Munda people
Various dialects spoken by Munda people
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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 9 million (estimated) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 India |
9,000,000 |
 Bangladesh |
142,000 |
 Nepal |
1,900 |
 Bhutan |
1,800 |
 United States |
500 |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
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| Related ethnic groups | |
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The Munda are an Adivasi ethnic group originating in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region of north-east India. They originally spoke the Mundari language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of the Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found across much of Jharkhand as well as adjacent parts of Assam, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and into parts of Bangladesh. This tribal ethnic group is one of the largest tea tribes in India. The Munda people in Tripura are also called Mura. In Madhya Pradesh, the Munda people are often known as Mudas.
There were an estimated 9,000,000 Munda people in the late 20th century.
According to Ricio et al. (2011), the Munda people are likely descended from the Austroasiatic migrants from southeast Asia....
Since the primitive times Munda people have been wanderers & hunters occupying India tribal belt, later they became settled agriculturists cultivators. Munda people are excellent in basket work and weaving. With the help of reservation policy of Government of India listing Munda people in Scheduled Tribes (Adivasi) plentiful of them have been now employed in various government sectors especially Indian Railways.
Social arrangement is very basic and simple. The Indian caste system is an alien to the Mundas. The culture of the Munda people is a blend of Sarnaism and Christian cultures.
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Wikipedia