Preliminary Report of the Exploration in Ranchi and Khunti Districts, Jharkhand
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Preliminary Report of the Exploration in Ranchi and Khunti Districts, Jharkhand 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 Khunti District and southeastern part of Ranchi District. 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 Sonahatu Block. 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 Tamar Block 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). 256 Shekhar and Joglekar 2015: 255-269 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. 257 ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 3: 2015 • 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.