Oriya People

Oriya People

The Oriya, known classically by various names (Odia, Odri, Utkaliya, Kalingi, Latin: Uri), are an ethnic group of eastern India and of eastern Indo-Aryan stock. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state of Orissa, with minority populations in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

The vast majority of the Oriyas are Hindus and are known for their history of Sun worship. Orissa is home to some of the oldest Sun temples in India, including Konark. There are small Christian and Muslim minorities.

The term 'Oriya', while sometimes used to refer to any inhabitant of Orissa (that is, an Orissi or Orissan), more precisely refers to the ethnic group which natively speaks the Oriya language. Orissa marks the southeastern frontier of Aryan expansion and is therefore also home to a large tribal population of Dravidian and Munda origin. While many of them have adopted the Oriya language, they maintain a distinct identity and there is no discernible admixture between them and the Oriyas.

The Oriyas are distinguished by their religious customs as well as the use of the Oriya language. Orissa's relative isolation and the lack of any discernible outside influence has contributed towards preserving a socio-religious setup that has disappeared from most of North India. Orissa was first conquered by the Mauryan Empire around 250 BC. The resulting bloodshed was the catalyst that led to the Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka eschewing warfare and converting to Buddhism. Emperor Meghavahana Aira Kharavela, a Jaina ruler conquered vast territory and Orissa or Kalinga spread from river Ganges in the north to river Godavari in the south. He seems to have captured vast area of upper Punjab too. Thereafter Orissa remained an independent regional power for more than a thousand years when it began to undergo a slow decline. It was conquered by the Mughals under Akbar in 1568 and was thereafter subject to a succession of Mughal and Maratha rule before finally falling to the British in the year 1803. It was carved out from Bengal in 1912 and finally became a separate province in 1936.