Languages Data

Kharia
Language Learning Resource

Name/Link of Resource

Earlier Work

M. Phil./ Ph.D.

  • Tribal knowledge studies on the Kharia and Kisan tribes in Orissa
  • A Descriptive Grammar of Kharia
  • The Wild Kharias of Manbhum
  • Anthropogeographic Study of Kharia Sabaras in South Eastern Purulia West Bengal
  • Health Seeking Behaviour and Health Care Services among the Hill Kharia Mayurbhanj District Odisha
  • The Structure of Kharia: A Study of Linguistic Typology and Language Change
  • Stimulants and barriers to planned development a study of the Hill Kharia a hunting and gathering tribe of Similipal Hills Orissa
  • Stigma of criminality on the Kharias of Purulia
  • Causatives in Kharia, Kurux and Santhali: A Case of Language Convergence in Jharkhand
  • Comparative study of Khasi and Kharia

Research Paper

  • The Kharia - Weddings
  • The Kharia of Modhupur, Singhbhum District and Neighbouring Regions
  • Socio-Ritual Status of the Kharia in the Ethnic Background of Manbhum
  • The Kharias and their language
  • Ethno-Linguistic Study of the Kharias
  • Marriage Ceremonies of the Kharias
  • The Social Religious Institu­tions of the Kharias
  • The Kharias in the Process of Development: A Study in Bankura District
  • The Wild Kharias of Dalbhum
  • Marriage among the Dhalki Kharias
  • A Reconnoitre Survey Among the Hill Kharia and Proposed Action Programme
  • Kheria-Savar Sammelana in Purulia
  • Socio-Economic Organisation and Religion among the Hill Kharia of Dhalbhum
  • Kharia
  • Status of female education among Santal, Kheria Sabar and Birhor tribal communities of Puruliya district, West Bengal, India

Project

Book

  • The Munda Languages
  • A Kharia song book
  • Introduction to the Kharia Language
  • Land and People of Indian States and Union Territories: West Bengal
  • Kharia Phonology, Grammar and Vocabulary
  • Kharia Alon: A Kharia song book
  • Dictionary of Languages: The definitive reference to more than 400 languages
  • Kharia Thar: Linguistics studies
  • Linguistic Studies in Juang, Kharia Thar, Lodha, Mal-Pahariya, Ghatoali, Pahariya
  • Linguistic Studies in Juang, Kharia, Thar, Lodha, Mal-Pahariya and Ghatoali-Pahariya
  • People’s Linguistic Survey of India: The Languages of West Bengal
  • Bharatiya Bhasha Lok Sarvekshan : Odishara Bhasha Samooh
  • People’s Linguistic Survey of India : The Languages of Jharkhand
  • The Kharias: Identity and Modernity
  • Language Handbook Kharia
  • Linguistic Survey of India
  • Ethnologue: Languages of the World
  • A Bibliographic Index of the Lesser Known Languages and Dialects of India and Nepal
  • Language Shifts Among the Scheduled Tribes in India: A Geographical Study
  • Languages of South Asia: A Survey of Materials for the Study of the Uncommonly Taught Languages
  • Studies in Indian Linguistics
  • Linguistic Survey of India- Special Studies : Orrisa
  • Kharia
  • The Hill Kharia
  • Photo Handbook on Hill Kharia
  • A Short Dictionary of Languages
  • A Grammar of Kharia: A South Munda Language
  • Folk Songs and Stories of Khadia Tribe
  • Bibliography of Marginal Indian Languages
  • Tribal Linguistics in India: A Bibliographical Survey of International Resources
  • Past Migration of the Kharia Tribe
  • The Kharias vol. I
  • The Kharias volume II
  • Indias Communities
  • Religion Life in Tribal India: A Case Study of Dudh Kharia
  • Religious life in tribal India : a case-study of Dudh Kharia
  • The Hill Kharia of Purulia : Impact Of Poverty On A Hunting And Gathering Tribe
  • South Asian Languages: A Syntactic Typology
  • Hill Kharia/Sabar
  • The Kharia : Then and Now : A comparative study of Hill, Dhelki and Dudh Kharia of the central-eastern region of India
  • Expressive Morphology in the Languages of South Asia
  • खड़िया धर्म और संस्कृति का विश्लेषण
  • खड़िया-व्याकरण एवं संक्षिप्त शब्दकोश
  • खड़िया : भाषा, व्याकरण एवं साहित्य
  • खड़िया निबंध संग्रह
  • खड़िया लोक कथाओं का साहित्यिक एवं सांस्कृतिक अध्ययन
  • खड़िया लोक साहित्य
  • खड़िया गद्य-पद्य संग्रह (भाषा-साहित्य)
  • वीर शहीद टेलेङ्गा खड़िया
  • भारतीय लोक साहित्य कोश
  • खड़िया लोकगीतों की पहचान
  • खड़िया जीवन एवं परम्पराएँ
  • छोटानागपुर के पहाड़ी सबर खड़िया
  • हिन्दी और खड़िया : तुलनात्मक और विश्लेषणात्मक अध्ययन
  • भारतीय भाषा लोक सर्वेक्षण : झारखंड की भाषाएँ
  • खड़िया प्राईमर
  • खड़िया ध्वनि संरचना का वैज्ञानिक विश्लेषण
  • खड़िया, नागपुरी एवं हिन्दी का तुलनात्मक अध्ययन
  • खड़िया व्याकरण
  • झारखण्ड की प्रमुख जनजातीय लोक-कथाएँ
  • উত্তরবঙ্গের ভাষা

Book Chapter

  • Language contraction, language shrink, and language conflation: A case study of Kharia
  • Development Programmes Taken by Central and State Government of India and Social Change among Kharia in West Bengal
  • Comparative Notes on Juang and Kharia Finite Verbs
  • Comparative Study of Juang and Kharia Finite Verbs
  • The Place of Kharia-Juang in the Munda family
  • Kharia
  • Aspects of Kharia Grammar: A Role and Reference Grammar approach
  • Words” in Kharia - Phonological, morpho-syntactic, and “orthographical” aspects
  • Parts of Speech in Kharia. A formal account
  • Kharia, Land and People of Tribal Bihar
  • The Scheduled Tribes and their languages
  • The position of Kharia-Juang in the Munda family

Dictionary

  • Kharia-English Dictionary
  • Dictionary of the Kharia language

Occasional Paper/Brochure

  • Atlas of the Worlds Languages Danger

Journal/Seminar Proceedings/Souvenir

  • Kharia-Juang phonology. Second International Congress of Austro-Asiatic Linguistics

Web Resource

  • Kharia Community
  • Health and Traditional Medicinal Practices among the Hill Kharia of Odisha: Looking through the Anthropological Lens
Population of Mother Tongue Speaker
Literacy Rate
Education
Language Speakers in Indian States
Language Speakers in District
Basic Amenities in the District
Basic Amenities in the District
Government Support
Popular Domain of Language
Language Revitalization Program
General Introduction

The Kharia or Khadiya language belongs to Austro-Asiatic language group which is mainly spoken by the Kharia tribe group, concentrated in Central-Eastern India. Kharia speakers are mainly located in Jharkhand, Orissa, Chattisgarh and West Bengal in India. Kharia’s are parted into three different groups, namely-Dudh Kharia, Hill Kharia and Delki Kharia. However, the Kharia speaker, surveyor team of CFEL met in various villages of Purulia District in West Bengal met, are the Shabar or Savar Kharia, who by occupation are hunter. According to the earlier study, Hill Kharia’s mention themselves as Shabar. As they mostly live in the forests in hill areas, they are known or mentioned as Hill or ‘Pahari’ Khariya. This group of people are named as Kharia-Shabar followed by their nature of hunting.

Population:- In West Bengal, Kharia population is 52000 (CENSUS-2001). However, population of Kharia-Shabar cannot be determined individually as no such data could be found. This is also not possible from the recent survey-study to determine if all the Kharia speakers of West Bengal speak the same variety, spoken by Kharia-Shabar or belong from different Kharia groups, who speak a different variety of Kharia.

Survey Area:- The present study is based on Damodarpur, Maguriya, Malti, Kulta, Raherdi in Puncha, Hura and Balarampur block in Purulia and Puncha Nabadisha Model High School, Puncha where the students are mostly from Shabar/Shavar tribe.

Literacy: - Shabars have a very poor literacy rate. Most people are either illiterate or have completed (or not) junior school. They are economically deprived and do not get chances to continue education due to following reasons:

  1. Not having access of mother-tongue education
  2. Due to economical deprivation they are forced to try to earn to feed themselves and their family

However, in recent days Shabar-welfare Association and Government Tribal Welfare Scheme have opened some junior and junior-high schools in Puncha, Maguria and other Shabar concentrated villages for spreading the education among Shabar children. Though a large number of students are from Shabar tribe come here as students, but the medium of instruction in these schools are Bangla.

Occupation:- Shabar people are traditionally engaged with hunting and thus they are named as Shabar or Hunter. Thus these people used to stay mostly near the forests and jungles. However, in present days they are mostly engaged as daily-wage labours. Shabars are not much engaged with agricultural work or farming. They do not have their own agricultural land also. Fishing and Animal Husbandry are also other source of livelihood for them.        

Concluding Remarks:- Shabar or Kharia-Shabar is definitely an endangered language. Though they are retaining their mother-tongue at home and village domain but they feel the need to shift towards the dominant languages as well to get more exposure in the outside world. People who are going outside of their village to earn their livelihood are losing their mother-tongue with time. 

Sample Word-list

English

Bangla

Kharia-Shabar

Mother

মা

মাই

Brother

ভাই

সুড়ু ভাইকয়েণ

Daughter

মেয়ে

মাইঝলা ঝিকয়েণ

Uncle (female ego)

মামা

সুরু মুয়াক

Sea

সাগর

কাঁসাই

Water

জল

পাঁড়

Cold

ঠান্ডা

কালহা

Night

রাত

রাত হনক

Leaf

পাতা

পতর

Branch

শাখা

ডাড়

Bow

ধনুক

ধুড়

Trap

ফাঁদ

লাউটিযান

Leg

পা

গড

Head

মাথা

মুড

Bald

টাক

ছাররা

Face

মুখ

তুনদ

Fish

মাছ

মাছ

Rice (uncooked)

চাল

চাউর

Flower

ফুল

ফুন

Yellow

হলুদ

হুরদি ডাংগা
Festival of community

Society, Ethnic Culture, Religion, Rituals and Festival

As the ecology system or to be specific animal and forest is their source of livelihood, thus their festivals are mostly associated with hunting, offering their cattle and food-items to the God. They worship their cattle, the jungle and the hill. They celebrate Surhul puja in spring. In the Bangla month Magha, they celebrate Akhiyan Jatra, which is a puja where they offer ducks to the God.

Like other Munda communities, Kharia-Shabar people also offer hariya and mohua to all God and this is considered as one of the most holy beverage in all celebration.

The Kharias have patrilocal and patriarchal family. Men are allowed to marry for more than one time. However, women generally are not allowed to do so. Marriage happens within the same tribe not within the same clan.   

Linguistic Description

Language:- The language of Shabar people are known as Kharia language, which is an endangered language according to UNESCO’s list of endangered languages. Shabar people speak their mother-tongue in family and village domain. Children can speak their mother-tongue fluently. However, Kharia-Shabars in Purulia district use Bangla as their main communication language in market and other places. In Shabar welfare schools also the children among themselves speak in Bangla over Kharia language as the survey team found during their survey. Santhali is another communication language for them as the neighbourhood areas show a large population of Santhali speakers.

Language Attitude:- Shabar people do not have a negative attitude towards their language. However, they do not think their language have any future as it does not have any ‘economic’ value. Thus, they feel the need to learn and shift towards two dominant language groups, namely Bangla and Santhali to survive with better opportunities.   

Script:- Khariya language does not have its own script. They write in their language using either Devnagari script or in Bangla script.

Credit: Centre for Endangered Languages, Visva-Bharati
Last Updated on: 19 Nov 2020