Santal people
ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲ ᱦᱚᱲ | |
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The Santal people (or Santhal) are an
Etymology
Santal is most likely derived from an exonym. The term refers to inhabitants of Saont in erstwhile Silda in Medinapore region in West Bengal.[A][8] The Sanskrit word Samant or Bengali Saont means plain land.[9] Their ethnonym is Hor Hopon ("child of human").[B]
History
Origins
According to linguist
Due to the lack of significant archaeological records, the original homeland of the Santhals is not known with certainty. The folklore of the Santhals claims they came from Hihiri, which scholars have identified as Ahuri in Hazaribagh district.[12] From there, they claim, they were pushed onto Chota Nagpur Plateau, then to Jhalda, Patkum and finally Saont, where they settled for good.[C] According to Dalton, where they were renamed to Santal from cluster name Kharwar.[13][12] This legend, which has been cited by several scholars, has been used as evidence that the Santals once had a significant presence in Hazaribagh. Colonial scholar Colonel Dalton 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.[D]
British Era
In the latter half of the 18th century, the Santals entered the historical record in 1795 when they are recorded as "Soontars." During the
When they arrived in
However, as they became more agricultural, the Santals were
Eventually, these acts of exploitation, combined with British tax policies and corrupt tax collectors, deteriorated to the point where Santals grew discontented. In 1855, they revolted in the Santal rebellion, better known as the Santal Hul. 30,000 Santals, led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, attacked the zamindars and other outsiders (dikkus) who had made their lives so miserable, as well as the British authorities. Eventually, around 10,000 British troops managed to suppress the rebellion. Although the rebellion's impact was largely overshadowed by that of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, 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, Jharkhand.[14][15][16] 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.[17]
After the
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.[18] 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.[citation needed]
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
In northern
After Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000, the Santal Parganas was made a separate division of the state.[17] 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.[L]
Society
The base of Santal society is a division between "sibling" (boeha) and "guest" (pera), a divide found in many other
Those who do not have brotherhood are referred to as pera, or guests. Members of other communities, especially those not speaking Santali, are excluded from this grouping, except for communities such as the
Santal society has much less stratification and is more
The Santals also have
The Santals have another social organisation important for rituals, called khunti, or gusti in south Chota Nagpur.[a] The term refers to descendants of a common ancestor, no more than a few generations back, that live nearby. The khunti is identified by some distinguishing feature of the ancestor, such as poeta, people who wear a thread on their chest in worship. In many cases, all the people of a gusti live in their ancestral village, but some members may have migrated to neighbouring villages.[W]
Culture
Festivals
Chadar Badar, 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.[21]
Local affairs are handled by a
The walls of traditional Santal homes are ornamented with carved designs of animals, hunting scenes, dancing scenes, and
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 hapramko bapla, or ancestor's marriage, but the most widely practiced is kesimek'. 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 jog majhi 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 kesimek'. If she replies 'no', the boy's family will have to pay a small fine to the jog majhi 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 kesimek'.[X] The bride and groom are not bound by any obligation to marry.[Y] During this time, the jog majhi 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.[Y]
On the day of the kesimek' ceremony, a group of men from the bride's village, including the jog majhi, 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 marang or hudin 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
A short time afterwards, a relative of the groom along with the jog majhi of the
Marriages done by kesimek' 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.[Y]
Religion
In the Santal religion, the majority of reverence falls on a court of
There are several ranks of bongas: the most important are associated intimately with
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 Malan Budhi 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 Pilchu Haram and Pilchu Budhi. These two had seven sons and seven daughters, but the couple soon had a quarrel and separated. Pilchu Haram 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.[26]
A characteristic feature of a Santal village is a sacred grove (known as the Jaher[AE][AF]) on the edge of the village where many spirits live and where a series of annual festivals take place.[23] 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.[AG] The Majhi Than, 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.[citation needed]
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.
Smaller and more isolated tribes often demonstrate less articulated classification systems of the spiritual hierarchy described as animism or a generalised worship of spiritual energies connected with locations, activities, and social groups.[23] Religious concepts are intricately entwined with ideas about nature and interaction with local ecological systems.[23] 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.[23]
According to the
Politics
Schedule Tribe status
The Santhal people are constitutionally designated as
Religion status
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2022) |
The Santhal people believe in
Notable people
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2022) |
- Damayanti Beshra, writer
- Shyam Sundar Besra, writer
- Birbaha Hansda, Santali-language actress and politician[36]
- Rupchand Hansda, writer
- Sukumar Hansda, Politician
- Arjun Charan Hembram, writer
- Deblina Hembram, politician
- Lipsa Hembram, fashion designer
- Purnima Hembram, Athlete[37]
- Sarojini Hembram, MP of Rajya Sabha from Odisha
- Rathin Kisku, Baul singer.[38]
- Sarada Prasad Kisku, writer from Purulia
- Babulal Marandi, first chief minister of Jharkhand[39]
- Louis Marandi, former cabinet minister of Jharkhand
- Sudam Marndi, Revenue minister of Odisha
- Sumitra Marandi, football player
- G. C. Murmu, 14th CAG of India and first lieutenant governor of J&K (union territory)[42]
- Joba Murmu, writer
- Maldaha Uttar (Lok Sabha constituency).[43]
- Raghunath Murmu, Inventor of Ol Chiki script.
- Sadhu Ramchand Murmu, Santali Poet, known as Kabiguru
- Salkhan Murmu, Indian socio-political activist, former MP from Mayurbhanj
- Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, freedom fighters[44]
- Jhargram[45]
- Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, writer
- Binita Soren, Indian mountaineer
- Hemant Soren, Chief Minister of Jharkhand[46]
- Kherwal Soren, writer
- Shibu Soren, former chief minister of Jharkhand and president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha[46]
- Sita Soren, politician
- Bishweswar Tudu, tribal affair minister of India
- Rafayel Tudu, football player[47]
- Jamuna Tudu, activist
- Jabamani Tudu, football player
- Joba Majhi, politician
- Majhi Ramdas Tudu, writer
- Kunar Hembram, Member of Parliament
References
Footnotes
Citations
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 3
- ^ Somers 1979, p. 5
- ^ Sen 1997, p. 14
- ^ Sen 1997, p. 15
- ^ a b Sen 1997, p. 19
- ^ Sen 1997, p. 20
- ^ Somers 1979, p. 43
- ^ Somers 1979, p. 31
- ^ Somers 1979, p. 46
- ^ Sen 1997, p. 21
- ^ Somers 1979, p. 53
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 6-7
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 99
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 99-100
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 100
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 102
- ^ Somers 1979, p. 59
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 103
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 104
- ^ Somers 1979, p. 58
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 109
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 110-111
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 117
- ^ Somers 1979, p. 23
- ^ a b c Somers 1979, p. 29
- ^ Somers 1979, p. 28
- ^ a b c Somers 1979, p. 25
- ^ Somers 1979, p. 26
- ^ Hembrom 1996, p. 36
- ^ Hembrom 1996, p. 38
- ^ Schulte-Droesch 2018, p. 187
- ^ Hembrom 1996, p. 41
- ^ Hembrom 1996, p. 42
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- ^ "A-11 Appendix: District wise scheduled tribe population (Appendix), Tripura - 2011". censusindia.gov.in. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.
- ^ "Table 1.4 Ethnic Population by Group and Sex" (PDF) (in Bengali). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. 2021. p. 34.
- ^ "National Population and Housing Census 2011: Social Characteristics Tables" (PDF). Nepal Census – via Government of Nepal.
- ^ a b "ST-14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community - Jharkhand". census.gov.in. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
- ^ Cavallaro, Francesco; Rahman, Tania. "The Santals of Bangladesh" (PDF). ntu.edu.sg. Nayang Technical University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ Census 1961, west bengal-district handbook, Midnapore (PDF). The superintendent, government printing, West Bengal. 1966. p. 58. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2021.
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- ^ a b Somers 1979
- ^ Sarkar, Ashim Kumar (2016). "Forest, Land Use, and Water: A Study of the Santal Adivasi World of Colonial Maldah, 1900-1947" (PDF). Vidyasagar University Journal of History. 4: 29–40.
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- ^ Debnath, Mrinal Kanti (28 February 2011). Living on the Edge: The Predicament of a Rural Indigenous Santal Community in Bangladesh (Doctor of Education thesis).
- ^ Hembrom 1996, p. 40"... it simply signifies invisible supernatural forces or powers and can very well be understood equivalent to the English word 'spirit'."
- ^ Bradley-Birt, Francis Bradley (1910). Chota nagpur : a little-known province of Empire (2nd ed.). Smith, Elder, & Co.
- ^ "ST-14 Scheduled Tribe Population By Religious Community". census.gov.in. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
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- ^ Das, Madhuparna (2 April 2016). "Santhali actress Birbaha Hansda to fight West Bengal polls". The Economic Times. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
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- ^ Das, Anand ST (1 November 2019). "'A Tribal Boy Got a Big Opportunity': GC Murmu's Mother Elated over His Appointment as J&K's L-G". News18. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
- ^ "40 Years In CPM And Now A BJP MP, This Man Embodies Left's Demise". HuffPost India. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ISBN 9780230328853.
- ^ Seetharaman, G.; Balasubramanyam, K. R. (25 May 2014). "32 newly elected under-35 MPs & what they intend to do for their constituencies". The Economic Times. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Shibu Soren". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ "রাফায়েল টুডু : গোলকিপার থেকে বিসিএলের শীর্ষ গোলদাতা!" [Rafael Tudu: BCL top scorer from goalkeeper!]. OffsideBangladesh (in Bengali). 11 April 2024. Archived from the original on 12 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
Bibliography
- Schulte-Droesch, Lea (2018). Making place through ritual : land, environment and region among the Santal of Central India. OCLC 1054397811.
- Somers, George E. (1979). The dynamics of Santal traditions in a peasant society. Schenkman Pub. Co. OCLC 5668202.
- Sen, Suchibrata (1997). The Santals, crises of identity and integration. Ratna Prakashan. OCLC 40418077.
- Hembrom, Timotheas (1996). The Santals : anthropological-theological reflections on Santali & biblical creation traditions (1 ed.). Calcutta: Punthi Pustak. OCLC 35742627.
Further reading
- 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.