The Sora (alternative names and spellings include Saora, Saura, Savara and Sabara) are a Munda ethnic group from eastern India.
The Savara villages consist of houses with mud walls and sedge grass roofs, usually situated in foothills.
They are also sometimes called Lanjia Souras due to their dress pattern of wearing a loin cloth hanging from behind and which could be mistakenly identified as a tail by a stranger.
They slash-and-burn forested land, planting millet and pulses between the tree stumps that are left and which limit the effects of erosion.
Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi has published a book on Saora Folk literature written by Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra, a noted folklorist of India.
Cornelia Mallebrein, A German ethnographer has conducted research and study on Id- Tal, the traditional Sora ritual painting.
The Soras are highly religious with each and every natural phenomenon attributed to the works of some Gods, deities or spirits of traditional belief.
Therefore, the customary law, values, norms are highly respected by all members of the society for the fear of inviting personal or communal harms.
It involves reverences of supernatural entities called the kittung, who are believed to inhabit both natural and human landscapes including forests, mountains, villages, rivers and particular locations.
The Sora shamans or the kuran are female priests whose tasks are to fulfill the kittung by performing annual rituals, cattle sacrifices, dances, and offerings.
The Soras have made history in pre-British and British period and post independence as a community known for their economic and political integrity.
Saora Tales and Songs, Edited by Dr Mahendra Kumar Mishra, Published by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.