Khalkho Gotra
Oraon
At a glance
- Called a
- Gotra
- Community
- Oraon
- Found in
- Jharkhand
About
Khalkho is a clan of the Oraon (Kurukh) of Chota Nagpur. Its totem is a fish, the khalkho: Roy (1915) lists it among the Oraon water totems and gives the clan's own short story of how the fish became taboo. The Oraon call the clan a gotra, but it is a totemic clan that marries out, not a Vedic gotra.
What “Gotra” means for the Oraon
Oraon families call their clan a gotra (Roy 1915, pp. 325, 335): a totemic clan passed from father to children, within which no one may marry, though a man may marry into his mother's clan. It is not a Vedic gotra and names no rishi.
Every gotra of the Oraon, with how the clan system works: the Oraon page.
Name and Origin
The clan is named after the khalkho fish (Roy 1915, p. 326). Roy calls its origin story more matter-of-fact than most: an Oraon was fishing in a stream, and a khalkho fish that was caught in his net managed to escape. From then on the khalkho fish was taboo to the man and his descendants, who came to be called the men of the Khalkho clan (p. 328).
Historical Journey
No written history of the Khalkho clan is known beyond what Roy recorded. He lists it among the fish and water totems of the Oraon (1915, p. 326) and gives its origin story (p. 328). He also found the clan among the first settlers of villages: the Bhuinhars of Burha Khukra in Mandar thana belonged to the Khalkho fish clan, and the village took a brass fish to the jatras, the gatherings where villages meet to dance, as its emblem (p. 340). Roy thought that in such cases the emblem stood for the totem of the first settlers and had been on its way to becoming a village deity when the process stopped (pp. 340-341).
How the Gotra Is Kept
Members of the Khalkho clan do not marry each other, though an Oraon may marry into his mother's clan (Roy 1915, p. 330). The clan passes from father to children, and Oraon clan names are now used as surnames. Roy's rule for every Oraon totem is that members should not eat, keep, kill or hurt it, or use anything made from it (p. 330). No family deity is tied to the Khalkho clan in the sources checked.
Presence Across Regions
Mandar, Ranchi district, Jharkhand
Tribal - Oraon
Roy (1915, p. 340) found that the Bhuinhars of Burha Khukra in Mandar thana belonged to the Khalkho fish clan; the village carried a brass fish to the jatras.
Stories and Legends
The fish that got away
As Roy recorded it in 1915, an Oraon was fishing in a stream when a khalkho fish caught in his net slipped out and escaped. From that day the khalkho fish was taboo to him and to his descendants, and they came to be known as the men of the Khalkho clan.