worship this drink is known as ‘Tapaan’), ‘Arwa chawal’, ‘Sindoor’, Dhup
dhuwan’, Dub ghass’, ‘Matha ghass’ fruits and Cow dung.
After
reaching the worship place the male (Pahan ‘priest’) plaster the place with cow
dung. They make symbolic god with mud or stone. After placing the god they
offer rice. Then feed the rice to the animal or bird which has to be sacrificed
to the mountain god. As the animal or bird eats the rice they kill the animal
and offer the head to the god. When the ceremony is over the priest eat the
head of the animal or bird and rest of the body part is distributed among the
village people as ‘prasad’. The Prasad is prepared by meat and rice. This
Prasad is named differently in various tribes, like ‘Sudi’ and ‘Tahri’. This
Prasad is eaten on the mountain itself, the people are not allowed to take this
Prasad along with them. After the ceremony everyone return back home and sing
and dance in their traditional form.
The tradition which was started by our
ancestors in prehistoric time, same tradition is still being followed by our
tribal communities. Some traditions are forgotten by the tribal people but
still they are worshipping them as their god generation to generation. The main
traditional art form is rock art which was made by our ancestors are not
followed as it was done by them but still tribal people make some design on the
walls and floor of their houses, tattoos on their body and worship them.
References
1. Fr.
Doongdoong Anthony, The Kherias of Chotanagpur, Satya Bharti publication,
Ranchi, 2015, pp.1
2. Presler
H Henry, Primitive Religious in India Senate of Serampore College,
Bangalore,1971, pp3,
3. Alang
Sanjay, Tribes and Caste of Chhattisgarh, Mansi Publication,Delhi,2011, pp
64
4. Sharma
Vimal Charan, Jharkhand Ki Adim Janjatiya Jharkhand Jharoka, 2014, pp29
5. Walker
Benjamin, Hindu world : An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism Vol. I, Frederick A.
Praeger, New York and Washington.1968 pp. 468 – 471.
Fertility cult (vulwa)
BIRU “I” Shape figure
BIRU (horn shaped)
CHURIYA (Deer)
CHURIYA
(human figurine)
CHURIYA
(geometrical figure, human figure)
CHURIYA
(hunting scene)
Quern
(Dhorijor)
This tattoo is known as Mahadev jaat
which is similar to this painting.