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Ho is the name of a tribe, whose language is often called Hō-kājī, i.e. the language of the Hos. The Ho language speakers were enumerated as 383,126 in 1901. This language is significantly spoken in the Orissa Tributary States (Athmallik, Daspalla, Keonjhar, Morbhanj, Nilgiri, Pal Lahera), Singhbhum Chota Nagpur Tributary States (Sarai Kala, Kharsawan, Gangpur, Korea, Bonai, Sarguja), Bengal Presidency (Purnea, Angul and Khondmals), Central Province (Kalahandi), Assam (Cachar Plains, Sylhet, Kamrup, Darrang, Lakhimpur).
The Ho language is classified as a member of the Austro-Asiatic language family, which comprises of languages spoken especially in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and various parts of India . A research study of W. Schmidt suggests that Munda (Santali, Mundari, Ho, Kharia and others) speakers in India had their center in South-east Asia. According to the Eastern Route Theory or Austric Theory of Migration, the Hos came to India on an eastern route from South-China via Burma and Assam, possibly from Java, Sumatra, Bornia (Burunai), Island (Bandadipa) and Jambudwip (Jambudipa) where they inhabited in pre-historic period. In course of time, they migrated in the region of the river Sindhu and down towards Bindhyachal and then to the Chhotanagpur Plateaus long before the advent of Aryans and Dravidians in the Indian subcontinent. During the seventh and the seventeenth century, they migrated to their present area from north.
The Ho language is mutually intelligible with Mundari. Presently, major chunks of the population reside in Jharkhand. In erstwhile Bihar, the Census of India report 1991 has recorded 949,216 Hos in its list. The Hos are still in large number in West Bengal and Orissa and some of them settled in Assam during and before the British period. The present population of Ho tribe is, therefore, roughly said to be not less than 1,077,000 according to a conservative estimate, as they inhabit across the country including Orissa, West Bengal, Chattisgarh, Assam and Sikkim.
The Hos have affinity with the Mundas, Santals, Kharia, Asuri and Birhori. It is interesting to examine various names of different places in northern India named by these groups. These names were later pronounced with the mixed accent due to the influence of alien languages such as Sanskrit, Pali, Hindi, Urdu, English, etc. The Ho language was documented in Roman script in the beginning for official purposes.
The Ho language has been introduced through Devanagari script in Jharkhand, Oriya in Orissa and Bengali in West Bengal. In Jharkhand, Devanagari script is more realistic with certain modification. There are certain limitations in perceiving the exact pronunciation. However, Devanagari with minor modification can be used to record nearly exact pronunciation of a Ho word.
Shri Lako Bodra, a pioneer researcher amongst Ho linguists, established and regarded Barang Chiti as an ancient script of the Hos. He devoted his life for the development of the Barang Chiti script. The script is getting constant support in certain pockets of Tonto block near Jhinkapani. Independent researchers observed a great similarity between the script of the Indus Script and the Barang Chiti script.
The Hos are charming, simple and freedom loving people. Many of the Ho words originated from nature itself. Nature gifted and influenced their language and the way of life. Their language developed in close association with nature and living together with birds and beasts.
Earlier reference in different Sources: Some of the earlier references with regard to the development of the Ho language are as follows: Grammatical Construction of the Ho Language . The Aboriginal of Central India . Burmah, its people and Natural Productions . Outlines of Indian Philosophy . Report of the Ethnological Committee on paper laid before etc. The Ho Grammar was the first work done towards the development of Ho language. Lionel Burrow wrote the book in Roman script in 1915. On the Terminology of Relationship of the Hos of Kolkan . A comparative study of some measurements of the HOs . Problems and Prospects of the Jharkhandi Languages .
b) Significant levels/points of planning: The scripts of Roman, Devanagari and Barang Chiti have been used in the field of teaching and learning. In 1953, the department of Education, Government of Bihar set out instructions to all the Divisional Inspectors of schools. The government maintained that ‘the pupil-teachers whose mother tongue is other than Hindi should be given the option of maintaining their records in their mother tongue. In every junior Training School besides Hindi, a second mother-tongue as accepted in Government resolution no.645ER of the 10th August, 1953 should be invariably taught.’ The plan has been to provide education in their mother tongue at the primary level.
Since 1976, the Ho language is being imparted at intermediate and graduate courses in different colleges under the Ranchi University. The university opened a separate department named Tribal and Regional Languages in 1981.
In erstwhile Bihar, the Information and Mass Communication department regularly published Ho articles, folk stories, songs in devanagari script in a weekly named Adivasi Saptahik. The Tribal Research Institute conducted a Study of Ho Dialect .
c) Other: There are significant initiatives inculcated in development of Ho language. A pioneering work was started at Ete Turtung Akhara, Jhinkapani to study and develop the Ho language under the leadership of late Lako Bodra with the help of Adi Sanskriti evam Vigyan Sansthan. The institute published a book in 1963 entitled Ho Hayam Paham Puti in the Barang Chiti lipi script and introduced the letters of Barang Chiti, Kakahara.
Sindhu Surin reworked and propagated Owar Ankawa- a reformed script of barang chiti. This has been popularized and disseminated by the institution called Sindhu Jumur.
A. Pathak and N.K. Verma tried to compare the barang chiti lipi with the script of Indus valley in their book the Echoes of Indus valley. Sudhanshu Kumar Ray in his ‘Indus Script’ described that the script Barang Chiti resembles the script of Indus that was discovered by Ashok Pagal and Bulu Imam in the caves of Aswara hill near Baraka village.
The Tribal Research Institute conducted a Study of Ho Dialect .
Xavier Ho Publication, Lupungutu has been publishing a series of books in Devanagri script. Fr. John Deeney wrote Ho Grammar and Vocabulary in 1975.
The Tribal Research Institute conducted a Study of Ho Dialect .
4. Change of Status/Course due to important event like linguistic states reorganization: In post-independence era by state reorganization, Ho speaking region bifurcated and demography scattered into Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. Post independence state reorganization, therefore, was of little help in the development of Ho language.
The Tribal Research Institute conducted a Study of Ho Dialect .
A new state Jharkhand came into existence in November 2000. In its effort the state government has recently recommended Ho language to be included in the eighth schedule of the Constitution. There is hope in the initiative taken by the government as regard to the development of the Ho language in future.
The Tribal Research Institute conducted a Study of Ho Dialect .
The UGC has already recognized Ho as a language and literature.
The Tribal Research Institute conducted a Study of Ho Dialect .
The Ho is a sister tribe of the Munda tribal community. It is believed that Ho speakers were originally Mundas. In course of time, some fourteen to seventeen century A.D., they parted aside for unknown reason and migrated from Bandhgaon-Khunti region and settled down in Singhbhum.
The Tribal Research Institute conducted a Study of Ho Dialect . As Ho language closely resembles Mundari, the linguistic classification of studies on Ho language could not be separated. Prof. H.J. Pinnow derived a tentative grouping of the languages of the family in The Position of the Munda languages within the Austro-Asiatic Language Family .
I. Western Group (Nihali-Munda) A. West: Nihali B. East: Munda 1. North a. Kherwari (Santali, Mundari, Korwa, etc.) b. Korku 2. South a. Central: Kharia, Juang b. South-East: Sora, Gorum, Gutob, etc. II. Eastern Group (Khmer-Nicobar) A. West: Nicobarese B. East: Palaung-Khmer 1. West: Khasi 2. North: Palaung-Wa (Palaung, Wa, Riang, Lawa, etc.) 3. East: Mon-Khmer (Mon, Khmer, Bahnar, Sre, etc.) 4. South: Malacca a. Sakai b. Jakud c. Seman Ho language would be studied as a part of the Kherwarian group of language family.
The Ho language is being spoken in the districts of united Singhbhum in Jharkhand, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh in Orissa and Medanipur in West Bengal. The variation of the language cannot be ruled as of exchanges take place with several language groups.
II. STRUCTURE OF THE LANGUAGE III. LANGUAGE VARIATION IV. SCRIPT AND SPELLING V. SPEECH COMMUNITY VI. DEMOGRAPHY VII. LANGUAGE MANAGEMENT IX. LANGUAGE USE X. CULTURE XI. TECHNOLOGY XII. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
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