Preliminary Report of the Exploration in Ranchi and Khunti Districts,

Himanshu Shekhar1 and P.P. Joglekar1

1. Department of Archaeology, Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute, Yerwada, Pune – 411006, Maharashtra, India (Email: [email protected]; [email protected])

Received: 30 August 2015; Accepted: 18 September 2015; Revised: 07 October 2015 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 3 (2015): 255-269

Abstract: Megalithic monuments have been reported from different geographical regions in Jharkhand. Though their authorship is enigmatic, continuity of the living traditions among several tribal communities can help to trace the origin of these ancient monuments. This paper is based on preliminary fieldwork conducted in 2015, to document various ancient megalithic sites and living tradition prevalent among the Munda community of Ranchi and Khunti Districts, Jharkhand.

Keywords: Exploration, Jharkhand, Megalithic Monuments, Dolmens, Capstone Burials, Menhirs, Ethnography

Introduction Several tribal communities in Jharkhand are still following their ancestral way of disposal of the dead. The present paper reports the exploration conducted in Panch Parganaas or five blocks of Ranchi and Khunti Districts, to understand the distribution of megalithic sites in and around the ancient Mundari settlements in the region (Fig. 1). The Mundas, one of the major tribes in Chotanagpur Plateau of Jharkhand, practice a secondary burial custom and erect megalithic monuments. These can be considered as ethnographic parallels of many ancient megalithic sites, previously discovered in different regions of the state. The Mundas construct two types of megaliths, a dolmen, for the person died due to natural death; and a menhir, as a memorial for the person dead due to any unnatural reason.

Study Area and Previous Work The study area lies in the Ranchi Plateau, including eastern part of and southeastern part of . Five blocks; Arrki, Bundu, Tamar, Sonahatu and Silli were selected for the exploration. Out of these five, the Arrki Block lies in the Khunti District and other four blocks are in the Ranchi District. Geomorphologically, the area is formed by Archaean and Dharwar formations, and landscape is caped with phyllites, granite gneisses and various types of schistose, mainly the mica schists ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 3: 2015

(Singh 2005). The region is covered with mixed and dry tropical forests. The area of Ranchi Plateau is watered by the river Subarnarekha and its tributaries such as Kanchi, Karkari, Baru and Raru.

Figure 1: The Study Area

Dalton (1867, 1872) and Dalton and Pepee (1873) were the first scholars to document megalithic burials of the Mundas in the study area. Dalton has surveyed the enormous megalithic site of Chokahatu village in . Later on a few schaolars did ethnographic work on the Mundas and mainly focussed on the funerary practices, e.g. Roy (1912, 1915) and Topno (1955). The area of interest of these scholars was mostly anthropological in which priority was given to the social life of the Mundas. A small- scale ethnographic research was conducted by the first author (Shekhar et al. 2014). This work was a case study of three megalithic localities of Besnadih hamlet under Baru revenue village of in the Ranchi district of Jharkhand.

Present Work Exploration was done to understand the distribution pattern of the burial sites in the study area. A village to village survey was conducted. During the course of fieldwork, photographic documentation was done and sites were located using GPS. Apart from this, the burial customs, the myths and concepts behind different types of megaliths were recorded. Altogether 28 new sites have been explored, having both, new and ancient burials. Apart from this, 6 previously reported sites have also been documented (Table 1).

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Table 1: Megalithic sites documented in Ranchi District, Jharkhand S. No. Site Village Block Geo-coordinates Typology 1 Marchadih Marchadih Sonahatu 23o13’36.08’’ N; 85o47’02.75’’ E Dolmens 2 Baranda Baranda Sonahatu 23o12’01.03’’ N; 85o49’49.20’’ E Dolmens 3 Dulmi I Dulmi Sonahatu 23o10’59.97’’ N; 85o50’29.98” E Dolmens 4 Baluwadih Baluwadih Sonahatu 23o15’07.20” N; 85o46’46.73” E Menhirs 5 Tetla Tetla Sonahatu 23o16’12.25” N; 85o46’29.03” E Dolmens 6 Sonahatu Rangadih Sonahatu 23o11’54.49” N; 85o42’54.15” E Dolmens 7 Saread Saread Sonahatu 23o12’35.51” N; 85o43’05.16” E Dolmens 8 Dirsir Dirsir Sonahatu 23o13’07.40” N; 85o43’21.08” E Menhirs 9 Barsaldih Barsaldih Sonahatu 23o11’18.25” N; 85o40’09.44” E Menhirs 10 Harin Harin Sonahatu 23o10’48.54” N; 85o44’49.05” E Dolmens 11 Nimdih I Nimdih Sonahatu 23o11’30.45” N; 85o40’39.65” E Dolmens 12 Nimdih II Nimdih Sonahatu 23o11’28.54” N; 85o40’37.34” E Menhirs 13 Dulmi II Dulmi Sonahatu 23o07’01.99” N; 85o41’49.85” E Menhirs 14 Dulmi III Dulmi Sonahatu 23o14’57.27” N; 85o42’24.53” E Menhirs 15 Kasidih I Kasidih Sonahatu 23o13’49.94” N; 85o43’35.64” E Dolmens 16 Kasidih II Kasidih Sonahatu 23o14’08.04” N; 85o42’59.51” E Dolmens 17 Chokahatu Chokahatu Sonahatu 23o10’10.20” N; 85o47’52.65” E Dolmens 18 Haradih Haradih Tamar 23o08’50.80” N; 85o41’44.97” E Dolmens 19 Amlesha Amlesha Tamar 23o03’39.16” N; 85o40’36.82” E Dolmens, Menhirs 20 Diuri Diuri Tamar 23o02’29.49” N; 85o40’54.66” E Dolmens 21 Jethadih Jethadih Tamar 23o01’58.22” N; 85o41’19.81’’ E Dolmens 22 Timpur Timpur Tamar 23o01’45.45” N; 85o41’55.29” E Dolmens 23 Barrwa Barrwa Tamar 23o01’31.92” N; 85o43’24.75” E Dolmens 24 Londra Londra Tamar 23o00’23.28” N; 85o43’22.11” E Dolmens 25 Jathgaon Jathgaon Tamar 23o00’45.23” N; 85o41’15.70” E Dolmens 26 Dimra Dimra Tamar 23o00’30.33” N; 85o39’33.05” E Dolmens 27 Sirkadih I Sirkadih Arrki 23o03’39.95” N; 85o37’34.23” E Dolmens 28 Sirkadih II Sirkadih Arrki 23o03’45.98” N; 85o37’35.16” E Dolmens 29 Bandu Bandu Arrki 23o03’30.42” N; 85o36’57.72” E Dolmens 30 Jaranga Jaranga Arrki 23o01’11.69” N; 85o33’68.53” E Dolmens, Menhirs 31 Paramdih Paramdih Bundu 23o10’20.27” N; 85o39’16.26” E Dolmens, Menhirs 32 Bakuadih Bakuadih Bundu 23o09’46.01” N; 85o35’29.88” E Dolmens 33 Patarahatu Patarahatu Silli 23o17’28.68” N; 85o46’40.05” E Dolmens 34 Jhabri Jhabri Silli 23o16’55.28” N; 85o48’35.98” E Dolmens

The documented and explored sites can be divided in three categories according to the nature of burial typology.

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• Dolmens (Saasandiri) or capstone burials sites • Menhirs (Bid-diri) sites, and • Dolmens and menhirs

Dolmens or Capstone Burials These sites have typical Saasandiri type of burials, which can be categorised under dolmens or capstone burials. Such megaliths are supported by four vertically erected stone posts, locally known as Pankhri-diri, over which, a horizontal stone slab is placed as capstone. Both ancient and modern megaliths have been found at a same burial ground. The new structures have the description of the corpse and the old ones are half buried under the ground and only capstone is visible over the ground. In some of the exposed graves, cinerary urns (urns holding ash of the cremated body) are clearly visible; either on the surface or in the cross section of the structure.

Marchadih The site is located at the left bank of Kanchi River in Sonahatu Block. Capstone burials are spread in a huge burial area (340×100 m). Some burials have also been found on the other side of the mound having one menhir in between a small cluster of capstone burials (Fig. 2).

Sonahatu The site is located about 1 km away from the block office, on the right side of Sonahatu-Jamudaag road. The barren land near to the crop fields is used as a burial ground (Fig. 3). The total area of the site is 40×20 m. The site has both new and ancient dolmens made using granite. Some exposed supporting stones, without capstone can be seen on the surface. Some of the burials are constructed in circular pattern, resembling stone circles (slab circles).

Saread The site is located on the right side of Sonahatu-Jamudaag road, around 2 km away from Sonahatu. Huge Saasandiris are erected using the granite slabs available on the adjacent hill. Most of the burials are modern and it is difficult to differentiate them from the old ones.

Kasidih Locality I& II Kasidih is another site situated on the outskirt of the village, left to the Sonahatu- Jamudaag road. The site can be divided into two localities, 500 m away from each other.

Chokahatu The site was first surveyed by Dalton (1872). Around 7500 megaliths have been reported after a rough counting. The site has both modern and ancient megaliths. Apart from the ancient ones, a few huge megaliths are seen here (Fig. 4). These seem to be modern due to fresh cut marks on the stones. The site is still under recent burial

258 Shekhar and Joglekar 2015: 255-269 practice and some new megaliths are observed with written descriptions over the capstone. Apart from the dolmens, a single menhir stands on the southern end of the site.

Figure 2: Capstone burials at Marchadih (Sonahatu Block)

Figure 3: Remains at Sonahatu (Sonahatu Block)

Baranda The site is located on the Baranda-Ulidih road, around 1 km east of the Baranda village. The burials are spread in clusters in an area of 125×30 m. Most of the burials are ancient and no evidence of recent practices has been found here.

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Figure 4: Remains at Chokahatu (Sonahatu Block)

Dulmi I The site is located around 1.5 km southwest of the Dulmi village. The site was mentioned by Cunningham (1872:186) when he was documenting the ancient water tanks and temple remains. Apart from ancient and new megaliths, a well-carved memorial pillar lies on the surface, just outside the burial complex.

Tetla All the graves seem to be ancient, since, no living tradition exists at this site. The slabs are so huge that instead of four vertical supporting posts, more than four broad stones have been used as supports. Hence, it seems to be a chambered dolmen. Such supporting stones resembling the orthostats of ancient dolmens are found in different parts of India. Most of the part of the mound has been disturbed by the local people. Many dolmens have no supporting stones as they have been disturbed due to robbing of cultural materials from the graves (Fig. 5).

Jethadih The site is located in Tamar Block. It is completely filled with both modern and old graves. Some of the new graves have vertical supporting slab added to the structure with name of the corpse and its ancestors. The mound can be divided in two parts and one of the portions of the mound is occupied by the villagers (used for thrashing and winnowing activities). Another interesting feature is presence of circular relics, which are identical to the relics of nearby Asura temples. It seems that, after driving out the Asuras from the region, the Mundas have used such stone relics, for burial purpose. Most of the Mundas follows post- cremation burial. Some of them bury complete body on the slope of mound and deposit the soil of grave under the Saasandiri.

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Dimra The site of Dimra in Tamar Block is located on the outskirt of Dimra village, on right bank of River Karkari, a tributary of River Subarnarekha. It has graves similar to those at previously mentioned sites. The eastern periphery of the site has the evidence of ancient Asura structural remains (Fig. 6). It indicates that, previously it was used by the Asura community and later on the Mundas have taken over the place.

Figure 5: Dolmens at Tetla (Sonahatu Block)

Figure 6: Structural Remains at Dimra

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Timpur The site is located near to the village of Timpur, on the left bank of Karkari River. It has many megaliths that are exposed due to soil erosion, and some of the potsherds can be seen on the surface.

Londra The site is located to the left bank of Karkari River. Most of the burials over the slope have only slabs. The supporting stones are missing. Graves above the mound have structure similar to Saasandiri, but the vertical posts have been replaced by broad stone bases.

Barrwa The site is located in village by the same name. Most of the megaliths have lost the supporting stones. Cinerary urns in the section are clearly visible. Interestingly, two types of game board; til-goti, a game board with cup marks in linear pattern (Fig. 7) and Pait (a rectangular game board) have been found on huge capstones (Fig. 8).

Diuri A small site is located on the right side of Diuri-Konkadih road in Tamar. Huge slabs are seen supported by four stones. Exposed sections of a megaliths show cinerary urn along with a small perforated vessel, probably containing offerings to the dead. The Mundas keep small earthen vessels filled with offerings, when they deposit the funerary remains under the megaliths.

Patarahatu The site is located on the hill slope on the right side of the Sonahatu-Silli road in . Some of the disturbed graves show the cinerary urn in the section.

Jhabri The site is located in the barren land on the right side of Silli-Sonahatu road. The site has mostly ancient burials and no sign of recent practices was observed here.

Sirkadih Sirkadih comes under Arrki Block, on left side of the Tamar-Arrki road in Khunti District. The megalithic site can be divided into two localities. Locality I is inside the village settlement. It has huge Saasandiri type dolmen, with cup marks in a linear pattern. Locality II is on the outskirt of the village adjacent to a cultivable land. It has cluster of old and new megaliths. The Mundas of Sirkadih practice the megalithic tradition at this locality. They follow the similar tradition, followed by most of the Mundas in modern times, and deposit the funerary remains after cremating the corpse. Old tombs are mostly buried under the ground.

Bandu Another site with typical Saasandiri type dolmens is located inside the Bandu village.

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Apart from ancient dolmens, some modern menhirs also have been erected with the name of dead person, including the date of birth as well as the date of death (Fig. 9).

Figure 7: Cup Marks at Barrawa

Figure 8: Game Board Seen at Barrawa

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Figure 9: Modern Memorial Stones with Names at Bandu

Bakuwadih A small mound is located near to the village Bakuwadih in . Saasandiri type of megaliths seems to belong to ancient period and no recent burial practice is prevalent on the site.

Menhir Sites These sites have Menhirs only. Either they are in cluster in same area or separately found in different localities inside and outside the village.

Baluwadih The site is located near the crop fields of village Baluwadih. All together 22 menhirs have been found. Some of these have fallen down in course of time. Three menhirs are standing in the middle of the site (Fig. 10). One of these is around 4 m tall. The whole site seems to be circular in fashion, bisected by the road. Three menhirs were also found inside the houses of villagers on the other side of the road.

Barsaldih Seven menhirs are located in village, Barsaldih. Most are small, but two menhirs are huge, standing straight with length of 2.5 to 3 m. The biggest one (Fig. 11) is erected outside the sacred groove of the village (Sarna). This menhir is worshiped as Buru bonga (spirit residing in the sacred mountains). Every year during the Buru porob, the

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Mundas worship the spirits residing in the sacred mountain. Since the village Barsaldih is away from any sacred hill, the villagers worship these menhirs as the representative of a sacred hill. The inhabitants of the village believe that, these menhirs are erected since the time of their ancestors.

Figure 10: Menhirs at Baluwadih

Figure 11: Menhir at Barsaldih

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Dirsir This site is inside a cultivated land in village Dirsir, on the right side of Sonahatu- Jamudaag road. Two menhirs (approx. 2 m tall) are standing together. Another small menhir is found standing isolated near a temple inside the village.

Dulmi II The site is located on the outskirts of village Dulmi. Total 17 fallen and standing menhirs, spreaded all over a barren land were documented. One of these was isolated on the other side of the road.

Figure 12: Menhir at Londra

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Dulmi III The village is located around 5 km southwest of Marchadih. Just four small menhirs have been found in different localities of the village. Different taboos are associated with the menhirs and there is restriction on touching them. Evidence of habitation site is found in form of potsherds in a small cultivated portion at backyard of a house of the village headman.

Londra A single menhir was found on the border of two hamlets, Barrwa and Londra in Tamar Block. It is locally known as Ni-Buru (a female spirit related to witchcraft, who should be appeased by worships on different occasions). Vermilion marks have been found over the menhir as a part of ritual performed by the villagers to appease this spirit (Fig. 12).

Dolmens and Menhirs These sites have both dolmens and menhirs, either in the same locality or different localities.

Nimdih The site is in Sonahatu Block and can be divided into two localities. Locality I has Saasandiri type of dolmens and Locality II has three small menhirs (approx. 1 m) standing in alignment. Both the localities are divided by a village road. The significant feature of Locality I is evidence of a charpoy used for funeral that shows the evidence of recent post-cremation burial.

Paramdih The site lies in Bundu Block, near the cultivated land on the outskirt of Paramdih village. The site has both old and modern Saasandiri type of megaliths along with eleven menhirs erected in circular fashion inside the adjacent cultivated land.

Jaranga The site comes under Arrki Block of the Khunti District. It lies near the cultivated land in Jaranga village, left of Tamar-Arrki road. The site can be divided into two localities. Locality I have 10 menhirs spread inside the cultivated land. Locality II has modern Saasandiri type dolmens and two ancient menhirs.

Discussion The exploration resulted in discovery of 28 new megalithic sites. Most of these sites have both modern and ancient megaliths on the same burial ground. In most of the villages, the Mundas follow the tradition of post-cremation burial and deposit a few selected bones inside the graves. In some villages, only nails are buried under the dolmen. In village Jethadih, the Mundas bury the whole body on the slope of the mound and deposit the soil of grave under dolmen along with grave goods like favourite articles of the dead, and offerings of rice, turmeric, coins, etc. In some of the

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villages, relics of ancient temples have been found inside the burial ground. All these villages are settled near the ancient temples that are attributed to the Asura community. Possibly, the Mundas have used the temple relics for burial purpose or they have created the burial ground, near to the temples. Some of the local myths mention that the burial grounds in the region, belongs to the Asura community, who erected similar megaliths.

The field observations revealed a few new aspects of Megalithism among the Munda community. Different concepts of erecting menhirs in different villages were noticed. In some villages, menhirs are considered as the bongas (deity). For instance, in village Barsaldih, they are considered as buru-bonga. In Londra, the menhir is considered as Ni-buru (a spirit of witchcraft). At Dirsir, megaliths are worshipped by villagers, before going for any court case, to assure their victory. Some taboos are also associated with menhirs. For example, in Dulmi village, near Adramhatu, there is restriction on touching the menhirs. In village Nimdih, three separately erected menhirs are believed to be erected for those who have committed some crime in the past. Though, such menhirs are not worshipped, these memorials are erected to appease the spirits in them, so that they do not harm the village inhabitants. In village Baluwadih, the menhirs are worshipped as both buru-bonga as well as ancestral memorials of the village inhabitants.

The megalithic custom of the Mundas seems to be varied in different localities, but it basically reveals the ancestral worship prevalent among them. It is believe that, erection of megaliths and mortuary rituals are necessary to appease the ancestral spirits and in some villages, the rituals are performed to appease the malevolent spirits as well. Since the Mundas are practicing post-cremation burials in most of the villages, it is difficult to find out what was their earlier burial custom. During exploration, it is observed that, some of the Mundas bury the dead body at separate places, and deposit the soil of the grave under megaliths. It is quite possible that earlier the Mundas perhaps buried the complete body under the megaliths.

Acknowledgements We are thankful to all the villagers for information about the locations of megalithic burials. We are thankful to Durga Charan Munda, a local inhabitant of village Jethadih, for narrating the burial custom as well as the myths about the megalithic sites. Our sincere thanks are due to Dr. Gurudas Shete for help in map work.

References Cunningham, A. 1872. Annual Report of Archaeological Survey of India. Indological Book Publication, Varanasi. Dalton, E.T. 1867. The Kols of Chotanagpur. Transactions of the Ethnological Society, London 6: 1-47. Dalton, E.T. 1872. Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal. Office of Superintendent of Government Printing.

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Dalton, E.T. and T.F. Peppe 1873. Rude Stone Monuments in Chutianagpur, Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal 42 (2): 112-119. Roy, S.C. 1912. The Mundas and their Country. Asia Publishing House, Bombay. Roy, S.C. 1915. Orientation of Grave Stones and Houses in Chotanagpur, The Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society 1: 277-280. Shekhar, H., K.A. Pawar and K. Yongjun 2014. Living Megalithic Tradition amongst the Munda Community of Jharkhand, Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 2: 720-741. Singh, S.K. 2005. Inside Jharkhand. New Delhi: Crown Publications. Topno, M. 1955. Funeral Rites of the Mundas of Ranchi Plateau, Anthropos 50: 715-734.

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