Himalayan Times (1957)

August 4, 1967

Seven

due to their failure to
pick up modern tUvioe,
in this field too the San-
tals are being oaited by
non-tribal peoples Few
Santal families in Bankura
Lave taken to weaving
and carpentry, but gone
rally Santal youths, who
have received training in
crafts from teohnioal
sohool, have failed to
follow up the line. Lack
of capital is thought to
be the main reason. How
muoh lack of sooial ap-
preciation it responsible
for this feature has not
been ascertained. Though
very insignificant in num-
ber, a few Santals have
in recent years joined
services and liberal pro-
fession. In Midnapore
dittrict, there are mure
than half a' dozen of
Santal graduates including
one LMb'. Two Special
Offioers and two Tribal
Welfare Offioers under the
Tribal Welfare Depart-
ment belong to the an-
tal community. Quite a
good number of Santals
have been employed as
teaohert in lower primary
schools, some have also
joined the police force.

Social customs and
beliefs: Santals are tra-
ditionally divided into
twelve ancestral olans or
parts and sub-divided into
a number of khvXs or
tub clans For oeremonial
purposes it is the khul
relationship that really

matters and not only one
is not entitled to marry
in his own khut but he
oannot marry in the khut
of hit mother also.

Community life of
the Santalt it well orga-
nised They like to keep
together in hamlets or
villages of their own where
they can tpeak their own
language and observe their
own oustomt. The officials
to look after the affairs
of a village consist of the
manjhi or headman, the
paranik or vice-headman,
the na-ke or offer-priest,
the kudum na-ke or vice,
offer.priest and the jog.
manjhi or guardian of the
morals of the village
youths. A go between
called " godet " is also
usually to be found in
every Santal village.

Santal tooiety it
traditionally homogeneous
in character and demo-
cratic in spirit. The
ttrongett social sanction
at the disposal of the
oommuntty it bitiaka or
social ostracism. The right
of permanent bitlaha, how-
ever, is not vetted in the
village panchayet but in
"Lo-bir" or hunt council,
held during the annual
tribal hunt in which all
the able bodied adult men
of ft number of village
groups participate. This
" Lo-bir" is the largest
sooio political unit of the
Santal and it pretided
over by the "Dihri" or

the spiritual and aeoular
leader of the hunt, who
is a common Santal wi-
thout any official position.
In the "Lo-bir", individual
at well at public matters are
discussed and democrati-
cally decided upon and
the decisions are binding
on all. Four important
ceremonies in which the
entire village community
participates mark the four
crucial phases in the life
cycle of a Santal indivi-
dual. They are janam
chhatiar—birth rites and
chacho chhatiar—rites ad-
mitting one as a full
men ber of Santal society,
rites of marriage and death
rites. The rite of chacho
chhatiar does not, how-
ever, apply to women,
because they, suffering
from certain religious rest-
rictions, can never be full-
fledged members of the
Santal aociety.

Santal religion reoog"
niset a benevolent high
god, known as Ohando,
and innumerable benevo-
lent spirits called bonga.
The principal bonga are
Marang Bum, Mortko,
Jaher Era, Oetat Era and
Pargana Bonga, who prac-
tically monopolise the
religiout interests of the
Santal. They are worship-
ped and propitiated by
blood offerings during the
annual festivals of Brok'-
tim, Harair'tim, Hi-gun-
dlinaumai, J anthar
Sohrae, Magh'sim and'