Sarhul is a spring festival in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

. The festival is celebrated for three days, from the 3rd day of

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

month in Sukla Paksh to

Chaitra Purnima Hanuman Jayanti () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of the Hindu deity, and one of the protagonists of the Ramayana, Hanuman. In most states of India, the festival is observed on the full-moon day of the Hindu month of Chaitra ...

. In the festival, the village priest ''Pahan'' offers sacrifice of flowers, fruit, vermilion, rooster and ''tapan'' (liquor) in Sarna to Sun, village deity and ancestor for good fortune of the village. Then the locals dance holding flowers of the sal tree. It is a symbol of commencement of the new year. According to the tradition, it also symbolises marriage between the Earth and the Sun. It is an important festival observed by the Kurukh and Sadan. Among Kurukh it is known as Khaddi (lit. 'flower') in Kurukh. Holy Prayer

It is known as ''Hadi Bonga'' among the Bhumijs,

Mundas The Munda people are an Austroasiatic speaking ethnic group of India. They predominantly speak the Mundari language as their native language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found mainly concent ...

. It is known as ''Baha'' ''parab'' among the Ho and

Santal The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...

people.

Etymology

Sarhul is the Nagpuri name of the festival. ''Sar'' or ''Sarai'' refers to the sal tree (''

Shorea robusta ''Shorea robusta'', the sal tree, sāla, shala, sakhua, or sarai, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions . Evolution Fossil evidence from l ...

'') in Nagpuri and ''hul'' means 'collectively', also 'grove'. It symbolises celebrating nature through sal. Alternative interpretations include: • ''Hul'' may refer to 'revolution', which translates to revolution through the sal flowers. • ''Sar'' means year and ''hul'' means begin. It symbolises the beginning of a new year.

The festival

In this festival people worship in ''

Sarna Sarna may refer to: ;People * Sarna (Polish surname) * Sarna (Punjabi surname) * Sarna (clan), a Punjabi clan of India ;Places * Sarna, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, a village in northern Poland *Sarna sthal, a place of worship in India *Särna, ...

''. Ploughing is forbidden on this day. People fast one day before the festival. Young people collect Sal flowers from the nearby forest and catch crabs and fish. On the occasion of festival people go to Sarna by beating of

Dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...

, Nagara and

Madal The madal ( ne, मादल) or maadal is a Nepalese folk musical instrument. The madal is used mainly for rhythm-keeping in Nepalese folk music. It is very popular and widely used as a hand drum in Nepal. The madal has a cylindrical body with a s ...

. People worship the Sal tree. Shalai, the flowers of Sal tree, are offered to deities. The village priest ''Pahan'', sometimes called ''Laya'', and ''Pujar'' offer sacrifice to village deity of Sal flowers, fruit, vermilion, three roosters and Tapan (liquor) for good fortune of village. Pahan sacrifices three roosters of different colours, each for Sun, village deities and ancestors. Pahan put water pot in

and next day forecast about weather for next year. Pahan distributes flower of Sal tree among villagers. People worship souls of their ancestors in their home and offer different food to them. Only after offering foods to souls of their ancestors, they eat food. Then they sing, dance in beat of dhol, nagara and mandar, also drink rice beer Handia. SARHUL IN RANCHI

Since year of 1961, procession are being organised in Sarhul festival in Gumla. Before that there was no such procession, people were only dancing near Sarnasthal. In urban area, middle class tribal activist have reinvented nature festival Sahul to mark regional identity while in rural areas it is limited to thanksgiving to deities.

Related festivals in India

There are several festivals which are celebrated as new year across India. Some festival are as follows: *

Baha parab Baha parab or Baa parab is a spring festival of Ho, Santhal and other tribes in India. "Baha" or "Baa" means flower. At Baha parab or Baa parab men, women and children are attired in traditional clothes, Offering Flowers to God ''Marang Buru'' a ...

, among Ho and

Santal people The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...

*Rongali

Bihu Bihu is a set of three important Assamese festivals in the Indian state of Assam – 'Rongali' or 'Bohag Bihu' observed in April, 'Kongali' or 'Kati Bihu' observed in October, and 'Bhogali' or 'Magh Bihu' observed in January. The Rongali Bihu i ...

In Assam *

Vaisakhi Vaisakhi ( Punjabi: ), also pronounced Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in Northern India. Further, o ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

, India *

Pohela Boishakh Pohela Boishakh ( bn, পহেলা বৈশাখ) is the first day of the Bengali calendar which is also the official calendar of Bangladesh. This festival is celebrated on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April in the Indian states of W ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, India *

Vishu Vishu (Malayalam: വിഷു), the traditional Malayali New Year, is a Hindu festival celebrated in the Indian state of Kerala, Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka, and Mahe district. The festival marks the first day of Medam, the first month of ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

References

{{Reflist Festivals in India Indian traditions Festivals in Jharkhand Nagpuri culture