THE RELIGION AND CUSTOMS OF THE URAONS. 123 



hills towards Lohardaga and found themselves among the Mundas. The hypothesis 

 that they were allowed to settle among them is likely to be true, and for anyone who 

 knows these two tribes, there is nothing astonishing in the fact that the Mundas 

 retreated slowly and left the new-comers in possession of the country. Even now we 

 witness the whole process as it must have been going on in former times. In new countries 

 where land has been only recently reclaimed from the jungle, the Uraons settle, and, 

 as they are an exceedingly prolific tribe, they soon become the preponderant element, 

 whilst the Mundas, being conservative and averse to live among strangers, emigrate to- 

 wards another jungle. The Mundas hate zemindars, and, whenever they can do so, prefer 

 to live in a retired corner in full possession of their small holding ; and it is not at all 

 improbable that, as the zemindars took possession of the newly-formed villages, they re- 

 tired towards the east, while the Uraons, being good beasts of burden, and more accus- 

 tomed to subjection, remained. Of course this is only a hypothesis, as there is not the 

 least scrap of documentary evidence to help us to solve the problem ; but its likelihood 

 is increased by the position of the Bhuniyars, whom Colonel Dalton in his most valu- 

 able book calls Bhunhiers. There is not the least shadow of doubt about the Bhuniyars : 

 they were the first settlers in Barway, Chhechari and Sirguja, hence their name Bhuniyars, 

 which means " first settlers." Look at the map of Chota Nagpur, and it will be seen that 

 Barway, Chhechari and Sirguja are separated from the country first occupied by the 

 Mundas and Uraons by a chain of hills and pats running from Palamau to Palkot. Well, 

 these Bhuniyars are only the descendants of a few Mundas who had crossed the hills and 

 settled in Barway and Chhechari. This is proved by their similar traditions, the tomb- 

 stones which are exactly the same as those of the Mundas, the similarity of their customs, 

 and the names of some villages. Is it not very likely that, as the Uraons increased 

 in number, they spread from the side of Lohardaga towards Palkot, whilst the Mundas 

 retreated and left their brethren of Barway and Chhechari separated from the main body ? 

 By degrees also the Uraons emigrated from Kukra, crossed the mountain and came to 

 settle in Chhechari and Barway where the same process takes place. The Uraons take 

 possession of the low lands, whilst the Mundas retire to the small plateaus or high lands 

 on the mountains. Colonel Dalton speaks of the Bhuniyars as being a different race and 

 does not know how to classify them ; but for one who has lived a long time among them 

 there is no doubt at all. Some old men of Barway still remember that when they were 

 young, their fathers were still in communication with the Mundas of Nagpur. The 

 Bhuniyars of Sirguja being the farthest away from the Mundas are known only by 

 that name. In Chhechari is the transition stage, and they are called Bhuniyars or 

 Mundas indifferently, whilst in Barway, where they are the nearest to the old stock, 

 they will only accept the name of Munda. Now that their relations with the Mundas 

 have ceased and they have lost their language, and have moreover abandoned the local 

 traditions and gods of the Mundas, they are likely to form a different caste. Up till now 

 they affirm that when they go to Nagpur and explain everything to their b/mis, they are 

 looked upon as being of the same caste; but they do not intermarry. This digression 

 about the Bhuniyars seems to take us away from the Uraons, but it shows the likelihood 

 of the hypothesis explaining the process by which the Uraons took possession of the 



