Page 4 TribeThey . anOdiaspeakingcultivating of are tribelargely concentratedinsouthOdisha. OMANATYA also calledasOmanatyo, Amanatya, INTRODUCTION Omanaito, Omaito is a numerically smallScheduled Omanaito, Omaitoisanumerically sustenance. sotheylook afterthem, for tooktoagriculture Shri Ram was there went toheaven, nooneto ShriRam lord Ayodhya council of at and after theirancestorwasthat aministerintheroyal principality. totheirlegends According they claim meaning aministerintheancientIndian popular traditionalname, The name"Omanatya" isderived from the amanatya , or , amatya silver and gold ornaments designedby ornaments silver andgold thelocalgoldsmiths. wear well todofemales but from localmarket bybrass andaluminium, purchasing madeof ornaments over theirhair. andmundaphul Poor chipna anddimsui, finger and paujiintheirleg among themuse intheirwrists,glass bangles antadorinwaist intheir ankleandjhuntia painriandgodabala andpahud, khaduand (tad)intheirarms, asilver armlet gunaintheirnasalseptum, dandi, phasia intheirearhelix, Theyadhulimali andtakamali. wear orbrassnolisandphulisintheears, kanphulintheirearlobes, gold like, beadandcoinnecklaces coloured sukimali, kanthimali, themselves withvarieties of alsoadorn Females aswomen usebothhandloomandmillmadesariswithsayawhere etc. andblouse. banianandshirts Maleswear lungi, theirneighbouringcastes. , of that resembles pattern Their andOrnaments Dress for 1000males. females The sex was ratio 998 is10.20%. female literacy is39.02%and male literacy was which 21.20%outof according to2001census literacy Their level of females. (49.96%) were (50.04%) and11672 males 11692were which wasState outof 23364, their totalpopulationinthe According to2001census Koraput andNowarangpur. concentrated indistrictsof They mainly are Population &Concentration women. by theformer Gondorothercommunity Bhotoda, of child to betheillegitimate intotwo isdivided endogamous sectionscalled The community bodo (big) and sano (small). The latter issaid Thelatter (big)andsano(small).

Page 5 Page 6 fashion. Themenalsowear nolisintheirears. fashion. (jhonti) doneby theirown inthepastisnow women outof artisans Young womenw andmarried girls ear coloured glass bangles. Tattooing bangles. glass ear coloured while keeping distancefrom otherethnicgroups. life live hamletsbyusually inseparate of maintainingtheirculturalidentitythrough traditionalpattern The Omanatya live inheterogeneous They villages keeping socio-economictieswithothercommunities. SETTLEMENT &HOUSING

Page 7 Page 8 they construct a small shed to accommodate theirlivestock. they asmallshedtoaccommodate construct verandah theirrear of Inonecorner one isusedaskitchen. theother whereas theirgrains roomas living andtostore used ventilation. Thebigger theentranceisusually oneat two rooms andhasnowindows Itconsistsof for soil. black with isplastered verandahs which bothinfront andback plastering itsboarderswithredsoil.Thehousehas dung pasteandthewalls decoratedby beautifully are with cow plastered thehousesare The walls of andfloor madetiles(khapar). orcountry withpirigrass thatched wall androof andfloor madewithmud Their housesare a wideopenspaceasvillage-street. flowingare toprovidethemdrinkingwater. leaving inclusters They theirhousesinalinearpattern construct onhillslopesor located usually Their settlementsare foothills where waterfoothills where like hillstreams perennial sources They keep astonediscontheircourtyard thespices. togrind their wooden mortar andpestle ( their wooden mortar room theirliving theyfront verandah. Attheentranceof keep ashoes, ploughsandyokes kept the are at implements such Theiragricultural room. theliving also hungonthewalls of Their huntingweapons like bows, arrows, andaxes are spears Theynear theirhearth. hangtheirclothes, onabamboopole. they inthekitchen keep wares vessels which andgourd earthen mats, bamboobaskets, winnowing fan, tin lampsandlanterns; They possessscantyhouseholdassetslike pots, somealuminum paurani SOCIAL LIFE ) for huskingthegrains. Choudhury. Pakhna Majhi, Pujari, and Omanatya, Pradhani, They like usesurnames dudh mankar(monkey),(dog), (pumpkin), kumuda (tortoise), (tortoise), / kachhap (tiger), bagh as; (bansa) such exogamous totemisticsepts is dividedintoanumberof again (little orsmall)which i.e. Bado(big)andSano two endogamous sections The tribeisdividedinto (milk), nag sila sua (stone),etc. (cobra), (parrot), kachhima kukur

Page 9 Page 10 woman etc. exposure tovisitcrematoria, tolunarandsolareclipses istabooed egg, wine( country they pre-delivery pregnancy observe During 7thmonthof Pregnancy and privileges asason. onenjoys thesamerights later heir who gharjoian havingnomaleissuesadoptsa A sons. downbreaks of aftermarriage gradually found intheirsocietywhich extended are orjointfamilies Few casesof andpatrilineal. patriarchal nuclear, ismostly organization patrilocal, Their family-thebasicunitoftheirsocial (resident son-in-law) orany son-in-law) male (resident & Childbirth mohuli ) andtobacco( LIFE CYCLE nasa ) forillomens.Thepregnant easydelivery andtoavert sukhaprusab puja sukhaprusab by , arua offering to keep the new born baby thenewborn to keep warm. set inabroken ware earthen (entudi)isignited and purificatory riteiscompleted.Duringthistimefire baby themotherandnew born tillthe of care tostayThe sutranicontinues withthemothertotake with astone. wrapped withsialileaves andthepitiscovered (uchhana) outsidethedoorstep and disposedoff usingaknife iscutoff Thenaval chord the child. community They engage (sutrani)from amidwife theirown and the are given bath. aceremonial and themotherare wares thrownusing cow-dung are Alltheusedearthen paste. away withnew Thebaby andreplaced ones. They /handibaura isobserved. pairtheirnails, theirhousewithwater clean andwalls andpolishthefloor ritehaudibaulu thepurificatory tillthenaval isdriedanddropped. Afterthat pollutioncontinues cord Birth to assistthemotherfor easydelivery of

Page 11 Page 12 offer cookedoffer food toothers. andfestivals andto toobserve istabooed family pollutionthe During birth the housefor purification. the familymembersandinside it withwater hesprinklesitover and aftergrindingmixing barks rite. Hecollectsmango overpresides thepurificatory Their traditionalpriest Disary of age. of the baby oneyear attains piercing isconductedafter Ear piercingandnose are conducted onthisday. feeding cereal ceremony andthefirst After thisthetonsure thefamily. of ancestors uttering thenamesof rice divinationmethod by through the theDisary ceremony conducted giving day, thename they observe theninth On theevening of talk tothemalepersons. tolookor herlineage andsheistabooed an experienced woman of sheislooked afterby seven days duringwhich room for aperiodof issegregated inan isolated Thegirl menarche. attaining herfirst rite( puberty observes The community Puberty yubatman ) for adolescentgirl liquor. vegetarian withcountry feast evening hostsa non thefamily Inthe and cosmeticstothegirl. new alsopresent cloths relatives Thevillagers . and by newpresented her clothes pasteandwears and turmeric purificatory bathanointingoil shetakes where stream, friends goestothenearesthill accompaniedbythe girl hergirl theeighthday, of On thedawn

Page 13 Page 14 in theirsociety. levirate, cash andkinds. Junior , juniorsororate, of widower permitted anddivorcee are brideprice(jhola) isprevalent andispaidbothin The customof isbarren. thefirst towhere resorted very rare. are capture, by which outand elopementandby is notaltogether ruled service by are by acquiringaspouse.Othermodesof service, modeof ismostprestigious negotiation andmonogamyAdult iscommonamongtheOmanatya. They marriage, regard through arranged daughterinmarriage. uncle's tothematernal claim being thegeneral rule, amanhasthe first grows. hismoustache The boy is consideredadultwhen Marriage Then a is sought for him. Then abrideissoughtforCross- him. marriage celebrated elaborately amidstdancingandsinging. celebrated elaborately liquor andthemarriage is alongwithcountry feast bypresented thefather-in-law. hostsa Thebride'sparty upinnewThen thenewly coupleisdressed clothes married over them. while thewomen water throw withturmeric ricesmeared together bridewiththegroom tie, inmarriage of the fingers On themarriage altertheirtraditionalpriestthedisarilinks village inaprocession. On thewedding day, thebridegroom isconductedtobride's proposal sisterandthemarriage isfinalized. unmarried each paddy, forthebride'smother andonefor aclothe bangles, liquor, country amountsajarof somerice, is fixed which thebrideprice(jholla) thebrideafterwhich to thefriendsof home withsomesweets andsomemoney asapresentation amahal keria issent to thebride's (mediator) day onwhich the proposal theirpriestdisarifixes isaccepted anauspicious If proposal. themarriage with somesweetmeats toputforth marriage,In negotiation visitbride'shome groom's parents

Page 15 Page 16 to kinsfolk, guestsandrelatives. to kinsfolk, feast hosts marriage groom's family The thegroom. the shoulderof Then thebrideiscarriedtohomeon theyafter that inthestream. bath and guestsandrelatives, kinsmen, water thrown are around by their andturmeric mud festival, inwhich The next day kado they observe village entrance, water thegroom's mother sprinklesturmeric over thenewly wedded The couple. The next day thebrideisledtogroom's houseaccompaniedwithherfriendsandrelatives. Atthe entry intothehome. entry they around go polesbefore seven timesthesacred afterwhich ends; couplewith the cloth the married disari ties barrenness etc. or serious diseases, impotency maintenance, from suffering relationship, poor alcoholism, cruelty, extra-marital maladjustment inconjugal life, mis-understanding or of her spousefor thereason candivorce his/ either and ispermitted Divorce is attached tothegirl. is attached Then afeastishosted.Nostigma by isheldtightly thewomen. which pouring water onthemahulpost, ceremony endsbymarriage brought The tothepandal. in thecourtyard.The brideis leaves placed andmango turmeric and tiedwithseven sheaves of etc kajal, withvermilion, adorned post toamahultree ismarried girl the marriage isprevalent inwhich In theirsocietyasystemofpseudo other divorce isallowed. compensation bridepriceisobligatory.repayment of No thehusband, wife If tabooed. houseis food others andwater from each community byDivorce adjudicated casesare their council. After divorce,council. taking

Page 17 Page 18 pots withnew ones.Ontheeleventh feast. day, withacommunity ceremony isobserved thepurification cooking shave theearthen members and replace thepollutionperiod thebereaved family At theendof to othersaretabooed. sexual ritualsandfestivals, food andwater unionandoffering of foods, , observance worshiping of Theirkinsfolk provideperiod. food for thebereaved family. onnon-vegetarian Duringthisperiodrelishing theirprofession duringthis doesnotcook foodandpursue fortendays andthefamily continues Mourning posture keeping theheadtowardssleeping After north. theyleaves Duringcremation etc. in placethecorpse walking andsometobacco used utensilsumbrella, stick like materials it onacotwithallthedeceased'spersonal placing thedeadtocrematoria own carry community belongingtotheir with anew andthepalbearers cloth they Afterthat paste andcastoroilbathed. cover it and kinsfolk assemble, thedeadisanointedwithturmeric Afteralltherelatives toallotherrelatives. and afterthat tothedeceased'ssister'shouse news issentfirst The death andvillagers. members to family spiritsorghostsandcauseharm intoevil be transformed those, tofulfill andinorder they desires unfulfilled might soulsmighthave some they thedeparted believe that tobedevoured bynail neartheheart, thewildbeasts, as thrown are the corpses away inthejungle, aniron piercing smallchildren suicide, of death accident andpremature birth, andchild smallpox, pregnancy bite, tiger attack, by occurred deaths unnatural snake Incaseof their dead. They andcremation todisposeoff practicebothburial Death husbandry, forest collection, hunting, fishing and khali stitching etc. husbandry, andkhalistitching hunting, forest fishing collection, theirsubsistence economy.Settled cultivation isthemainstay of Itissupplementedby wage animal earning, LIVELIHOOD

Page 19 Page 20 streams. Theystreams. alsoraisesugarcane, tobacco, They tocultivate paddy prefer by irrigated nearthehillslopes, intheirwet landslocated hill perennial gram), gram), kangu, janna kangu, kolthi (horse gram), kating, oil seeds such as kating, oilseedssuch gram), (horse , spices like ginger and turmeric in their high and dry lands. intheirhigh anddry spiceslike, ginger andturmeric padadhan tila (nizer), (nizer), (hillpaddy), maize, pulseslike rasi andgrow minormilletsi.e. kandul, biri kandul, ragi, kueri ragi, (black , garden. green leaves intheirkitchen ladiesfinger and (colacasia), jhata (gourd), garlics They grow onions, chilly, potatoes, (cucumber), (cucumber), (pea), brinjal, brinjal, (pea), kumuda jhudung, baragudi patalghanta (pumpkin), (tomato), kakudi , saru lau

Page 21 Page 22 nets andtraps, bows including andarrows for huntingpurposes. baskets, rope, stringcots,knife, storingpotsmadeof also own the They and occasionalhunting. They outfishing alsocarry make theirown tools.They ploughsandagricultural They cow, rear bullocks. rearing They sheep, notpigsintheirhouses. buffalo, goat, but fond poultry of are barsi , screwdriver,, plough, sickles, mashrooms, honey,mashrooms, leaves, green fruits, produce roots like and tubers, edible They seasonalforest collectvarieties of household chores. husbandry, besidestheir fishing, cultivation, animal of in thefield the year. Women substantially contribute throughout medicinal herbsfromthejungle kanda salap ankudi and varieties of wild andvarieties of jhuna , kodi straw and other earthenware vessels, smallfishing strawandotherearthenware baunsa , , lac kodal , salap

, karadi katuri juice, , etc. Their implements include cane Theirimplements include etc. , , RELIGIOUS BELIEFS&PRACTICES cigarettes. smoke handmade alcoholic drinksand and womenconsume eggs etc.Bothmen and chicken pork, relish onmeat,fish, They cereals. staple their and ragiare vegetarians. Rice non Omanatya are Food habits

Page 23 Page 24 by females. yatra, akhi yatra, Their majorfestivals are gunia doctorcalled localwitch the helpof onestheygratify theseevil resort to In order diseases andmishaps. they thinkcause and ghostswhich benevolent andmalevolent spirits They believe inexistence of Theirhouseholddeity, nature. other deitiesof Theirpantheonincludes allHindufestivals. and observe Omanatya profess sarhul paroba chait Phagun, dangarpuja jatra magha Pusa, laxmipuja balijatra , Asin, dasara inBhodua, guluchinua, amus inSravan . in Chaitra. in

muthi , Magusira amnua, bisu sikar , in Baisakh, inBaisakh, dhan nua/nuakhia in with admixture of animism. They animism. andgoddesses of alllocalHindugods worship Hinduism withadmixture and Magh , puspunia in mahulnua , holiin gamha, Kartik, kandul and in in , , istadevi is installed in a corner of their kitchen and isworshiped theirkitchen of isinstalledinacorner thakurani, chamaria devta chamaria thakurani, , dangerdevta andmany Dom musicians. provided by music dance withthetuneof Bothmenandwomen singand parab etc. ceremony, chait pusapunia, onvarious occasionslike festive perform nach chera chera junia nach, kutnigeet geet, as folk songssuch tradition of oral They theirrich have preserved hislife. for thread therestof the sacred At marriage, rituals. aOmanatya assumes andcommunity theirfamily who perform Pujari and disari aretheirsacredspecialists andtheirfolk dancei.e. SOCIAL CONTROL which they which chait parab chait through nomination. where asthepostof ( and other officebearersare and naik bhat naik, Dom community.Theof offices the council ( the regional council isheadedby and naik, Thevillage . customary levelregional tohandletheir village levelboth at andin council traditional community The Omanatya hasitsown barik bhat naik bhat disari disari ) who is appointed from) isappointed who , andamessenger, are hereditary / / kul naik, pujari kul naik, kul naik Desh barik pujari . The ), by), is

Page 25 Page 26 The community councilisempoweredThe community topunishtheguiltyby anddivorce affairs. ancestral property rape, totheft, of pregnancy, premarital casespertaining disputes, andpartition incest, adjudicates family and from othercommunities girls for (cow getting of causing go-badha orkidnapping sores, death) The community council arranges councilarranges The community their rituals, and community feast. their rituals, festivals andcommunity tothesocietyby Italsoorganizes may afeast. return offering andtheoffender for socialnorms breaking meetings tosettlesocialdisputesanddealswithcases cashorcantake penal action like excommunication of excommunication, of cultural, economic and religious spheres. economicandreligious cultural, political, intheirsocial, witnessed intheirevery thesechanges are Onecanfind life. walkchanges of nineties.They by witnessedsincetheearly alsoinfluenced macro level thecountry are that itandtherefore their culturalidentity. with theprideof andlive change of negative impact of donot becomevictims they sothat resources of utilisation optimum throughsustainability and attainmentof development insitu They needthe looked afterby various development agencies like DRDA, ITDA etc. theirdevelopment being SouthOrissa, Tribal aspects are isconcentrated in population of SubPlanarea their of theOmanatya. Asbulk of intheway life plannedchanges of have effected the mainstream Various developmental programmes introduced by toupliftthetribalsbring thetribalsto government Like many thesocietyof tribalsocietiesinIndia, CHANGE &DEVELOPMENT orientation aspirations andvalue style, intheirlife change Theybehind. experiencingare sectorhasnotbeenleft rural sector growth thetribaland totheurban largely accrued process haveglobalisation While thebenefitsof Omanatya isin a state of flux for the rapid changes at the at for therapid changes flux of a state

Page 27 202 Population Profile of Scheduled Tribes in Orissa

OMANATYA

1. Location (Major) : Koraput, Nowrangapur 2. Language : Oriya (Indo-Aryan) 3. Major Occupation : Settled Cultivation, Hunting, Fishing, Wage earning, Forest Collection. 4. Major Festivals & Rituals : Pus Purnima, Magha Jatra, Am nua, Amus, Dasara, Diwali, 5. Religion : Autonomous Tribal Religion 6. Other Distinct Socio-Cultural Features : The Omanatya settlements are uniclan and homogeneous. In heterogeneous villages they live in separate hamlets. Family is mostly nuclear, patrilocal; patrilineal and patripotestal. A few cases of extended families are found in their society. The community is divided into two endogamous sections i.e. Bado and Sano which again is divided into a number of exogamous totemistic septs viz.-Bagh (Tiger), Nag (Cobra), Kachhap (Tortoise), Sua (Parrot), Kumudu (Pumpkin), Kukur (Dog), Mankar (Monkey), Dudha (milk), Sila (stone), etc. Family is generally monogamous but polygyny is not altogether prohibited. Marriage through negotiation is commonly practised. The custom of is prevalent among them which is paid both in cash and kind. Remarriage of , widowers, divorcees and junior levirate and sororate are permitted. Cross is prevalent. Other modes of marriages are by service, capture and which are becoming very rare now-a-days. They observe death pollution for ten days and the purificatory rites on the tenth day. The Omanatya community has its own traditional council headed by Kul Naik whose office is hereditary. The regional head is called Naik or Bhat Naik. The other office bearers are Pujari and Dissari, the religious functionaries. They have preserved the rich tradition of their popular folk dance. 7. Selected Demographic Profile and Parameters : Sl.No. Parameters Census Year 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 1 Population Total 14365 17671 19465 25915 23364 28736 Male 7055 8710 9658 13415 11692 14204 Female 7310 8961 9807 12500 11672 14532 2 Decadal Growth Rate 23.01 10.15 33.14 - 9.84 22.99 3 Sex Ratio 1036 1029 1015 932 998 1023 4 Literacy Rate Total 3.20 5.20 8.20 13.53 21.20 36.27 Male 6.33 10.20 15.47 22.22 39.02 48.63 Female 0.22 0.38 1.09 4.09 10.20 24.30 5 Workers Total Workers Total 9152 7317 10865 14527 12597 15112 Male 5162 5750 6589 8536 6830 8128 Female 3990 1567 4276 5991 5767 6984 Main Workers - - 8070 12357 6322 7514 Marginal Workers - - 2795 2170 6275 7598 Population Profile of Scheduled Tribes in Orissa 203

6 WPR 63.71 41.41 55.82 56.06 53.92 52.59 7 Martial Status Never Married 5476 7589 8434 10601 10500 - Married 7773 9194 9440 13702 11079 - Widow 984 782 1354 1355 1559 - Divorced or Separated 128 88 223 257 226 - Un-specified 4 18 14 - - - 8 Dependency Ratio 0.95 : 1 1.31 : 1 0.66 : 1 0.65 : 1 0.81 : 1 - 9 * Child Population Population 4768 6796 1955 4965 4202 5152 Ratio to Total Population 0.33 : 1 0.38 : 1 0.10 : 1 0.19 : 1 0.18 : 1 0.18:1 10 ** Population in the working age group 7379 7655 11754 15728 12884 -

* Child Population for 1961 & 1971=0-14 yrs, For 1981 = 0-4 yrs, For 1991 & 2001 = 0-6 yrs ** Working Age Group Population for 1961 & 1971=15-44 yrs, For 1981, 1991 & 2001=15-59 yrs DISTRICTWISE DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION (1961 - 2011) Sl.No. Name of the Old & New District YEAR 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 12 3 4 5 6 789 1 Balasore Balasore - - - 80 231 13 2 Bhadrak - - - - - 0 3 Bolangir Balangir - - 23 63 - 3 4 Sonepur - - - - 38 0 5 Cuttack - - 01 - 6 2 6 Jagatsinghpur - - - - 2 0 7 Jajpur - - - - - 0 8 Kendrapara - - - - - 16 9 Dhenkanal Dhenkanal - - 01 114 - 0 10 Anugul - - - - - 0 11 Ganjam Ganjam 01 377 236 04 42 79 12 Gajapati - - - - - 0 13 Kalahandi Kalahandi 04 - 03 50 24 9 14 Nuapara - - - - 31 24 15 Keonjhar Keonjhar - - 12 29 - 0 16 Koraput Koraput 14145 17245 18792 24489 13504 17463 17 Malakangiri - - - - 83 114 18 Nowrangapur - - - - 8975 10745 19 Rayagada - - - - 5 6 20 Mayurbhanj Mayurbhanj 112 - 08 55 194 147 21 Phulbani Kandhamal 103 49 140 382 152 74 22 Boudh - - - - - 0 23 Puri Puri - - 40 83 - 0 24 Khurda - - - - 10 1 25 Nayagarh - - - - - 29 26 Sambalpur Sambalpur - - 56 319 - 0 27 Baragarh - - - - - 11 28 Deogarh - - - - 15 0 29 Jharsuguda - - - - - 0 30 Sundergarh Sundergarh - - 153 247 52 0 Total 14365 17671 19465 25915 23364 28736 Source : Census of ' 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 & 2011