A vigil on post atrocity of Koya Christian believers of Malkangiri

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A vigil on post atrocity of Koya Christian believers of Malkangiri

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A vigil on post atrocity of Koya Christian, of village Kotamateru of Panchayat Matapaka of Malkangiri District is narrated here. 

Kotamateru is the village where this incident took place. It's  around thirty kms away from Malkangiri District Headquarter. For them, Chattisgarh border is around two kilometres where their kith and kin live and they often visit. A river needs to be crossed to find shortest root to Chattisgarh by foot or cycle or bike. Sikpali of Odisha is a bordering market place for these villagers. Here they barter or sale out their produces and in turn, they purchase their requirements.

Ten to fifteen Koyas were beaten black and white and bleed on 21 June 2025 in this village by their own Koyas under the sky of Democracy, Peace and Tranquility. The results were, first they rushed to the forest, then one of them reported to the police over phone, then they felt banished from the native land, and then they left their own village for life. The villagers were admitted to the hospital and discharged.

Now the beaten Koyas have taken shelter at Kataliguda which stands fourty kms away from their own village in Malkangiri. Loosing shelter, missing their own sleep mattresses, reminiscing their belongings, the dishes and utensils they used, the charpaee where they had had their own earned food, the birds they had heard chirping, the evening community gossip, all they had together with other villagers, they left and that's the plight of these distressed. 

Eleven families, constituting around seventy people, left all their heart thrubs, behind their thrust for life. Among them, there are five widows, twenty five women, twenty five men and fifteen children. Children include both school going and infants as well. Few of them are lactating children. There are also a few pregnant mothers among them.

Who these Koyas are? Koya is a ethnic tribe and an Indian dialect as well in the down south of Orissa. "The Koya tribe is a significant indigenous group residing in the Malkangiri district of Odisha, India". "Physically they are classified as Australoid." The Koyas call themselves as "Koithur". They are known for their rich cultural heritage and unique way of life. Koyas also inhabit in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, but their largest concentration is in Malkangiri. (Google). They love food like rice, ragi, and forest produces. They love to hunt. They love to sing and dance.

Now, it's the rainy season, sky and earth meets, nature blossoms. Agriculture takes the cultivable land green. Nature becomes lively with koyas ethnic industies. It's time for them to do farming. They cultivate paddy and maze for the entire year. But now they are starving being out of home, the varitities of mushroom, tubers, leaves of the forest are being missed by them. Now the displaced koyas depend on the mercy of judicious compassionate human world.

The clans of the village, as said by them are, Madi, Sodi, Kartami, Beti, Koaahi, Godi etc. They marry among their own Koya clans. Its a History that, Tama Dora, who led the Koya rebellion against the Raja of Koraput and the British in the late 19th century. His resistance against the exploitative policies of the time is well-known. Other notable figures include, Queen Bangaru Devi and Aluri Sitarama Raju, who were also involved in the freedom movement. 

But till now their language, culture and belief system revolves around their existing nature. The displaced were once worshiping stones, wood, leaves, "ant hill" or "termite mound" etc. like the other Koyas. They were part of old Koya rits and rituals both in the time of joy and sorrow. Most of displaced Koyas have Aadhar card, voter card, Birth Certificate and they receive Government support like rice, old age pention, widow pention etc. In spite of that, they have not enough cultivable land. Only six families have cultivable land, without Record of Rights among these displaced. Heads of the families migrate seasonally to suppliment their livelihood needs, mostly as wage labours.

Due to food scarcity, especially i.e. food other than carbohydrates, it's observed and felt, all of them are thin, look pale and undernourished. The health registers of Asha and Anganwadi can give a better picture. Asha is their local personel and belongs to Koya community and Anganwadi didi is a person, mostly stays out of the village, as said by the displaced.

On the query, reason of becoming Christian was narrated. Widow Sikri Madi and her son Aita who is twenty four years old says, Sikri Madi was sick. She was roaming around the village and forest due to stomach pain. She had pain in her belly and it was bloated and swollen. She was restless for long time. They tried medicines local and foreign, traditional and cultural. She went on satisfying their ethnic spirit as per the demand of tradition through Peda, the village leader and Pujari the priest, who was offering goats and grains sacrifices to their gods. Expenses and worship did not bear them fruit. Rather that mounted their expenses. Aita was aware of a christian healer named Samru Muchaki of Chhatishgarh. That person was from village Nayapada of Sukma District. He took his mother Sikri Madi to treat there. The innocent and suffering got healed after staying there for some time. Like that Gangi Mardkami, had swelling in legs, unable to walk, she got advise from Aita. He too went to Nayapada and stayed there over a year and recovered. Once a TB patient Ganga Sodi and Bhima Karmi who too was unable to walk, went to that christian person of Nayapada, stayed their and got healing. 

These incidents of healing through prayer and worship of a christian, Samru Muchaki, made them to belive christian God Jesus. They have grown into a community of around seventy persons with their beliving keith and kin and stated praying to new God.  They stopped old practices of sacrifices, prayer and worship to nature gods and adpoted christian God Jesus, the new way of sacrifices, prayer and worship made them different from thier own Koyas. Healing and change of worship pattern and the God is the cause of dessimilation of Koyas.

Being beaten, one of them called the police over phone on the day of incident. They launched the FIR. Without receiving a result of assimilation and being threatened to life, they took shelter in Kataliguda village. Here their known and well wishers are there.

Now they are waiting for their administration to respond and to ensure safety and security for them without infringing but for continuing their new faith. The FIR says women too are beaten. Photographs says they were bleeding. They said they suffered like Jesus. Few of them were hospitalized.

 

Right to dwell, persue a faith, practice a belief as per the constitution of the nation has been infringed. Justice delayed is justice denied, it's the third attack they have witnessed. There is no blink of hope in the eyes of these spiritually, culturally and physically banished and the displaced people. It is felt that, there is vow in the face of displased Koyas to receive response from government to ensure tranquility among the the same Koya communities of same village.  Faith of the villagers are changing in the first changing world around them.

Once upon a time these communities were managed by their own socio, economic, political, religious leaders. Now they are exposed to new orders of state, market, food and healing system. No doubt food is flowing to the village by government, but at the same time, information, science, democracy too are flowing on to them by the marker. Now all these stuff are defined and managed by state and nation. 

The simple answer awaited is "tranquility" but it's a question of management of multifarious physical and abstract resources of market, forest, science and socity i.e. managed, corolled and directed by many power houses. Development of communication, information technology are making people critically aware, but people are contesting for each other's faith and experiences. 

Dwit David Philip

Advocate and social worker

Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi