History of Oriya culture

History of Oriya culture is rather unique and interesting. Orissa is situated in the twilight zone of north India and south India. This makes it an interesting converging point where cultural influences from north and south have for centuries intersected. For a long period also a large portion of Orissa was under Maratha rulers. So this was also a meeting ground of the culture of western India and eastern India. Oriyas were also famous for their maritime activities. Numerous inscriptions found in south-east Asian countries as well as in Orissa, folk tales and myths found in both sides stand witness to this fact. Oriya Sadhavas (traders) used to sail as far as Java, Sumatra Burma and Malaya for trading purpose. With them they not only carried wealth from those distant eastern lands but also brought some traits of their culture, which has become part of Oriya culture. Thus geography has played a key role in making Oriya culture a highly synthetic culture.

It has also the distinction of being the meeting place of three cultures: Aryan, Dravidian and Mundari (Tribal) representing the three major ethno-linguistic sections of Indian population. Even the Indian Puranas, myths and legends project this unifying aspect of Oriya culture. The Harivamsa Parva describes the lineage of the earliest Aryan Emperor Baivaswatva Manu. Manu had ten sons and a daughter. The kingdom of Manu was divided among the children. Daughter Illa received South Kosala (Present Western Orissa spreading into the Chota Nagpur Plateau) and the kingdom up to Godavari River in the south. Illa had four sons. When her kingdom was subdivided, her third son received Utkal, which was named after him. This genealogy, whether supported by history or just mythological, at least hints at the fact that ancient Orissa shared the North Indian Aryan culture. But during the reign of the Ganga Dynasty (9th century to 15th Century A.D.) whose founders came from South India, there was a marriage of Aryan culture of the Kesharis with Dravidian culture of the Gangas.

Thus there has been seen a rather long process of influence and amalgamation of various cultures on Orissa down the various stages of history. All this has contributed towards making Oriya culture as unique as it is today.