Saora

The 'Saora' or 'Savara' is a great ancient tribe. They are not only numerically important but also historically and culturally signifacnt tribe of the state. They have been mentioned quite frequently in Hindu mythology and ancient classics, epics, puranas and various other scriptures. Especially in Odisha, they have been very intimately  associated with the cult of Jagannath, who accordingly a legendary tradition originated as a tribal deity and later brought to Puri  under royal patronage. The tribe is called as various names as 'Saura',  'Sabara', 'Sahar', 'Saur', 'Sora' etc and has their racial affinity with the proto-Australoid stock, which is dominanat among the aborigins of the central and southern India. They are widely found all over the central India comprising the states of Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra and west Bengal. The term 'Saora' appears to have two connotations, one derived from the  'sagories', the scythian word for axe, and the other from saba Roye, carrying a dead body. Both of them fit well with their habit of always carrying an axe over their shoulder and their primitive occupation of hunting and living on the spolls of chase. They speak an ancient Mundari dialect that called as  'Sora'. It is an uncultivated language, and has no recognized standard. It varies considerably not only between  villages, but also within individuals, says Rammurty, the authority of Saora language. It belongs to the Austric form of languages to which Mundari belongs. Their are no doubt poetic themes in the language. Verrier Elwin says: 'The Saora who give the impression of being rather  matter of fact and prosaic are surprisingly picturesque and metaphorical in their speech'. Recently a script has been invented for this language. In appearance the Saora resembles the other pre-Dravidian tribes. They are distinguished by their characteristics style of dressing especially the long ended loin cloth of males about six feet long and about ten inches in breadth that hangs at the front and back - the rear end beinglonger than the front end. This may be plain or may be decorated with red tassels at the ends. Occassionally a man wears a single necklace of beads. The traditional wear of a Saora woan is a waist cloth with gray boarders which hardly reaches the knees. In chilly weather the women used to cover their upper part of the bodies with another clothes. These clothes are woven by Dom weavers from the yarn, hand spun by the Saora themselves.