Global Warming- a concept well known to the Tribal people

By Sanjeev Shekhar

Contemporary humanity is pondering over the fast changing environmental conditions vis-à-vis global warming that has impacted life, the astonishing fact that deserves mentioning is, were the tribes of Jharkhand fully aware about such changes and had even felt the same in the days of yore? The answer is-Yes.
It is interesting to note that the ancient tribes of Jharkhand bears evidence of such narration and tales in their folklores, wherein there was fire-rain to destroy evil forces. Times of glaciations on the earth have followed by warm intervals and the duration of years of both cold and warm intervals has varied by several orders of magnitude.
Commonly known as “agni-warsha” (fire-rain), the experts working on this topic strongly felt that the planet Earth has passed through several warming phases as proved by different geological evidence, defying the thought and believe that the global warming is a recent phenomenon.
Geologist and expert in environmental studies Nitish Priyadarshi in his research has found that tribes of Jharkhand State have depicted in their folk tales that warming was a major factor of disaster in ancient times, which killed many people. It is not million years old, but it might have happened eight-ten thousand years from today. The tribes do not have any scientific way of presentation.
“They expressed global warming in the form of ‘fire-rain,’ which God showered from Heaven to destroy evil people,” he mentioned in his research. According to him tribes like Munda, Asurs, Marndis, Santhals & Ho have mentioned in their folk stories about ‘agni-warsha,’ to get rid of evil forces. The rising temperature of Earth has left the intellectuals confounded owing to which predictions and premonitions dominate human minds, whereas the trend is only the repeat of history that has already occurred in primordial days, Priyadarshi’s research read.
Singh-Bonga (the Sun God) had created the tribe called Munda (ancient tribe of India) owing to which they considered the Sun God as their deity. As per the folk tale among the Munda tribe, “It was long before the dawn of human history, the Earth was yet in its infancy. Sing-Bonga “the dreaded Lord of time” was seated on his throne of gold, engaged in happy converse with his heavenly consort. They were disturbed by the intolerable heat in the atmosphere.
Mundas complaint to Sing-Bonga that the heat was emanating from iron-smelting furnaces of the Asur tribe, one of the primitive tribes of Jharkhand. This heat was drying up streams, tanks and pools, and burnt vegetation. “We are dying of hunger and thirst. Nor do the birds of the air, nor the worms that crawl on the earth find any food to eat or water to drink,” Mundas told Sing-Bonga.
According to historical and anthropological studies, in ancient days Asurs the mighty tribe used to make arms manually by melting rocks rich in iron. Sing-Bonga sent warning to men on Earth through his servant bird ‘Kaua Bhandari’ (crow, the steward) & ‘Lipi-Susari’ (Lipi the cook). But mankind did not obey him. Sing-Bonga was enraged & showered below a terrible ‘rain of fire’ (agni-warsha) to destroy mankind".
Here rain of fire could be interpreted as scorching heat at that time, which affected human civilization, the research paper claimed. Rest of the tribes in the world have mentioned flood like ‘flood of Manu’ or ‘flood of Noah as destroyer of mankind. Munda is the only tribe that accepted fire-rain as destruction of evil, the paper read.
According to Santhal tribe of Bengal and Jharkhand, " when Pilchu Haram and Pilchu Budhi, the first man and Woman, reached adolescence, fire rain fell for seven days".
In Ho tribe of Jharkhand the myth of destruction of human kind is said to be based on the story, which tells that first people became incestuous and un-needful of God. ‘Sirma Thakoor,’ or ‘Sing-Bonga,’ the creator destroyed them by fire.
In another story when social distinctions were assigned to the various tribes, the Marndis were not taken into consideration by the society of that time. Ambir Singh and Bir Singh, two members of that tribe hailing from mountain area were enraged with this slight, and they prayed for fire from Heaven to destroy other tribes. Fire fell and devastated the country, destroying half the population. The home of Ambir Singh and Bir Singh was made out of stone, so they escaped unhurt.
However, experts held that more research is required about the ancient tribes to understand cryptic tale of folk-lores. Throughout the history of different ancient tribes of India, there are numerous similar examples of the effect of warming or climate change on the mankind.
Dry dust is blowing,
The earth o’erflowing,
Grey mist doth cover
The sky all over,
No rains on earth we get…...(as per Mundari folklore)


Mundari original folklore below-

Sing-Bonga Raja Devi Kunwari,
Kaji Kedh geh, kirdh bakmund,
Kedh geh kir,
Aaben hele tabu lundh chere lokhon,
Aaben hele tabu, bovo chere kajru,
Aabubwa dishum reh, aabubwa gamawa reh,
Aaeem bête k-wa duku aadh balay tana,
Baroh bhai hasur koh, tero bhai devta ko,
Nindh singhi koh sipudh tan geh doh,
Aelundh tan geh do, eeur tan geh doh,
Ubal-bah pu-khuri, aanjedh tan geh doh,
Ta-rdri ba badel road tan geh doh…

Hindi translation of the above folklore:-

Hey bhagwan, Raja Devi Kumari,
Bhangwan ne kaha, bhagwan ne bataya,
Hey bhai Lokon Lung Pakshi,
Hey Kajru Woh Cho Pakshi,
Apne Desh mein, Apni Duniya mein,
Hamein bahut dukh ho raha hain,
Hamein bahut kastha ho raha hain,
Ekashi Tarh mein, Terahsi Maidan mein,
Barah (12) Bhai Asur, Terah (13) Bhai Devta,
Raat-Din phoonkh rahen hain,
Raat-Din Dhowkh rahen hain,
Hamein Aanch Lag Rahi Hain,
Hum Jhu-lush Rahein Hain,
Kamal phool ki pokri,
Kumud phool ki bawli,
Sukh Rahi Hain, Tup Rahi Hain…

Sanjeev Shekhar