Munda
In
Hinduism,
Munda is a monster that was killed by
Devi.
See also Chamunda.
The Munda languages are spoken in West Bengal,
Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, India.
Together with the Mon-Khmer languages, they
form the Austro-Asiatic phylum.
The main branches are:
- Santali, Mundari and Kharia,
Juang, Bhumij, Korva and Ho,
Altogether speakers number several millions
but they are without a linguistic state, in
contrast to, for example,
Hindi,
Dravidian
and Tibeto-Burmese speakers in Uttar Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu and Mizoram respectively.
The Munda languages are thought to be the most
ancient linguistic stratum of
India, ante-dating
even
Dravidian. Their relationship to the
Mon-Khmer languages is remote.