Introduction :- 

The Ho people are an ethnic group of India. They are an Adivasi people group concentrated in the state of Jharkhand and Odisha, where they constitute around 10.5% of the scheduled tribes.

With a population of approximately 700,000 in the state in 2001, the Ho were the fourth most numerous scheduled tribe in Jharkhand after the Santhals, Kurukhs, and Mundas. Ho territory also extends to adjacent areas in the neighboring states of West bengal, where there are approximately 80,600 Ho, Chhatisgarh and Bihar.They also live in Bangladesh and Nepal.

The name is also applied to their language which is an Austroasiatic language closely related to Mundari. The total number of people speaking the Ho language was 1,040,000 as of 2001.

Over 90% of the Ho practice the indigenous religion Sarnaism. The majority of the Ho are involved in agriculture, either as land owners or laborers, while others are engaged in mining. Compared to the rest of India, the Ho have a low literacy rate and a low rate of school enrollment.

History :- 

In 1765, Chota Nagpur was ceded to the British East India Company as part of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa Provinces. The Raja of Singhbhum asked the British Resident at Midnapore for protection in 1767, but it was not until 1820 that he acknowledged himself as a feudatory of the British.

The restless Hos broke the agreement soon and took part in a fierce rebellion of 1831-33, called the Kol uprising, along with the Mundas.

The immediate cause of the Kol uprising was the oppression of Adivsis by non-Adivasi thikadars (literally meaning contractors) or farmers of rent. The Hos and Mundas were joined by the Kurukh and the houses of many dikku (non-Adivasis or outsiders) landlords were burnt and a number of people were killed. It compelled the British to recognise the need for a thorough subjugation of the Hos.

The uprising was suppressed with a good deal of trouble by several hundred British troops. While local troops quelled the uprising, another group under Colonel Richards entered Singhbhum in November 1836. Within three months all the ringleaders surrendered.

In 1857, the Raja of Porahat rose in rebellion and a sizeable section of the Hos joined in the revolt. Troops were sent who put an end to the disturbances by 1859.

Society :- 

• Language :-  Ho people speak the Ho language, an Austroasiatic language closely related to Mundari and more distantly related to languages of Southeast Asia such as Khmer and Mon. The Austroasiatic languages of India, including Ho, are inflected fusional languages unlike their distant relatives in Southeast Asia which are analytic languages. This difference in typology is due to extensive language contact with the unrelated Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. The phonology of Ho has also been influenced by the nearby unrelated languages. Ho is typically written in Devanagari, Latin, scripts. A native alphabet, called Warang Citi and invented by Lako Bodra in the 20th century, also exists.
• Culture :- Ho village life revolves around five main parab or festivals. The most important festival, Mage Parab, takes place in the late winter month of Magha and marks the completion of the agricultural cycle. It is a week-long celebration held to honor Singbonga, the creator god. Other lesser bonga ("deities") are also honored throughout the week. Baa Parab, the Festival of Flowers held in mid-spring, celebrates the yearly blossoming of the sacred Sal trees. Sohrai is the most important agricultural festival, the date of which usually coincides with the nationwide Diwali festivities in the fall. It is a village wide celebration with music and dancing held in honor of the cattle used in cultivation.
• During the ceremonies, the cows are painted with a flour and dye mix, anointed with oil and prayed over after a black chicken is sacrificed to an image of the cattle bonga. Baba Hermutu is the ceremonial first sowing. The date is set each year in the early spring by the deuri who also officiates the three-day ceremony by praying and commencing his first sowing of the year. Jomnama Parab is held in late fall before the first harvest is eaten to thank the spirits for a trouble-free harves
• Music and Dance :- Dance is important to Adivasi culture in general and for the Ho, it is more than simply a means of entertainment. Their songs are generally accompanied by dances which change with the seasons. Songs and distinctively choreographed dance are integral parts of Ho culture and art,[17][24] as well as important parts of their traditional festivals, especially Mage Parab. Most villages have a dedicated dancing ground, called akhra, usually consisting of a cleared space of hard ground under a spreading tree. Dances are organised on a staggered basis in the villages so that other villagers can participate. Traditional Ho music incorporates native instruments including a dama (drum), dholak, dumeng (mandar), and the rutu (flute).
• Religion :- 91% of the Hos declared that they professed "other religions and persuations", meaning that they do not consider themselves to belong to any of the major religious groups and follow their indigenous religious systems called "Sarna" or Sarnaism.
• Also known as sarna dhorom ("religion of the holy woods"), this religion plays an important part in the life of adivasi.Their beliefs in gods, goddesses and spirits are ingrained in them from childhood. The religion of the Hos resembles, to a great extent that of Santhals, Oraons, Mundas, and other tribal people in the region. All religious rituals are performed by a village priest known as a deuri. However, he is not required to propitiate malevolent spirits or deities. The spirit doctor deowa takes care of this.