Manda

Manda (India) (ISO-639-3 code: mha, Glottocode: mand1413)

The People

Manda is one of the many languages that are spoken in Odisha. The Manda population which is about 4000 is found in the Kalahandi district of Odisha, India. The population is largely concentrated in villages namely, Kathakura, Pokra, Koshabora, Godra, Dakuta, Moska, Birikot, Gopalpur, Darla, Bissamgiri, Ranipodar, Kumarkani, Domerpodar, Kosavora, Chatrang, Bolangi, Mutachova, Semelpodar, Ramganji, Tesiguda, Dabriguda, Champichuva, Indira Colony, Kanigma, Jamguda, Duliguda of Thuamul Rampur block, Kalahandi Distict.

The Language

Manda language is spoken by less than 4000 speakers and it is a member of the South-Central sub-group of the Dravidian family, is considered to be one of the endangered languages in India. The community of the language is called as Kondh community. The Kondh word is derived from the Telugu word Konda which means Mountain or Hill, outsiders refer to them as Kondh-Parjas. The community people live in the highlands of Thuamul Rampur and they are bilingual having proficiency in their mother tongue as well as Odiya.

Religion and Occupation

Hinduism is a common belief practice of the community. This Kondh tribe (30-40 years back) has changed from the traditional way of living by hunting to working in agricultural fields, animal formation, and wage labors. Tuki is regarded as the main festival of the Kondh-Parjas. The festival took place in the month of mid-October when the mother earth is being worshipped.

The Present work Presently, an attempt to document to produce 1. Manda-Odia-English Trilingual Dictionary, 2. An Ethnolinguistic Sketch of Manda, 3. Ethnography of Manda (Video Documentation), 4. Manda Phonetic Reader, 5. Manda Sketch Grammar, 6. Manda Metadata Creation for Data Archive is undergoing.