The Mundas

The Mundas are a tribal group living in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, Orissa and neighboring Bangladesh. They are divided into a number of clans called Kilis. The Mundas worship Sing Bonga, the Sun God. Mundas are usually seen embellished in a lion cloth with colored borders called ‘botoi’. During some special occasion they use a kind of silk belt called ‘Kardhani’. They cover the upper part of their body by a wrapper called ‘barkhi’. Women wear a long piece of cloth, called Puria. They decorate themselves with a large variety of jewelry made of brass, silver or gold. They tattoo their face, chin, arm, head and feet. This custom is called ‘Sanga’ in their language.