"The word Kol is probably the Santali har, a man. This word is
used under various forms, such as har, hara, ho and koro by most
Munda tribes in order to denote themselves. The change of r to l is
familiar and does not give rise to any difficulty." [537] The word
Korku is simply a corruption of Kodaku, young men, and there is every
probability that the Hindus, hearing the Kol tribe call themselves
hor or horo, may have corrupted the name to a form more familiar
to themselves. An alternative derivation from the Sanskrit word
kola, a pig, is improbable. But it is possible, as suggested by Sir
G. Grierson, that after the name had been given, its Sanskrit meaning
of pig may have added zest to its employment by the Hindus. The
word Munda, Sir H. Risley states, is the common term employed by
the Kols for the headman of a village, and has come into general
use as an honorific title, as the Santals call themselves Manjhi,
the Gonds Bhoi, and the Bhangis and other sweepers Mehtar. Munda,
like Mehtar, originally a title, has become a popular alternative
name for the caste. In Chota Nagpur those Kols who have partly
adopted Hinduism and become to some degree civilised are commonly
known as Munda, while the name Ho or Larka Kol is reserved for the
branch of the tribe in Singhbhum who, as stated by Colonel Dalton,
"From their jealous isolation for so many years, their independence,
their long occupation of one territory, and their contempt for all
other classes that come in contact with them, especially the Hindus,
probably furnish the best illustration, not of the Mundaris in their
present state, but of what, if left to themselves and permanently
located, they were likely to become. Even at the present day the
exclusiveness of the old Hos is remarkable. They will not allow aliens
to hold land near their villages; and indeed if it were left to them
no strangers would be permitted to settle in the Kolhan."
It is this branch of the tribe whose members have come several times
into contact with British troops, and on account of their bravery and
warlike disposition they are called the Larka or fighting Kols. The
Mundas on the other hand appear now to be a very mixed group. The
list of their subcastes given [538] by Sir H. Risley includes the
Khangar, Kharia, Mahali, Oraon and Savar Mundas, all of which are the
names of separate tribes, now considered as distinct, though with
the exception of the Oraons they were perhaps originally offshoots
of the Kols or akin to them; while the Bhuinhar or landholders and
Nagvansi or Mundas of the royal house are apparently the aristocracy
of the original tribe. It would appear possible from the list of
sub-tribes already given that the village headmen of other tribes,
having adopted the designation of Munda and intermarried with other
headmen so as to make a superior group, have in some cases been
admitted into the Munda tribe, which may enjoy a higher rank than
other tribes as the Raja of Chota Nagpur belongs to it; but it is
also quite likely that these groups may have simply arisen from the
intermarriages of Mundas with other tribes, alliances of this sort
being common. The Kols of the Central Provinces probably belong to
the Munda tribe of Chota Nagpur, and not to the Hos or Larka Kols,
as the latter would be less likely to emigrate. But quite a separate
set of subcastes is found here, which will be given later.