This article is about the culture of natives of the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

state of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

. The state of

is located in the eastern part of the country and is known for its vivid culture,distinct paintings, traditions and festivals.

Languages

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

is official language of Jharkhand. There are many regional and tribal languages in Jharkhand. The regional languages that belong to the Indo-Aryan branch; in Jharkhand, they are Khortha, Nagpuri, and

Kudmali Kurmali or Kudmali ( ISO: Kuṛmāli) is an Indo-Aryan language classified as belonging to the Bihari group of languages spoken in eastern India. As a trade dialect, it is also known as Panchpargania (Bengali: পঞ্চপরগনিয় ...

spoken by the Sadan, the Indo-Aryan ethnic groups of Chotanagpur. Other Indo-Aryan languages include Bhojpuri,

Magahi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives. ...

, Maithili,

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, and Odia. The languages that belong to the

Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...

branch are Mundari, Santali, Bhumij and Ho. The languages that belong to the Dravidian language family are Kurukh and Malto.

Cuisine

The staple foods in Jharkhand are rice,

dal In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pu ...

, vegetables, and

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

s. Some dishes include Chilka Roti,

Malpua Malpua, or sometimes shortened to pua, is an Indian sweet served as a dessert or a snack originating from the Indian subcontinent, popular in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. History Barley was the most prolific grain eaten by the ''arya'' of ...

Dhooska ''Dhooska'' or ''Dhuska'' is a popular deep-fried snack eaten all over Jharkhand, India. The dish is one of the delicacy of Jharkhandi cuisine. The main ingredients in this savoury fried bread dish are powdered rice, powdered chana dal and sometim ...

, Arsa roti, and Pitha. Rugra (a type of mushroom) and bamboo shoots are also used as vegetables. The leaves of the Munga tree (''

Moringa oleifera ''Moringa oleifera'' is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree of the family Moringaceae, native to the Indian subcontinent. Common names include moringa, drumstick tree (from the long, slender, triangular seed-pods), horseradish tree (from t ...

'') and the Koinar tree ('' Bauhinia variegata'') are used as leafy vegetables or

Saag Saag (), also spelled sag or saga, is an Indian leaf vegetable dish eaten with bread such as roti or naan, or in some regions with rice. Saag can be made from spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, basella, finely chopped broccoli or other ...

. Local alcoholic drinks are Handia made from rice and ''Mahua

daru Daru is the capital of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea and a former Catholic bishopric. Daru town falls under the jurisdiction of Daru Urban LLG. The township is entirely located on an island that goes by the same name, which is loc ...

'' made from flowers of the

Mahua Mahua Acharya Mahua or Mahuaa may refer to: Botany * '' Madhuca longifolia'' or mahua, a tree in the family Sapotaceae * ''Mahua'' (moss), a genus of mosses in family Hypnaceae Culture and entertainment * Mahua (snack), a Chinese fried dough twi ...

tree.

Festivals

Karam

Karam is a major native harvest festival of Jharkhand. It is celebrated on the 11th day of a full moon of the month of Bhado by the Sadan (Khortha, Nagpuri, Kurmali-speaking ethnic group) and the tribal (Munda, Bhumij, and Oraon) people of Jharkhand. During this festival, people bring branches of the Karam tree to the village and then place them on the ground. The branches are washed with milk and handia, and decorated with garlands, curd, rice, flowers and grains. The village priest "Pahan" offer sacrifice of Karam devta for good harvest. Karam puja in jharkhand

Jitia

During the festival of Jitia, mothers fast for the well being of their children. It is celebrated from the seventh to the ninth lunar day of Krishna-Paksha, in the month of Ashwin.

Nawakhani

Nawakhani Nawakhani is harvest festival of of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In this festival people eat new grain of rice after harvesting. Etymology Nawakhani means ''eating new''. Nawa means ''New'' and Khani means ''eat''. It signify eating new g ...

is an important festival that occurs in Jharkhand. During this festival, grains are eaten following the harvest.

Sohrai/Bandna

Chawk Pura During Bandna Festival in a Courtyard

Sohrai is a cattle festival of Jharkhand's. It is celebrated during the Amavasya of the month of Kartik. It coincides with the Diwali festival. People fast throughout the day, and bathe their cattle. In the evening, sacrifices are offered to the cattle deity.

Holi

Phaguwa, or

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

, is the spring festival which falls in the month of Phalgun. In spring, people collect sal flower blossoms and place them on their roofs. There are special songs and dances for this festival.

Other festivals

Other festivals include Tusu,

Dussehra Vijayadashami ( sa, विजयदशमी, Vijayadaśamī, translit-std=IAST), also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu ...

, Sarhul, Baha and Sendra parha festivals.

Folk dances

There are several folk dances in Jharkhand, including Jhumair, Domkach, Lahasua, Vinsariya, Jhumta, Fagua, Firkal, Painki, and Chhau. *

Jhumair Jhumair or Jhumar is an Indian folk dance from the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal. It is folk dance of Sadan, the Indo-Aryan ethnic groups of Chotanagpur. It is mainly performed during harvest season. ...

: Being a popular folk dance in Jharkhand, it is performed during harvest and festival season in which people hold hands and dance in circles. It is folk dance of Sadan, native Indo-Aryan ethnic groups of Jharkhand. The musical instruments used in this festival include Mandar, Dhol, Bansi, Nagara, Dhak, Shehnai, and Khartal. There are varieties to this dance, such as Khortha Jhumair, Nagpuri Jhumair, and Kurmali Jhumair. The Nagpuri version also have Mardani Jhumar and Janani Jhumar as varieties. *

Domkach Domkach or Damkach is a folk dance of Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand. In Bihar, Domkach dance is performed in Mithila and Bhojpur regions. In Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. Wi ...

: A Nagpuri folk dance performed by the family of the bridegroom on the occasion of marriage. The theme of the songs carried in this dance is satirical. Some of the many songs played are ek haria, dohri, adh ratia, bihanwa. * Paiki: Also known as Paika is a nagpuri martial dance performed by men wearing

ghungroo A ghungroo ( hi, घुँघरू, ur, ), also known as ghunghroo or ghunghru or ghungur or ghungura (Assamese, Bengali and Odia) or Chilanka or Salangai or Gejje (in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada respectively), is one of many small metallic ...

s. The dance is composed of sword and shield carrying accompanied by music played on the Nagara, Dhak, and Shehnai. *

Chhau dance Chhau dance, also spelled Chhou dance, is a semi classical Indian dance with martial and folk traditions. It is found in three styles named after the location where they are performed, i.e. the ''Purulia Chhau'' of West Bengal, the ''Seraikell ...

: A semi-classical dance with martial, tribal, and folk traditions. Seraikella Chhau is found in Seraikella district of Jharkhand. *Mundari dance: A dance performed by the Munda tribe during harvest and festival season. *Santali dance: A dance performed by the Santal tribe during harvest and festival season. Musical instruments used include Mandar,

Dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...

ki,

Bansi Bansi is a town and a municipal board in Siddharthnagar district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India Bansi is situated on the bank of the Rapti River in Siddharthnagar District. Geography Bansi was located at the bank of the river Rapti at ...

, Nagara, Dhak,

Shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.Khartal Khartal is an ancient instrument mainly used in devotional / folk songs. It has derived its name from Sanskrit words ‘kara’ meaning hand and ‘tala’ meaning clapping. This wooden clapper is a Ghana Vadya which has discs or plates that pro ...

, and Narsinga, among others.

Paintings

Sahrai painting is performed during the

Sohrai Sohrai is a harvest festival of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal. It also called cattle festival. It is celebrated after harvest and coincide with Govardhan Puja of Diwali festival. It is celebr ...

festival. Various designs are painted in courtyards and on walls.

Tattoo

The local tattoo tradition of Godna is an essential part of local tradition.

Cinema

Jharkhand produces many films in regional languages, including Nagpuri, Khortha, Santali, Ho, and Kurukh. The first feature film of Jharkhand was ''Aakarant'', made under the banner of Drishyantar International in 1988. The first Nagpuri film was ''Sona Kar Nagpur'' (1994), produced and directed by Dhananjay Nath Tiwari.

References

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