Rajuar (also spelt as Rajuala, Rajuad) is a shifting cultivation community. The people of this community mainly live in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The community living in Odisha is considered a Scheduled Tribe while the people living in other states are considered as OBC.

Overview

The people living in Odisha are mostly from the Nagbansi group and they live in Mayurbhanj and Baleshwar districts. In 1931 census, their population in Mayurbhanj was 1014 and distributed in Nij Majhalbagh (4), Deuli (34), Asankhali (459) and Khanua (44) of Baripada subdivision; Gartal (6), Khauta (69), Saranda (92) of Bamanghati subdivision; Khunta Karkachia (127), Dukura (142) of Kaptipda subdivision; There was no return from Panchpir subdivision and their literacy rate was 0.39 per cent (only four people). As of the 2011 census, they had a population of 3,517 and a literacy rate of 51.6 per cent in Odisha. Many years ago they lived in Chotanagpur and they were engaged in shifting cultivation. Later, They started to live with different ethnic people in a village when they found settleable land to live in the process of shifting cultivation. Now they have good land and they are also good farmers but some of them are flattened rice sellers. People living in Odisha speak

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

but due to their proximity to Bengali-speaking people, many people use

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 ...

/ Kudmali for daily conversation. The origin of the Rajuar community remains doubtful. While some researchers claim that the Rajuar caste is an offshoot of the

Bhuyan The Bhuyan (Also known as Bhuiya, Bhuiyan and Bhuinya) are an ethnic group found mainly in many districts of Odisha. The 2011 census showed their population to be around 220,859. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government. ...

, the people of West Bengal claim that the Rajuar caste was formed from a mixture of the Kurmi caste and the Kol caste. As the 1931

Mayurbhanj state Mayurbhanj State (or ''Morbhanj'') ( or, ମୟୁରଭଞ୍ଜ ରାଜ୍ୟ) was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was one of the largest states of the Eastern States Agency and one of the thre ...

census noted that;

The Rajuars are a low cultivating caste of Bihar and Chotanagpur, who are probably an offshoot of Bhuinyas. In the Central Provinces, the Bhuinyas hava a sub-caste called Rajuar. The Rajuars of Bengal give a different story, admitting that they are descendants of mixed unions between Kurmis and Kols. In Chotanagpur, the Rajuars, like the land-holding branches of other forest tribes, claim to be an inferior class of the Rajputs.

Society

The Rajuar is divided into endogamous groups such as Rajbansi, Rajbhar, Bhogta, Lathaur, Nagbansi and Nakchedia. Among those groups, the Nagabansi group is lagging in society. Again those groups are divided into some exogenous clans such as Nageswar (Nag), Kachap (Kachim), Sankhua (Sankh), Champa, Mukut (Mod), Sinha and Kashyapa. The surnames used by the Rajuar people living in Odisha are Behera, Ram, Ray, and Parmanik. The festivals celebrated by the people of Rajuar are similar to the festivals celebrated by the people of the region and are based on Hinduism. Dhulia Festival, Jantal Festival, Magha Puja, Bandhna and Karam Festival are considered the main festivals of Rajuar.

Overview

Society

References

Further reading