Why Asur are migrationg from their Motherland ???

Asuras’ Migration to no where ???

Asura tribe of Chotanagpur : 

Here are some observations from .

1. There are about 8000 people of this tribe remaining in India according to 1981 census .
2. They are believed to be outsiders who migrated to India by sea route; they absorbed the cultures of Egypt and Babylon before they came in.
3. They were called as Ashurs in 1200 BC .
4. They got incorporated into Indian society, some became Brahmins with kings’ patronage; some might have become kings of Magadh .
5. Some tribes still enact the snake sacrifice of Janamejaya, there is a myth that all snakes in the Chotanagpur region died following this snake sacrifice of Janamejaya .
6. Snake carvings in the rocks dating back to 3^rd century BC .
7. They brought the symbols of Naga and Garuda to India
8. Their occupation was smelting iron
9. There are Asura burial sites where the graves contain ornaments such as bracelets, chains, beads, finger and toe rings, coins, jugs and great slabs of stones

10. Asura buildings had Shiva Lingas and encircling Yonis .

11. Rock painting in which one sees a tall man with prominent phallus…

12. Dudh Bijrias, a subdivision of Asuras do not eat beef

13. There are some close by tribes who speak Dravidian language: they are Oraons, Sauriya and Mal Pahariaya and Gonds

14. The Asura people do not celebrate Navarathri, on the contrary they mourn because they were defeated by devas

We claim that

1. The Asuras of Chtanagpur are migrants from Egypt.
2. They were the followers of Seth of Egypt.
3. They came to India by sea, in particular to the Southern coast.
4. Later they moved northward, atleast to the present Orissa and Chotanagpur regions
5. We have the following points to substantiate our claims:

1. It is already claimed in  that they are outsiders, who migrated to India by sea route, on the way they absorbed the Egyptian culture. They got incorporated into the Indian society according to. They were called Ashurs as early as 1200 BC according to
2. Their association with Dravidian language supports the view that they entered India by sea. From South they might have spread to the North. This view of northward migration is also supported by the fact that the Ganga dynasty of Kalinga was founded by one of the Cholas
3. They brought with them the Garuda and Naga worship  which were the state symbols of the North and South Egypt, thus suggesting their Egyptian origin.  The snake carvings  suggest that they were snake worshippers.
4. They do not eat beef  because, Isis is represented by cow in Egypt, and hence they may revere cows.
5. The presence of Linga in Asura sites phallic worship was common in Egypt, therefore they would have carried this practice with them.
6. The rock painting of a tall man with prominent phallus may map to the ithyphallic Egyptian gods such as Min and Amun, thus supporting their Egyptian origin.
7. The contents of the burial sites as discussed in  resemble those of Egypt. Thus supporting their Egyptian origin.
8. We have shown earlier that, one of the myths associated with Navarathri is, the story of Lord Krishna killing Narakasura, which we have mapped to the story of Horus killing Seth. The Asura people do not celebrate Navarathri [99] possibly because, they may be mourning Seth’s death.
9. The fort of Asuras existed in Kalahandi district of Orissa [142]. The word ‘Handi’ in Kannada, a Dravidian language, means boar and ‘Kala’ means ‘dark’ or ‘fierce’ or ‘death’. Since ‘Seth’ means ‘death’, and he is represented by a boar, Kalahandi may relate to Seth. Recall that we have mapped Seth to the boar avatar of Lord Vishnu in one of our earlier articles (articles on Varadaraja and Incarnations of Vishnu).

10. They brought the technic of smelting iron . Seth is the lord of metals in Egypt. Thus for Asuras, Seth may be their god.

11. What is most striking is their myth of Janmejaya’s sacrifice of snakes, which is enacted by them . We have already shown that the origin of Mahabharata story is in Egypt. This possibly provides one more relationship between Egypt and Mahabharata.

 Ref :

Analysis and Conclusions: Migration

N. M. Krishnakumar

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Asur (India)

Asur (India)

Asur are the indigenous people of India who live in Jharkhand and West Bengal. Asur is considered to be one of the oldest indigenous communities of India. K K Leuba’s study reveals that the present Asur are the descendants of the Asur of Mahabharat Age. Archaeological excavations in Jharkhand have confirmed this fact.

History and profession

Asur were not farmers. The profession of Asur was mainly the metal works of iron. Asur community is one of the ancient metallurgist communities of the world. Very few of such communities exist today. They fall under Proto-Australoid category of ancient human who started migrating from Africa around 65,000 years ago.

Religious References

Asur believes Mahishasur, who also appears in Hindu mythologies as a demon, to be their ancestor. Asur mourn during the Hindu festival Durga Puja because Durga, a Hindu goddess, had slain Mahishasur. They believe that Durga killed Mahishasur by trick. Hindu gods were afraid of Mahishahsur’s strength so they asked goddess Durga to kill him. Being a woman, it was easier for Durga to kill Mahishasur. In 2011, there was a controversy in JNU when a backward student organization tried to observe ‘Mahishasur Martyr Day’ during Durga Puja. A right wing student’s organization saw it as hurting their religious sentiments.

Present Conditions

In Jharkhand Asur live in very poor conditions like most of the other indigenous communities. They don't have basic amenities like health care, drinking water, education, etc. Bauxite mining in their area has caused many issues related to livelihood, pollution, etc. These days, a few Asur from the young generation in Jharkhand are fighting for their existence and to preserve their history & culture. Sushma Asur is one among the young Asur who is working in this area.