The Santhal tribe is one of India’s largest tribal groups, boasting a population of over 4 lakh across Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and Assam. Agrarianists by livelihood, they live in small hamlets and villages that depend on land resources as well as forests for sustenance.
Santhals lack temples and worship nature. They practice their own religion, Sarna. There is no priest present; rather, they pay respect at sacred groves called Jaher and celebrate four festivals annually.
Music and dance are intrinsic to their culture. Their distinctive style of music is marked by rhythmic repetition of notes, while sounding different than Hindustani classical music to elicit traditional feelings. They play various instruments like Tirio (Bamboo Flute), Korom open chest instrument, Hotok short neck (hotok) instrument and Phet banam drum.
Their music is accompanied by several drums, which serve to express their collective nature, social cohesion and awareness. Their folk songs and dances serve as expressions of this collective nature, cohesion and social awareness.
Cultural Heritage: The Santhals have a vibrant cultural heritage. Their traditional way of life has had an immense influence on other indigenous groups within India.
Their worldview is a blend of science and religion, with Sarna being their religion which emphasizes nature’s importance. They believe that the land they inhabit was gifted to them by their ancestors; therefore they revere both it and Sarna as their Lord.
Santhals have a village-level judicial system. Manjhi Hadam, supported by Jagmanjhi and other office bearers, oversees this body which looks into cases and attempts to resolve them.
Many members of the Santhal community possess advanced degrees and work in various fields. Some even hold government positions, such as Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren or Chandra Murmu – Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
They use Ol Chiki as their unique script. This script was invented in 1925 by Dr Raghunath Murmu after studying their language, physical environment and daily life.
Their language is a combination of Indo-Asiatic, Aryan and Munda languages. It is believed that the Santhals speak a subgroup of Munda family within Austro-Asiatic human families.
Santhal language contains many words derived from natural sounds that can be easily understood by others. These words are structured so that they can be easily remembered and understood by speakers of other languages.
Santhal community prominent figures include Hemant Soren, Chandra Murmu, Bishweswar Tudu and Droupadi Murmu. All hold various public offices and are highly esteemed in Indian society.
Nowadays, they enjoy widespread recognition and respect from both within India as well as beyond. They are considered among the world’s most literate tribal groups, with numerous members holding various positions within Indian government institutions.
