Hemrom Killi
Munda
At a glance
- Called a
- Killi
- Community
- Munda
- Found in
- Jharkhand
About
Hemrom is a killi (totemic clan) of the Munda of Chota Nagpur, and one of the few clan names the Munda share with the Santal, who write it Hembrom, and the Bhumij. Roy (1912) counts it among the twenty-one original Munda killis but gives no totem for it. Among the Birhor and some Kharia the same name is a clan whose totem Roy gives as the betel palm or betel-nut. A killi is not a gotra and names no rishi.
What “Killi” means for the Munda
A killi is a Munda clan. Roy (1912) records that its members count themselves descendants of one forefather, that it passes from father to children, and that no Munda may marry within his own killi. Many killis are named after an animal, plant or thing, their totem, which members will not eat or harm. A killi is not a gotra and names no rishi.
Every killi of the Munda, with how the clan system works: the Munda page.
Name and Origin
Roy (1912) records no story or totem for the Munda Hemrom killi. In the legend he took down from a Munda Christian, Sutia Pahan had the heads of the twenty-one parhas each choose a totem, and Porha Munda became the founder of the Hemrom killi (Appendix I, p. 335). Among the Birhor, Roy glosses Hembrom as the betel palm (1925, p. 91), and among the Hill Kharia of Manbhum, Roy and Roy record Hembrom or Gud-Hembrom, the betel-nut, as a clan totem (1937, p. 125). In Santal tradition as Bodding recorded it, Hembrom is the fourth of the seven septs into which the first couple divided their children (Bodding, p. 7).
Historical Journey
Roy treats Hemrom as one of the oldest Munda killis. He names it among the twenty-one killis that, by tradition, came onto the Ranchi plateau with the patriarch Risa Munda (1912, p. 71 n.), and he points to it, with the Hasda and the Soren, as one of the very few killi names the Munda share with the Santal and the Bhumij, who, he held, had once been one people with the Munda before the Munda came to Chota Nagpur (p. 231). He took the small number of such shared names as a sign that the Munda had few killis when they entered the plateau, and that most later killis arose by division. The name reaches further still: Roy found Hembrom clans among the Birhor, where the Chauli Hembrom were said to be the original Birhor clan (1925, pp. 91, 96), and Roy and Roy record a Hembrom clan among the Dudh Kharia and the Hill Kharia of Manbhum, though not among the original Kharia clans (1937, pp. 125-126, 143-145).
How the Killi Is Kept
A Munda may not marry within his own killi; the Munda marry within the tribe and outside the killi (Roy 1912, p. 228), and the killi passes from father to children. Roy also notes that under Munda custom of his day there could be no valid marriage between a Munda and a Santal, Kharia or member of another related tribe (p. 228). No family deity is tied to the Munda Hemrom killi in the sources checked.
Presence Across Regions
Ranchi district, Jharkhand
Tribal - Munda
One of the twenty-one original Munda killis in Roy's list (1912, p. 71 n.).
Santal Parganas, Jharkhand
Tribal - Santhal
Hembrom is one of the seven first Santal septs in the tradition Bodding recorded; in the same tradition the Hembrom were called kuar, princes (Bodding, pp. 7, 20).
Chota Nagpur
Tribal - Birhor
Roy (1925) lists Hembrom (betel palm) and several Hembrom sub-clans among the Birhor; the Chauli Hembrom were said to be the first Birhor clan.
Manbhum and Ranchi district
Tribal - Kharia
Roy and Roy (1937, pp. 125, 143) record Hembrom or Gud-Hembrom (betel-nut) among the Hill Kharia of Manbhum and among the Dudh Kharia.
Stories and Legends
Sutia Pahan's council
In a legend Roy (1912) took down from a Munda Christian, which he says shows the influence of Bible history, Sutia Pahan, chief of the seven garhs, could find no bride for his son outside his own line. He gathered birds and beasts inside the seven gates of Sutiambe and called the heads of the twenty-one parhas, and each chose an animal or plant for his totem, so that the parhas became twenty-one killis for marriage.