The Sora people

The Sora (alternative names and spellings include Saora, Saura, Savara and Sabara) are a tribe from Southern Odisha, north coastalAndhra Pradesh in India. They are also found in the hills of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The Souras are the second most prominent tribal community in the Rayagada district of Odisha and specific pockets of Koraput andGajapati districts. They are also present in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts. They are also sometimes called Lanjia Souras due to their dress pattern of wearing a loin cloth hanging from behind and which could be mistakenly identified as a tail by a stranger. They inhabit blocks of Gunupur, Padmapur and Gudari. Their highest concentration is found in the Puttasingi area, approximately 25 km away from Gunupur NAC. Although, they are close to the assimilation process, yet some interior GPs like Rejingtal, Sagada and Puttasingi have Souras who still retain their traditional tribal customs and traditions.

They are known by various names such as Savara, Sabara, Sora, and Soura. They are concentrated in parts of Gunupur adjoining to the blocks of Gumma, Serango of Gajapati district. The Saoras speak a Munda language. However, written language in Saora is not followed by all. They practice shifting cultivation, with a few gradually taking up settled agriculture. Like Dangaria Kandha they belong to Proto-Australoid racial stock.

They are endogamous and the clan, although absent, is related to Birinda, which is exogamous. Families are nuclear although joint or extended families are also found. Marriages are made by bride capture, elopement, and by negotiations.

The Sora people are a dwindling jungle tribe with a distinctive shamanic culture. According to an article in Natural History, "a shaman, usually a woman, serves as an intermediary between the two worlds [of the living and the dead]. During a trance, her soul is said to climb down terrifying precipices to the underworld, leaving her body for the dead to use as their vehicle for communication. One by one the spirits speak through her mouth. Mourners crowd around the shaman, arguing vehemently with the dead, laughing at their jokes, or weeping at their accusations.

Instead of clan organization they have their extended families called Birinda, which consists of descendants from a common ancestors of four to five generation. The Saoras' religion is very elaborate and deep rooted. They are polytheist and believe in large number of deities and ancestral spirits. They practice both Podu and terraced cultivation with varieties of cereals. Dance and music constitute part and parcel of their rich aesthetic life.

The Saora family is polygamous. The total household economy revolves around the woman member who is hardworking and who helps her husband in ploughing and harvesting crops in addition to attending household chores exclusively.