A culture rooted in land, season and song
The Kudumi people — also written Kudmi or Kurmi-Mahato — are a traditionally agricultural community of eastern India, living mainly across Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal, with communities in neighbouring regions as well.
Their way of life follows the farming year. Sowing, harvest and the rains are marked by festivals in which worship of nature, community singing and dance are woven together. Everyday speech, proverbs, riddles, tales and healing knowledge reflect a close relationship with the forest, field and village.
This page is a living guide to those traditions. It will keep growing with the help of the community.
The Shape of Kudumi Life
Six threads that run through the community’s culture.
People & Place
Villages across Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal. In Odisha, communities are found in districts such as Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundargarh.
Language
Kurmali (also called Kudmali) is the community’s mother tongue. Many families also speak Odia, Bengali or Hindi depending on the region.
Faith & Nature
Reverence for nature runs through ritual life. Many families follow Hindu practices alongside a tradition of nature worship, often described as Sarna.
Farming Life
Agriculture is the traditional occupation, and the festival year follows paddy cultivation from first ploughing to harvest.
Clans & Kinship
Society is organised into clans (gusti), each traditionally linked to a totem, which guide marriage and kinship.
Oral Heritage
Folk tales, proverbs, riddles, songs and healing knowledge are passed from elders to children by word of mouth.
A Calendar Written by the Seasons
Major festivals of the community. Dates follow the lunar calendar and differ by region.
Karam
One of the best-known festivals. A branch of the Karam tree is planted and worshipped for good harvest, health and the wellbeing of the family, with all-night singing and the Karam dances.
Jitiya (Jita)
A fasting and worship festival observed by women for the welfare of their children, accompanied by songs and community gathering and, in some places, special dances.
Durga Puja & Kathi Dance
In some Kudumi villages the festival season brings the stick dance known as Kathi or Mahada, performed with wooden sticks to drums.
Bandna
A major festival of thanks to cattle and the land, marked with devotional Bandna songs sung from house to house.
Tusu Parab
A harvest festival led by young unmarried girls, who set up and worship Tusu for a month, sing Tusu songs each night, and carry her in a decorated frame to be immersed in water on the last day.
Chait Parab & Others
Spring festivals, along with Bari Puja and local rites, complete the year. Add the festivals your own village keeps.
Where Memory Becomes Music
Much of what the community knows about itself is sung and danced.
Songs
Jhumur (Jhumair) is the central folk-song form, with countless poets and lyricists. The community also sings Tusu songs, devotional Bandna songs, wedding songs and ritual and everyday songs.
- Jhumur
- Tusu songs
- Bandna songs
- Marriage songs
- Karam songs
Dance
Dance forms include Nachni (solo or paired dance to Jhumur), Panta (group dance with many named styles), Kathi / Mahada (stick dance) and Chhau. Dance has traditionally enjoyed the patronage of village headmen and local rulers.
- Nachni
- Panta
- Kathi
- Chhau
Language
Kurmali is the mother tongue, with a vocabulary and character of its own. In performance and daily life it sits beside Odia, Bengali, Hindi and neighbouring tribal languages.
- Kurmali / Kudmali
- Odia
- Bengali
- Hindi
Folklore & Knowledge
Tales, proverbs, riddles, charms and traditional healing knowledge reflect the community’s habitat and its relationship with nature.
Listen & watchFrom Birth to Harvest
Rites for birth, marriage and death, the village shrine, the clan and the farming calendar together form the frame of community life.
- Birth rites
- Marriage customs
- Funeral rites
- Clan & totem
- Village shrine
- Decorative art
- Traditional food
- Dress & ornaments
Each of these deserves its own detailed article. We are building them one by one — and you can help by sharing what your family and village practise.
Share Your TraditionThe festival is not only a day in the calendar. It is how a village remembers who it is.— EDIT: replace with a saying or a quote from an elder
Glimpses of Kudumi Life
Photographs from festivals, villages and families.
- Leelabati Mohanta, article on the Kurmi-Mahato of Mayurbhanj, Odisha Review, January 2018.
- “Festival of Tusu: An Introduction”, Sahapedia.
- “Kudmi Mahato”, Bharatpedia (general overview; verify against primary sources).
Customs vary between villages and families. If your tradition differs from what is written here, please tell us.
There Is More to Discover
Go deeper into the history and society of the Kudumi people, or listen to the songs themselves.