Khonds

Khonds
A Khond woman in Odisha
Regions with significant populations
 India
Odisha1,627,486 (2011 census)[1]
Languages
Kui, Kuvi, Odia
Religion
Hinduism and some Christianity[2]
Related ethnic groups
Dravidian people  • Dangaria Kandha  • Gondi people

Khonds (also spelt Kondha and Kandha) are an indigenous Adivasi tribal community in India. Traditionally hunter-gatherers, they are divided into the hill-dwelling Khonds and plain-dwelling Khonds for census purposes, but the Khonds themselves identify by their specific clans. Khonds usually hold large tracts of fertile land, but still practice hunting, gathering, and slash-and-burn agriculture in the forests as a symbol of their connection to, and as an assertion of their ownership of the forests wherein they dwell. Khonds speak the Kui language and write it in the Odia script.

The Khonds are the largest tribal group in the state of Odisha. They are known for their rich cultural heritage, valourous martial traditions, and indigenous values, which center on harmony with nature. The Kandhamal district in Odisha has a fifty-five per cent Khond population, and is named after the tribe.

They are a designated Scheduled Tribe in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.[3]

  1. ^ "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". www.censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  2. ^ "ST-14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community - Odisha". census.gov.in. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  3. ^ "List of notified Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Census India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.

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