Juang people

Juang are a tribal (Adivasi) group of people of the Munda ethnic group found mainly in the Gonsaika hill range of Keonjhar district of Odisha, India. Some Juangs, however migrated to neighbouring plains of Dhenkanal district of Odisha during the Bhuiyan revolt in the late 19th century.

Most of the Juang live in Keonjhar district. They are estimated to amount in all to about 10,000. The Juang language belongs to the Munda family of the Austroasiatic languages.

History

The Juang claimed to have no traditions connecting them with any other race, and they repudiated all connection with the Hos or the Santals, declaring themselves the true aborigines. Their tradition claims that the place where the tribe originated from the earth are the Gonasika Hills, near Keonjhar, at the source of the Baitarani River. They were initially hunter-gatherers and cultivated a few crops. They did not till the land, but live on the game they killed or on snakes and insects. They were forced out of their traditional ways after the British declared their forests as reserves.