DenaDelamothe53 at 17:12, 18 January 2026

2026-01-18T17:12:29Z

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{{Short description|Ethnic group}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Juang
| image =
| image_caption =
| population = 47,095 (2011)
| total_ref = <ref name="census">{{cite web|title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/ST.html|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|publisher=Government of India|access-date=23 October 2017}}</ref>
| total_source =
| popplace = India<br/>[[Odisha]]
| languages = [[Juang language|Juang]], [[Odia language|Odia]]
| religions = [[Hinduism]] • [[Sarnaism]]
| related = [[Munda people|Munda]] • [[Ho people|Ho]] • [[Santhal people|Santhal]] • [[Austroasiatic languages|Mon-Khmer people]]
}}

The '''Juang''' are an [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] ethnic group found only in the Gonsaika hills of [[Keonjhar district]] of [[Odisha]]. Some ''Juangs'', however migrated to neighbouring plains of [[Dhenkanal district]] of Odisha during the Bhuiyan revolt in the late 19th century. The [[Juang language]] belongs to the [[Munda languages|Munda family]]{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} of the [[Austroasiatic languages]]. They are classified as a [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes|Scheduled Tribe]] by the Indian government.<ref name="census"/> The 2011 census showed their population to be around 50,000.

==History==
[[File:Juang.jpg|thumb|A sketch of Juang people in 1872]]
The Juang tradition claims that the place where the tribe originated is the Gonasika Hills, near Keonjhar, at the source of the [[Baitarani River]].<ref>[https://www.panoramio.com/photo/39117421 Gonasika Hill, near Keonjhar, origin of River Baitarani]</ref>
After the British declared their forests as reserves, the Juangs were forced to look for an alternative way of sustenance. They were skilled at basket-weaving, which was in demand in nearby caste villages. The Juangs would exchange their baskets for salt, oil, food, money from the village traders.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Forest tribes of Orissa : lifestyle and social conditions of selected Orissan tribes|last1=Naveen|first1=Patnaik|last2=Choudhury|first2=B.P.|last3=Seeland|first3=K.|last4=Rath|first4=A.|last5=Biswal|first5=A.K.|last6=Giri|first6=D.B.|publisher=D.K. Printworld|year=2007|isbn=9788124604151|location=New Delhi|oclc=49332310}}</ref>

== Culture ==
[[File:OpenSpeaks-Jun-Opino Gomango-Kshetrabasi Juanga-Short Introduction.webm|thumb|A native Juang speaker introducing himself in [[Juang language|Juang]] in 2025]]
Their traditional folk dance included vigorous dances mimicking birds and other animals.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/307013/Juang|title=Juang {{!}} people|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-10-23|language=en}}</ref> They celebrate festival such as Pusha Purnima, Amba Nuakhia, Pirha Puja, Akhaya Trutiya, Asarhi, Gahma etc.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scstrti.in/index.php/communities/tribes/91-tribes/171-juang|title=Juang|publisher=[[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute|SCSTRTI]]|access-date=22 October 2022}}</ref>

Formerly the Juang used to be also known as ''Patuas'', literally "leaf-wearers". Traditionally the women wore girdles of leaves,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140421064530/http://www.swan.ac.uk/visualanthropology/projects/003_Dalton/images/photo_33.jpg Colonel Edward Tuite Dalton - Lithographs & Plates - Juang girls]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.swansea.ac.uk/visualanthropology/projects/003_Dalton/images/photo_33.jpg|title=Lithographs and Plates - Juang girls|last=Dalton|first=Edward Tuite|website=University of Swansea|access-date=2017-10-23|archive-date=2016-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308063020/http://www.swansea.ac.uk/visualanthropology/projects/003_Dalton/images/photo_33.jpg|url-status=dead}}</ref> while the men wore a small loincloth.

===Language===
{{Pie chart
|label1= [[Juang language|Juang]]
|value1= 63.17
|label2=[[Odia language|Odia]]
|value2=35.45
|label3=[[Santali language|Santali]]
|value3=0.89
|other=yes
|caption=Mother tongue of Juang people (2011 census)}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Cite book |last1=Acharya |first1=Sabita |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFVutAEACAAJ |title=Ethnography of Juang Tribe Odisha |last2=Mohanty |first2=S. K. |date=2015 |publisher=Gyanajuga Publication |isbn=978-93-85798-44-3 |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |last=Dāśa |first=Rabinārāẏaṇa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=94DWAAAAMAAJ |title=Art and Culture of the Juang |date=1992 |publisher=Orissa Lalit Kala Akademi |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |last=Patnaik |first=N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SQM9AAAAMAAJ |title=The Juang |date=1989 |publisher=Tribal and Harijan Research-cum-Training Institute, H. & T.W. Department |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6gpzwEACAAJ |title=Forest Tribes of Orissa: The Juang |date=2002 |publisher=D.K. Printworld |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Sahoo |first1=Madhusmita |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Z-ToAEACAAJ|title=A Heritage of Tribes in India: Ethnic Diversity of the Juang Tribes |last2=Naidu |first2=T. Subramanyam |date=2017 |publisher=SSDN Publishers & Distributors |isbn=978-93-83575-07-7 |language=en}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Odisha]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Odisha]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Odisha]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Weaving communities of South Asia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in South Asia]]

Juang people - Revision history

DenaDelamothe53 at 17:12, 18 January 2026