![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Kurukh_dance_of_Oraons_.jpg/640px-Kurukh_dance_of_Oraons_.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Kurukh people
Indigenous (scheduled) tribe from India / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kurukh or Oraon, also spelt Uraon or Dhangad,[8] (Kurukh: Karḵẖ and Oṛāōn) are a Dravidian speaking ethnolinguistic group inhabiting Chhotanagpur Plateau and adjoining areas - mainly the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal.[9] They predominantly speak Kurukh as their native language, which belongs to the Dravidian language family.[10] In Maharashtra, Oraon people are also known as Dhangad.[11][12]
Kurukh | |
---|---|
![]() Kurukh in traditional clothes performing dance | |
Total population | |
3.8 million (2011) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
![]() | 3,696,899[1] |
Jharkhand | 1,716,618 |
Chhattisgarh | 748,739 |
West Bengal | 643,510 |
Odisha | 358,112 |
Bihar | 144,472 |
Assam | 39,739 (1921)[2] |
Tripura | 12,011[3] |
![]() | 85,846[4] |
![]() | 37,424[5] |
![]() | 4,200[6] |
Languages | |
Kurukh • Sadri • Odia • Hindi • Bengali | |
Religion | |
Hinduism, Christianity, Sarnaism[7] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Traditionally, Oraons depended on the forest and farms for their ritual practices and livelihoods, but in recent times, they have become mainly settled agriculturalists. Many Oraon migrated to tea gardens of Assam, West Bengal and Bangladesh as well as to countries like Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius during British rule, where they were known as Hill Coolies.[8][13] They are listed as a Scheduled Tribe in seven Indian states for the purpose of reservation system.[14]