A majority of the Indian population on agriculture and an important key to development is the improvement of agriculture. Land is the major resource base in the sector of agriculture. This holds also true for the Juang people, a tribal community of Orissa. For the Juang land in the Pirh is a living organism that gave the birth in the mythical past. The Juang perform rituals (puja) in the name of the earth goddess Basuki mata. Keonjhar is the core area of the Juang, although they migrated to other districts. Juang settlements are to be found on the hills and in the south and west Keonjhar. The area considered by the Juang to be the place of their origin is Gonasika, which lies at the slope of Gupta Ganga hill (Pahar), the source of the river Baitarani.

The Juang have always owned land communally. Land was divided between individual households by the village head. However, during land settlement Government has given recorded rights (patta) for homestead as well as agricultural land in some juang areas. But patta rights have not been given for shifting cultivated plots (swidden plots, i.e. toila land).

The book highlights some key factors of tribal people relating to their traditional agricultural pattern as well as land use which will definitely useful for the students and researchers of Anthropology and Tribal Studies, Sociology to a greater extent.

Content - Acknowledgements, Preface, List of Tables, 1. INTRODUCTION, 2. AREA, PEOPLE AND SOCIAL LIFE, 3. SETTLEMENT HISTORY OF KEONJHAR, 4. JUANG PERCEPTION OF LAND AND ITS TYPE, 5. LAND USE PLANNING AND PATTERN, 6. SHIFTING CULTIVATION, 7. LAND ALIENATION, 8. IRRIGATION AND CARRYING CAPACITY, 9. CONCLUSION,  Glossary, List of Photographs, Bibliography, Index