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The Santal or Santhal are an
Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The te ...
speaking Munda ethnic group in
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
. Santals are the largest tribe in the
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 . It ...
and
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 fourt ...
state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of
Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
,
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
and
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
. They are the largest ethnic minority in northern Bangladesh's
Rajshahi Division Rajshahi Division ( bn, রাজশাহী বিভাগ) is one of the eight first-level administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of and a population at the 2011 Census of 18,484,858. Rajshahi Division consists of 8 district ...
and
Rangpur Division Rangpur Division ( bn, রংপুর বিভাগ) is one of the Divisions in Bangladesh. It was formed on 25 January 2010, as Bangladesh's 7th division. Before that, it was under Rajshahi Division. The Rangpur division consists of eight di ...
. They have a sizeable population in
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
. The Santals speak Santali, the most widely spoken
Munda languages The Munda languages are a group of closely related languages spoken by about nine million people in India and Bangladesh. Historically, they have been called the Kolarian languages. They constitute a branch of the Austroasiatic language famil ...
of
Austro-asiatic language The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are t ...
family.


Etymology

Santal is most likely derived from an exonym. The term refers to inhabitants of in erstwhile Silda in Medinapore region in West Bengal. The sanskrit word ''Samant'' or Bengali ''Saont'' means plain land. Their ethnonym is ("sons of mankind").


History


Origins

According to linguist
Paul Sidwell Paul James Sidwell is an Australian linguist based in Canberra, Australia who has held research and lecturing positions at the Australian National University. Sidwell, who is also an expert and consultant in forensic linguistics, is most notab ...
,
Austro-Asiatic language The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are t ...
speakers probably arrived on coast of
Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
from
Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
about 4,000–3,500 years ago. The Austroasiatic speakers spread from Southeast Asia and mixed extensively with local Indian populations. After arriving in India, Munda peoples extensively mixed with Dravidian tribal groups. Due to the lack of significant archaeological records, the original homeland of the Santals is not known with certainty. The folklore of the Santals claims they came from , which scholars have identified as Ahuri in
Hazaribagh district Hazaribagh district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India and the district headquarter located in Hazaribagh town. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters, the tow ...
. From there, they claim, they were pushed onto
Chota Nagpur Plateau The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the bas ...
, then to
Jhalda Jhalda is a city and a municipality in Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jhalda subdivision. Geography Location Jhalda is located at . It has an average elevation of . According to the ''Distr ...
, Patkum and finally Saont, where they settled for good. This legend, which has been cited by several scholars, has been used as evidence that the Santals once had a significant presence in
Hazaribagh Hazaribagh is a city and a municipal corporation in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is considered as a health resort and is also popular for Hazaribagh ...
. Colonial scholar Colonel
Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist Entertainment * Dalton (Buffyverse), minor ch ...
claimed in Chai there was a fort formerly occupied by a Santal raja who was forced to flee when the Delhi Sultanate invaded the territory.


British period

In the latter half of the 18th century, the Santals entered the historical record in 1795 when they are recorded as "Soontars." During the
Bengal Famine of 1770 The Bengal Famine of 1770 was a famine that struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people. It occurred during a period of dual governance in Bengal. This existed after the East India Company had been granted ...
, the drier western and southwestern parts of Bengal, especially the
Jungle Mahals Jungle Mahals, ( jungle estates) was a district formed by British possessions and some independent chiefdoms lying between Birbhum, Bankura, Midnapore and the hilly country of Chota Nagpur in what is now the Indian state of West Bengal.O’Malle ...
region, were some of the worst-hit areas and were significantly depopulated. This depopulation resulted in a significant loss of revenue for the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
. Therefore, when the Permanent Settlement was enacted in 1790, the Company looked for agriculturalists to clear the lands. British officials turned their attention to Santals, who were ready to clear the forest for the practice of settled agriculture. In 1832, a large number of area of the Raj Mahal hills demarcated as
Damin-i-koh Damin-i-koh (or sometimes referred to simply as Damin) was the name given to the forested hilly areas of Rajmahal hills broadly in the area of present Sahebganj, Pakur and Godda districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Etymology Damin-i-koh i ...
. Santal from
Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...
,
Dhalbhum Dhalbhum was the name given to parganas Supur and Ambikanagar in the Khatra area of present Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal.O’Malley, L.S.S., ICS, ''Bankura'', ''Bengal District Gazetteers'', pp. 194-195, 1995 reprint, firs ...
,
Birbhum Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impor ...
,
Manbhum Manbhum District was one of the districts of the East India during the British Raj. After India's independence, the district became a part of Bihar State. Upon re-organisation of the Indian states in the mid-1950s, present Purulia district was ca ...
,
Hazaribagh Hazaribagh is a city and a municipal corporation in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is considered as a health resort and is also popular for Hazaribagh ...
migrated and started cultivating these lands as peasants sponsored by landowners and the British who were desperate for labour. Under British direction, Santals took loans from non-Santal moneylenders to buy iron tools, seed grain and oxen as individuals and families, rather than groups as was their custom for working the land. When they arrived in
Damin-i-koh Damin-i-koh (or sometimes referred to simply as Damin) was the name given to the forested hilly areas of Rajmahal hills broadly in the area of present Sahebganj, Pakur and Godda districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Etymology Damin-i-koh i ...
(present day Santal Pargana), the British provided no protection for the Santals against the preexisting Mal Paharias, who were against destruction of forest, were known raiders of the plains areas and had only recently been partially "pacified". Eventually, the Santals, with their better technology and ability to match the Paharia's guerrilla attacks, managed to drive them out. They clear the forest tracts and started cultivation in these areas. Their settlement took place between the 1830s and 1850s: in 1830, the area was home to only 3,000 Santals, but by the 1850s, 83,000 Santals had settled in the land and had turned it into paddy fields. This resulted in a 22 times increase in Company revenue from the area. However, as they became more agricultural, the Santals were exploited by the
zamindars A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
. Unlike the Santals, the British valued individual competition instead of cooperation, and had a rigid system of laws very different from the relatively relaxed norms of the village council, the highest form of government most Santals knew. Mahajans from Bengal and Baniyas from Bihar began selling goods from elsewhere, and many Santals, seeing them as exotic, were tricked into
debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...
to buy them, usually with a
mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...
on their land. When the Santals were unable to pay the
moneylenders In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that de ...
back, they became owners of the land and the Santals became dispossessed
landless Landlessness is the quality or state of being without land, without access to land, or without having private ownership of land. Although overlapping considerably, landlessness is not a necessary condition of poverty. In modern capitalist societie ...
peasants. The Baniya merchants and other outsiders also began to treat Santals as outcastes in a Brahminical system. Eventually, these acts of
exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour ** Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery ** Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploi ...
, combined with British tax policies and
corrupt Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
tax collectors, deteriorated to the point where Santals grew discontented. In 1855, they revolted in the Santal rebellion, better known as the . 30,000 Santals, led by
Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu Sidhu Murmu and Kanhu Murmu were the leaders of the Santhal rebellion (1855–1856), the rebellion in present-day Jharkhand and Bengal (Purulia,Birbhum and Bankura) in eastern India against both the British colonial authority and the corrupt zami ...
, attacked the zamindars and other outsiders () who had made their lives so miserable, as well as the British authorities. Eventually, around 10,000
British troops The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas ...
managed to suppress the rebellion. Although the rebellion's impact was largely overshadowed by that of the
Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...
, the impact of the Santhal Rebellion lives on as a turning point in Santhal pride and identity. This was reaffirmed, over a century and a half later with the creation of the tribal province in the
Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
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 . It ...
. Following the rebellion, the British satisfied all Santhal demands, due to their importance as a tax-paying group. The British created a 5000 km2 area, called Santal Parganas, where the normal procedures of British India did not apply. Administration of the community was primarily made the responsibility of the village headman, or pradhan, who was also given the power to collect taxes. It was made illegal for Santals to transfer land to non-Santals, allowing them to have legal rights over their land. After the
British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...
formally took control over India in 1858, the Santals continued their system of government and traditions. Newly established Christian missions brought education, and many Santals moved to the tea plantations in
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, North Bengal, where they still remain today. However, most continued with their old life, but were still not prosperous. In addition, secular education did not become widespread until after Indian independence. In the late 19th century, many Santals migrated from the Santal Parganas to the districts of Bihar and North Bengal such as Purnia, Malda and Dinajpur. The Santals still faced retaliation after the Santal Hul and were invited by zamindars to cultivate many parts of north Bengal, which had become scrubland, land which the Santals specialized in farming. By the 1930s, their numbers in this region the Santals had become two lakh. Most were settled on wasteland where the rent was cheaper than the more fertile wet lands. However they faced heavy taxation from the zamindars, and were oppressed by moneylenders, upper castes, and the bureaucracy in general. In 1924, several Santal sardars, influenced by Gandhian ideology and led by Jitu Sardar, began to lead agitations against the oppressive double system of elite Bengalis and British government. Santals stopped paying rent to the zamindars, beat up revenue inspectors, and led agitations against the moneylenders. In 1928, the Santals stopped paying the chaukidari tax and led protests in Thakurgaon in 1929. In 1932, several Santals attempted to organise their own state with Jitu Sardar as head, initially based on Gandhi's Ram Rajya but quickly criticised Gandhi when he did not help them. In 1933, a British commissioner was appointed to look into the grievances of Santals of North Bengal.


Post-independence

The Santal community, like the others of the region, was split between West Bengal in India and East Bengal in Pakistan during Partition. After independence, the Santals were made one of the
Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
in India. In East Pakistan, there were some regions in the west where Santals were still in significant numbers. There and in neighbouring West Bengal, the Santals provided significant support to the
Tebhaga movement Tebhaga movement (1946–1947) was significant peasant agitation, initiated in Bengal by the All India Kisan Sabha of peasant front of the Communist Party of India. History At that time sharecroppers had contracted to give half of their har ...
. After the Pakistani military crushed the uprising and burned many Santal homes, many fled across the border to Malda in India. In northern
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 fourt ...
, tribal peasants participated in
Naxalbari uprising Naxalbari uprising was an armed peasant revolt in 1967 in the Naxalbari block of Siliguri subdivision in Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India. It was mainly led by tribals and the radical communists leaders of Bengal and further developed i ...
led by a Santal communist leader Jangal Santhal. The impoverishment has led to the
Guevarist Guevarism is a theory of communist revolution and a military strategy of guerrilla warfare associated with Marxist–Leninist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a leading figure of the Cuban Revolution who believed in the idea of Marxism–L ...
inspired Naxalite
insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
in what is often termed as the
Red Corridor The red corridor, also called the red zone, is the region in the eastern, central and the southern parts of India where the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency has the strongest presence. It has been steadily diminishing in terms of geographical cove ...
. After
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 . It ...
was carved out of
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
in 2000, the Santal Parganas was made a separate division of the state. These Santals have also agitated for recognition of their traditions in the census as a separate religion, ''sarna dharam'', for which Jharkhand assembly passed a resolution in 2020. Many still face poverty and exploitation, and in Bangladesh, theft of their lands is common. Although spread out over a large area, they now consider the Santal Parganas as their cultural heartland.


Society

The base of Santal society is a division between "brother" () and "guest" (), a divide found in many other
tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
societies of central and eastern India. Children of the same father (sometimes grandfather), known as , often live next to each other and own adjacent pieces of land. Those in the closest form of brotherhood, called ("people of one house") in Singhbhum, cannot marry each other and propitiate the same deity, since the house refers to a common ancestor from which all the families are believed to descend. Only marriages are severely stigmatised. Another brotherhood is membership of a clan, which are exogamous. The last form of brotherhood is , a ritual friendship with members of other ethnic groups. Children of brothers consider themselves as brothers, and they attend each other's main lifecycle events, such as weddings or funerals, as . They also give help in times of hardship. Those who do not have brotherhood are referred to as , or guests. Members of other communities, especially those not speaking Santali, are excluded from this grouping, except for communities such as the Karmakar,
Mahali The Mahli are a community in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. Basketry was main occupation of mahlis. Mahli speak Sadri, Mundari and Santali as their mother tongue rather than Mahli. May be Mahli is a threatened langua ...
or
Lohar Lohar is a social group in India, Nepal and Pakistan. They are associated with iron smelting work. They form part of a loose grouping of traditionally artisanal castes known as Panchals. Lohars worship Lord Vishwakarma and other Hindu gods and ...
, who are enmeshed in Santal society. Those with this relationship can marry, and attend major festivals as guests. People related by marriage, although , have special roles in life-cycle events. Women perform special welcome rituals for when they visit. Those related by marriage can have one of two relationships. They can be , a relationship exemplified by the couple's parents, or , between cross-siblings of a couple. Santal society has much less stratification and is more
egalitarian Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...
than adjacent caste Hindu society, but still has some status differences. The most important marker of a person when interacting with others in Santal society is their standing as ("senior") or ("junior"). This standing is evaluated by relation: for example, is someone is greeting their father's elder brother's son, they would be the junior irrespective of age. Similarly, when someone greets their elder brother's wife, the wife would be . However, for strangers or guests with no clear kin connections, the question of or is decided by age. The ritual greeting ( in Santali) of someone is given much importance and is done in the courtyard of a house when a visits. The greeting differs by gender, and whether the person is junior or senior to the one being greeted. The greeting rituals given by a involve an "offering" () of respect, while a "receives" this respect. This greeting should not be done hastily, and correct practice of it is encouraged in children from a young age. However the - distinction does not apply to or , who instead greet each other as if greeting a . The Santals also have
totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the wo ...
istic
clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
, known as . These 12 clans are divided into two ranks: 7 senior and 5 junior. The senior clans are believed to originate from the 7 sons and daughters of the first man and woman, and in order of seniority they are: (goose), (
Nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter S ...
), ('' Ischaemum rugosum''), (kingfisher), (Pleiades), (betel palm) and (owl). The junior clans are (stale rice), (falcon), (lizard), (pigeon) and . Members of a senior clan do not marry members of a junior clan, and there are some forbidden marriages as well, such as between Marndi and Kisku. In addition, Besras are sometimes treated differently due to their perceived low status, but other than the context of marriage, they play no role in social life. The clans also avoid harming their clan totem, lest evil befall them. The Santals have another social organisation important for rituals, called , or in south Chota Nagpur. The term refers to descendants of a common ancestor, no more than a few generations back, that live nearby. The is identified by some distinguishing feature of the ancestor, such as , people who wear a thread on their chest in worship. In many cases, all the people of a live in their ancestral village, but some members may have migrated to neighbouring villages.


Culture


Festivals

Sohrai Sohrai is a harvest festival of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal. It also called cattle festival. It is celebrated after harvest and coincide with Govardhan Puja of Diwali festival. It is celebr ...
is the principal festival of Santal community. Besides that Baha, Karam,
Dashain Dashain or Bada'dashain, also referred as Bijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal. It is also celebrated by Hindus of Nepal and elsewhere in the world, including among the Lhotshampa of Bhutan and the Burmese Gur ...
, Sakrat, Mahmore, Rundo and Magsim are important festivals. They traditionally accompany many of their dances during these festivals with two drums: the Tamak‘ and the Tumdak’.
Chadar Badar Chadar Badar, also known as Santhal Puppetry, is a tribal performing art of the Santhal people, mainly found in the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Assam. Once a dying art form, it was revived by the efforts of social ac ...
, a form of puppetry known also as Santal puppetry, is a folk show involving wooden puppets placed in a small cage which acts as the stage. Decision-making matters is done through a
village council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
which is headed by a person titled ''Majhi'' (local head of society). The is aided by other council members to carry out and deal with local affairs. Santal art is noticeable for its intricate carving style. The walls of traditional Santal homes are ornamented with carved designs of animals, hunting scenes, dancing scenes,
geometric patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
, and more. Santal-styled palanquins were also finely carved and designed.


Marriage

There are seven kinds of marriage recognized in the Santal community, each with its own degree of social acceptance. The most elaborate kind of marriage is the , or ancestor's marriage, but the most widely practiced is . In this form of marriage, a boy and girl who wish to marry decide to go to the groom's house and stay there a while. When the girl's family are made aware of their situation, the of the girl's village arrives at the house of the headman of the boy's village to discover the couple's intentions. The couple are summoned to the village headman and the bride is asked whether she wishes to set a date for . If she replies 'no', the boy's family will have to pay a small fine to the of the girl's village, who would take the girl back to her father. If she assents, the boy's family is consulted for the best day for the . The bride and groom are not bound by any obligation to marry. During this time, the stays in the village to give all the information he can to the bride's father: both in determining what would be a good bride price to demand and whether the marriage might end in a short time. On the day of the ceremony, a group of men from the bride's village, including the , headman, village elders, and the bride's father and some relations, arrives at the bride's village. They are seated at the headman's house with respect and organized by or status. Meanwhile, the groom's family gathers to discuss the bride price the groom's father should pay. The two parties then meet and the fathers negotiate the
bride price Bride price, bride-dowry ( Mahr in Islam), bride-wealth, or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride dow ...
to be paid. The groom is first asked whether he wishes the marriage to continue. As a symbolic
marriage contract ''Marriage Contract'' () is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Lee Seo-jin and Uee. It aired on MBC from March 5 to April 24, 2016 on Saturdays and Sundays at 22:00 for 16 episodes. Plot Kang Hye-soo (Uee) is a single mother who ...
, the groom's father gives a small amount of cash and gives (rice-beer) to the guests. The negotiations for bride-price continue between the fathers exclusively until an amount is reached. Although this is nowadays in cash, livestock or other goods are not uncommon. The bride price is generally light and it is seen wrong to stop two young people from marrying because of a disagreement about bride price. After an agreement is reached, celebrations ensue and festive drinking continues into the night. A short time afterwards, a relative of the groom along with the of the groom's village hand over the bride price to the
bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bride's future spouse, (if male) is usually referred to as the '' bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, bri ...
's family. Afterwards the couple arrive in the bride's natal village. The bride arriving first carrying a pot with white clay, the symbol of a woman returning to her natal village as a guest. The bride greets her mother first and neighbours are invited to share reserved for (), while getting acquainted with the husband. When the couple leaves the bride's village, the bride pays her respects to the headman in his courtyard. At the , the bride thanks the headman for all he has done and gives a symbolic gift. The headman then blesses the couple and wishes the bride strength, good luck and many strong sons. The couple then leaves for the groom's village to start their new life. Marriages done by involve very little ritual: Santal society has clearly defined roles for marriage, and the choice of the couple is respected. Decisions by the families are done in a spirit of consensus rather than adversarially, and marriage is seen just as important for the entire village as for the couple.


Religion

In the Santal religion, the majority of reverence falls on a court of
spirits Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
(), who handle different aspects of the world and who are placated with prayers and offerings. These benevolent spirits operate at the village, household, ancestor, and sub-clan level, along with evil spirits that cause disease and can inhabit village boundaries, mountains, water, tigers, and the forest. The are intermediaries between (visible world) and (the invisible reality), the abode of a Creator. This creator is variously called (Supreme Deity or literally The Great Mountain) or (life giver), and is the "cause of all causes," making the Santal religion, in a deep sense, monotheistic as well as pantheistic. There are several ranks of : the most important are associated intimately with Marang Buru and are worshipped by all Santals. These include , and . Other , who are held to be less powerful, are the spirits of important people of the village who have since been deified. There is also another class of who are feared as bringers of evil. These spirits are not placated by a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
but by a medicine-man called . In the present-day, belief in these malignant is eroding due to the penetration of modern medical science. The lack of a separate name for malignant caused many early colonial scholars to present Santal religion as wholly focused on the appeasement of evil spirits or as representing bongas as exclusively harmful. However in itself simply means a supernatural force in the world and has no specific connotation with good or evil. Moreover, these bongas do not refer to specific objects but to the invisible force that governs or is associated with those objects. The Santal creation story holds that originally the world was water, and Marang Buru and some lesser deities were the only inhabitants. When some spirits requested permission to make humans, Marang Buru asked to create the human bodies. When she had finally succeeded, she was told by Marang Buru to use the human spirits that were high on the rafters of his hut. She could not reach the human spirit, and took the bird spirit instead. When Marang Buru integrated the spirits with the bodies, they flew away and asked for a place to build a nest. Marang Buru could not get anyone else to bring land to the surface, and so the tortoise volunteered and pushed the Earth onto his back. The birds then gave birth to a boy and a girl called and . These two had seven sons and seven daughters, but the couple soon had a quarrel and separated. Pilchu
Haram ''Haram'' (; ar, حَرَام, , ) is an Arabic term meaning 'Forbidden'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowle ...
and his sons became great hunters, and on a time came upon the daughters, who had become maidens and were unrecognisable. They became introduced and made love. Looking for his sons, Pilchu Haram discovered an old woman and asked for fire, and upon talking to her more, he discovered his wife and reconciled with her. Another version tells how Pilchu Budhi was in fact in tears at her daughters' disappearance, but Marang Buru reassured her that they were all safe and brought her to reconcile with her husband. When their sons found out they had married their sisters, they were very angry and would have killed their parents if Marang Buru had not hidden them in a cave, where they stayed for the rest of their days. The children of these seven couples became the progenitors of the Santal clans. A characteristic feature of a Santal village is a
sacred grove Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...
(known as the ) on the edge of the village where many spirits live and where a series of annual festivals take place. This grove is set aside in the founding of the village and left undisturbed except at times of festival. Inside is set a series of natural (uncut) stones which represent the bongas, but are not substitutes except during festival. The , a raised mound of earth covered with a thatched roof outside the headman's house, is where the Majhi's ancestors' spirits live. During the summer, a jug of water is placed there so the spirits can drink. Here the most important decisions of the village are made, including judgements. A yearly round of rituals connected with the agricultural cycle, along with life-cycle rituals for birth, marriage and burial at death, involves petitions to the spirits and offerings that include the sacrifice of animals, usually birds. Religious leaders are male specialists in medical cures who practice divination and witchcraft (the socio-historic meaning of the term, used here, refers to the ritual practice of magic and is not pejorative). Similar beliefs are common among other
tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
on the Chota Nagpur Plateau like the Kharia, Munda, and Oraon. Smaller and more isolated tribes often demonstrate less articulated classification systems of the spiritual hierarchy described as
animism Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...
or a generalised worship of spiritual energies connected with locations, activities, and social groups. Religious concepts are intricately entwined with ideas about nature and interaction with local ecological systems. As in Santal religion, religious specialists are drawn from the village or family and serve a wide range of spiritual functions that focus on placating potentially dangerous spirits and co-ordinating rituals. These rituals include animal sacrifice, including
cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
, very unlike
Brahminical Hinduism The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...
. According to the 2011 Indian Census, for combined Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar, 63% recorded their religion as 'Hinduism', while 31% practice other religions and persuasions (mainly Sarna dharam), and 5% practice
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
.
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
,
Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...
,
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
and
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
are followed by less than 1% of the population.


Politics


Schedule Tribe status

The Santhal people are constitutionally designated
Schedule tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are design ...
status only in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Tripura state of India. And the remaining Santhal living in other administrative region, specifically North Eastern state, who migrated during
British raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
to work as Assam tea garden laborer are not listed as Scheduled Tribes in these states. The inclusion in Schedule Tribe list have been opposed by tribal activists organization, like Coordination Committee of Tribal Organizations of Assam (CCTOA). The organisation feared up that granting Scheduled Tribe status to the Santal and other 40 communities will squeeze up the benefits of
natives Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
, the "original tribal people" of the state.


Religion status

Santhal people believe in nature worship as well as sacrifices animals to their God, which are generally not permitted in
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
. Thus they consider themselves believers Sarna religion rather than Hinduism. Although there is overlap of ideology, belief, culture and practices in between Sarnasim and Hinduism.


Notable people

*
Damayanti Beshra Damayanti Beshra is a Santali author and Adivasi researcher. She is known for literature of Santali language. In 2020, she was honoured by Padma Shri for her remarkable contribution to Santhali literature. She was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Awa ...
, writer * Shyam Sundar Besra, writer *
Birbaha Hansda Birbaha Hansda is an Indian politician and former actress who currently serves as Third Mamata Banerjee ministry, Cabinet Minister for Third Mamata Banerjee ministry, Self Help Group & Self-Employment and Third Mamata Banerjee ministry, Minister ...
, Santali-language actress and politician *
Rupchand Hansda Rupchand Hansda is an Indian writer of Santali language and civil servant from West Bengal. He won Sahitya Akademi Award for Santali Translation in 2018. In 2020, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his collection of poems ''Gur Dak Kasa D ...
, writer * Sukumar Hansda, Politician * Arjun Charan Hembram, writer * Deblina Hembram, politician * Purnima Hembram, Athlete *
Sarojini Hembram Sarojini Hembram (1 October 1959) is an Indian politician from the Odisha state. She belongs to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party. She was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Bangriposi (Odisha Vidhan Sabha constituency) in 2009 and bec ...
, MP of Rajya Sabha from Odisha * Rathin Kisku,
Baul The Baul ( bn, বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism, Vaishnavism and Tantra from Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls cons ...
singer. * Sarada Prasad Kisku, writer from Purulia *
Babulal Marandi Babulal Marandi (; born 11 January 1958) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand and current Leader of the Opposition in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. He was the founder a ...
, first chief minister of Jharkhand * Louis Marandi, former cabinet minister of Jharkhand * Sudam Marndi, Revenue minister of Odisha * Sumitra Marandi, football player *
Droupadi Murmu Droupadi Murmu (, born 20 June 1958) is an Indian politician who has been serving as the 15th president of India since 25 July 2022. She is the first person belonging to the tribal community and also the second woman after Pratibha Patil to hol ...
, 15th
president of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
, former
governor of Jharkhand The governor of Jharkhand is a nominal head of the Indian state of Jharkhand and permanent representative of president of India. The governor is appointed by the president of India for a five-year term. Raj Bhavan in Ranchi serves as the offici ...
, former minister,
Government of Odisha The government of the Indian state of Odisha and its 30 districts consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch. Like other states in India, the head of state of Odisha is the Governor, appoi ...
. * G. C. Murmu, 14th CAG of India and first lieutenant governor of J&K (union territory) * Joba Murmu, writer *
Khagen Murmu Khagen Murmu (born 2 February 1960) is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament from Maldaha Uttar. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party from West Bengal. He has served four terms as a MLA from Habibpur constituency as member o ...
an Indian politician and a
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
from
Maldaha Uttar (Lok Sabha constituency) Maldaha Uttar Lok Sabha constituency (spelling as spelled by Election Commission of India) is one of the 543 parliamentary constituencies in India. All the seven assembly segments of No. 7 Maldaha Uttar Lok Sabha constituency are in Malda distr ...
. *
Raghunath Murmu Pandit Raghunath Murmu (May 1905 – 1 February 1982) was an Indian Santali writer and educator. He developed the Ol Chiki script for Santali language. Until the nineteenth century, Santali people had no written language and knowledge was tran ...
, Inventor of
Ol Chiki script The Ol Chiki () script, also known as Ol Chemetʼ (Santali: ''ol'' 'writing', ''chemet'' 'learning'), Ol Ciki, Ol, and sometimes as the Santali alphabet invented by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in the year 1925, is the official writing system for San ...
. * Sadhu Ramchand Murmu, Santali Poet, known as Kabiguru *
Salkhan Murmu Salkhan Murmu is a socio-political activist. He is the founder and national president of Jharkhand Disom Party. He was twice the Member of Parliament in 12th and 13th Lok Sabha from Mayurbhanj constituency in Odisha during the Atal Bihar ...
, Indian socio-political activist, former MP from Mayurbhanj *
Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu Sidhu Murmu and Kanhu Murmu were the leaders of the Santhal rebellion (1855–1856), the rebellion in present-day Jharkhand and Bengal (Purulia,Birbhum and Bankura) in eastern India against both the British colonial authority and the corrupt zami ...
, freedom fighters *
Uma Saren Uma Saren (born 9 May 1984) is an Indian politician who has been a Member of Lok Sabha for Jhargram since 2014. She belongs to Trinamool Congress. A medical practitioner by profession, she is the first person to speak in the Santali language i ...
, Politician, former MP from
Jhargram Jhargram is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jhargram district. It is a popular tourist destination known for its forests, ancient temples and royal palaces. Geography Location Jhargr ...
*
Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar (born 1983) is an Indian writer. Life Ethnically, Shekhar is a Santhal, one of India's Adivasi groups; this background is reflected in his fiction. His stories are rich in "fine details that add to the deep dimensions" a ...
, writer * Binita Soren, Indian mountaineer *
Hemant Soren Hemant Soren (born 10 August 1975) is an Indian politician from Jharkhand, who is currently the Chief Minister of Jharkhand. Previously, he had also served as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand from July 2013 to December 2014. He is also the pre ...
,
Chief Minister of Jharkhand The Chief Minister of Jharkhand is the chief executive of the Indian state of Jharkhand. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief ministe ...
*
Kherwal Soren Kherwal Soren (born 9 December 1957) or Kalipada Soren is a Santhali playwright, author and editor. Career Kherwal Soren, born as Kalipada Soren in 1957 at Raghunathpur near Jhargram in West Bengal, graduated from Seva Bharati Mahavidyalaya and ...
, writer *
Shibu Soren Shibu Soren ( Santali: ᱥᱤᱵᱩ ᱥᱚᱨᱮᱱ) (born 11 January 1944) is an Indian politician who thrice served as Chief Minister of Jharkhand, first in 2005 for 10 days (2 March to 12 March), then from 2008 to 2009 and again from 2009 to ...
, former chief minister of Jharkhand and president of
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Jharkhand Mukti Morcha ( lit. ''Jharkhand Liberation Front''; JMM) is a State political party in the Indian state of Jharkhand which was founded by Binod Bihari Mahato. It has one seat in the 17th Lok Sabha. Shibu Soren is the president of t ...
* Sita Soren, politician * Bishweswar Tudu, tribal affair minister of India * Jamuna Tudu, activist *
Jabamani Tudu Jabamani Tudu (born 10 April 2000) is an Indian women's international footballer who plays as a defender for East Coast Railway and the India women's national football team. Career Born in Odisha, Tudu was a part of the Odisha Sports Hostel. S ...
, football player * Majhi Ramdas Tudu, writer


References


Bibliography

* * * *


Notes

* Bodding, P. O. Santal Folk Tales. Cambridge, Massachusetts: H. Aschehoug; Harvard University Press, 1925. * Bodding, P. O. Santal Riddles and Witchcraft among the Santals. Oslo: A. W. Brøggers, 1940. * Bodding, P. O. A Santal Dictionary (5 volumes), 1933–36 Oslo: J. Dybwad, 1929. * Bodding, P. O. Materials for a Santali Grammar I, Dumka 1922 * Bodding, P. O. Studies in Santal Medicine and Connected Folklore (3 volumes), 1925–40 * Bompas, Cecil Henry, and Bodding, P. O. Folklore of the Santal Parganas. London: D. Nutt, 1909
Full text at Project Gutenberg
* Chakrabarti, Dr. Byomkes, A Comparative Study of Santali and Bengali, KP Bagchi, Calcutta, 1994 * Culshaw, W. J. Tribal Heritage; a Study of the Santals. London: Lutterworth Press, 1949. * Orans, Martin. "The Santal; a Tribe in Search of a Great Tradition." Based on thesis, University of Chicago., Wayne State University Press, 1965. * Prasad, Onkar. Santal Music: A Study in Pattern and Process of Cultural Persistence, Tribal Studies of India Series; T 115. New Delhi: Inter-India Publications, 1985. * Roy Chaudhury, Indu. Folk Tales of the Santals. 1st ed. Folk Tales of India Series, 13. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1973. * Troisi, J. The Santals: A Classified and Annotated Bibliography. New Delhi: Manohar Book Service, 1976. * ———. Tribal Religion: Religious Beliefs and Practices among the Santals. New Delhi: Manohar, 2000.


External links




Santal Rebellion



Boro Baski: Santal worries

Santal culture on Daricha Foundation website (Kolkata)
{{Scheduled tribes of West Bengal Ethnic groups in Bangladesh Indigenous peoples of South Asia Linguistic groups of the constitutionally recognised official languages of India Adivasi Ethnic groups in Nepal Social groups of Bihar Social groups of Jharkhand Social groups of Odisha Social groups of West Bengal Schools of Indian painting Scheduled Tribes of Odisha