Porja

Porja

The Porja are a hill tribe inhabiting the Agency Area of
Visakhapatnam District, and in adjoining areas of Orissa State.
They are chiefly shifting agriculturists and cultivate lands
on the high level hill slopes. A numerically small tribe with
a population of 16,479 as per the 1981 Census, they reside
mainly in the Munchangiputtu, Ananthagiri and Pedda Bayalu Mandals.
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Their mother tongue is ‘Parji dialect’, a corrupt form of
Oriya language. The term Porja seems to have been derived from
Oriya words po and raja which mean ‘son of
a king’.

The terms Porja, Porja and Parja seem to be synonymous.
‘Parji’ language is identical with Bhatri which has now become
a form of Oriya. Most of them have migrated from Orissa State
about 300 years back to the present habitat in search of cultivable
land.

They are mostly illiterate, and children are not encouraged
by their parents to attend schools because they are seen as an
additional source of family income.

Porja script

This is a script for Porja devised by Professor Prasanna Sree.

Porja script

Information provided by Professor Prasanna Sree
of Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

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