Saora Tribe

Current Context : Recently, Saora tribals of Gajapati district of Odisha got habitat rights over their ancestral lands.

• Odisha has become the only state in the country to provide such rights to the highest number of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs).
• Saoras have become the fifth tribal group in the state to get the rights.
• The district-level committee in Gajapati under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) approved habitat rights for the Saora community covering 128 villages in Mohana and R Udayagiri blocks.

Apart from Odisha, Madhya Pradesh has given habitat rights to Bharia PVTG and Chhattisgarh government to Kamar and Baiga PVTGs.

ABOUT  SAORA TRIBE

• Saora is one of the ancient tribes of Odisha, which is also mentioned in the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
• They are known by various terms such as Savaras, Sabaras, Saura, Sora, etc
• They primarily reside in the state of Odisha and small number of people are also found in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Assam.
• Language : Saora or Sora language, which belongs to the Munda group of the Austroasiatic language family.
• Belief : They practice a form of animism and nature worship, with a strong belief in ancestral spirits.
• Festivals : They celebrate Sankranti and Karma festival.