The Munda of the Ranchi plateau: village clans under a Munda (headman) with a Pahan (priest), joined in later accounts in parha circles of villages.
English Wikipedia says the Munda-Manki system governed villages in the Kolhan (Ho country) but does not date it, and has nothing on Chota Nagpur in 1200. The Nagvanshi ("Naga lineage") of Chutia near Ranchi, whose rise the plateau tradition ties to the Munda, is undated in the page we opened. So the plateau has peoples, no known kings and a set of institutions of unknown age.
Who he is
- Name
- not named
- Title
- Munda (village headman) and Pahan (priest) of the clan villages
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- No name or date is recorded for 1200.
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia, Munda people and Chota Nagpur Plateau.
What it holds
- The Ranchi plateau villages, fields and sacred groves (sarna)
How it was acquired
By clearing the forest, as the khuntkatti tradition has it (from general knowledge).
Allies and rivals
The Oraon to the west, the Ho to the south, the Nagvanshi chiefs at Chutia, the Bengal and Orissa kingdoms at a distance.
How things stand that morning
Village republics on the plateau; the lowland kingdoms do not rule them.
Wealth
Hill rice, forest produce, iron and lac.
Military
Bowmen; no numbers.
Threats
- None recorded
Places of note
- Khunti: Munda heartland (modern).
Where the sources disagree
- English Wikipedia's Chota Nagpur page says the region's name is "probably" from the Nagvanshi but calls the Chutia explanation of "Chota" contested; no date for the dynasty is given.
Evidence: No contemporary source; modern pages without dates.
On the map: The range is drawn as a province (the matching nie-prov record); this record draws no ground of its own.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.