Identification. The Santal
are the largest of the tribal populations in South Asia. Santals are found
in the three adjoining Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal
and Orissa. Migrants work in the tea plantations of Assam, with
smaller groups elsewhere in India. There are also Santal communities in
northeastern Bangladesh and in the Nepal Terai. Traditionally mixed
farmers with a recent past of hunting and gathering, Santals have found their
way to employment in agriculture and industry all over eastern South Asia.
"Santal" is the only term currently used by outsiders for the tribe.
It is also recognized as an ethnic term by the Santals themselves. Hoṛ hopon
ko (human children) and Hoṛ ko (men) are used by
them in a more traditional or ritual context.
Logo
Location. The Santal heartland is the area known as the Chota Nagpur
(Ranchi) Plateau, a hilly area of crystalline
Cambrian rocks, strewn with laterite and covered by deciduous forest. The area
lies in north eastern India approximately between 22° and 24°30′ N and stretches from 84° to 87° E. Elevation ranges from 200 to 500 meters with
mountains over 1,000 meters. Rainfall, concentrated in the July monsoon, totals
about 100 to 130 centimetres. Mean temperatures range from 15° to 21° C in January to 26° to 29° C in July.
Demography. The Indian census counted 3,640,946 Santals in 1971
(but did not count tea workers in Assam), and today the total number of Santals
must be somewhat more than Ten million. It is difficult to say much about their
population history, except that they are the largest tribal group in South
Asia. The regions of the core Santal area seem to have been settled by
different clans. Further migration led to a subdivision of land among sub clans,
still unevenly distributed over the area. In practice, however, each region
today contains a number of clans, possibly the result of an ongoing process of
migration.
Linguistic Affiliation. The Santal language, Santali, belongs to the North
Mundari Group of languages, itself part of the Austroasiatic Language Family.
Writing was introduced by Norwegian missionaries in the late nineteenth
century, and so Santali literature uses Ol Chiki. More Recently, Santali has
been written in Ol chiki, Orang Chiti.
History and Cultural Relations
The original
home of the Santals is believed to have been the Champa Kingdom of northern
Cambodia, which explains their affinities with the Mon-Khmer groups. Physical
anthropologists usually classify them under the Austro-Mongoloid type. They
probably entered India well before the Aryan invasions and came by way of Assam
and Bengal, as their traditions indicate. They assume the existence of a Santal
kingdom, a tradition which is supported by the collections of medieval Santal
weapons at the Oslo Ethnographic Museum and by the remains of what may be
identified as Santal hill forts from the medieval period. Little else is known
of this kingdom to which Santal mythic traditions allude. Moreover, the mythic
tradition recalls a war between the Santals and a part-Hindu prince, Mandho
Singh, who was born of a Santal mother. Mandho Singh succeeded in recruiting
followers among the Santals who followed him to the south of Nagpur, settled
there, and became more Hinduized. Early contacts with the British led to the
Santal rebellion of 1854-1856, in which some ten thousand Santals were killed.
They became an important source of plantation labor, while missionary efforts
introduced writing and had some influence on their culture. Only small numbers
were actually converted to Christianity. Today, the Santals are among the
main sources of support for the Jharkhand "tribalist" movement, in
which they collaborate to some extent with other Santhal-speaking groups.
Settlements
Santals typically
live in their own villages, laid out on a street pattern, and numbering from
400 to 1,000 inhabitants each. While separate villages are preferred, various
groups sometimes live more or less separately in the tribal or low-caste
quarters of mixed villages or towns. Santals never live in Untouchable
quarters. In the large industrial towns of the Indian coal and iron belt, there
are separate Santal quarters.
Santal houses are
mud structures, but they are sturdily built and often decorated with floral
designs. Roofs are tiled and slope toward all four sides. Houses have verandas
and at least two rooms; the "inner room" (Bhittar )
contains the ancestors and the granary protected by them. The main post (khunti ),
located at the center of the house, to which sacrifices are made on building
the house, is of considerable ritual importance.
Economy
Subsistence and
Commercial Activities. It is probable that Santals originally were
hunters and gatherers, as their near relatives and neighbors, the Birhors,
still are. Their knowledge of plants and animals is reflected in their
pharmacopoeia (see below). In hunting technology, their past is evidenced by
the use of some eighty varieties of traps. Later, their main economic base
shifted to slash-and-burn agriculture and husbandry. Today, wet rice is grown
in terraced fields; on the plains, irrigation by canals and ditches is used.
Several varieties of rice are grown along with some sixteen varieties of
millet. Leguminous vegetables, fruit, mustard, groundnut (in Orissa), cotton,
and tobacco are important crops. The Santals keep cattle, goats, and poultry
and are non vegetarian. Fishing is important whenever they have access to
rivers and ponds. The economy of the Santals is biased toward consumption, but
they sell or barter (in Bihar) goats, poultry, fish, rice and rice beer,
millet, groundnut, mustard seed, vegetables, and fruits when a surplus is
available.
Migrant labour
plays an important role; many Santals have migrated to work in plantations,
mines, and industries. In Bengal, some are gardeners or domestic servants. A
small educated elite includes politicians, lawyers, doctors, and engineers,
while considerable numbers of Santal women work as nurses. Seasonal or
temporary migration is particularly important for women, who are working in construction
or mining.
Industrial Arts. Santals are
expert at wood carving, but this craft, like ironwork, is declining both in
quality and importance. Such products were mainly made for their own ceremonial
use. Basketwork, weaving of mats, and manufacture of dishes and cups from sal leaves
(Patra ) are crafts still of commercial importance, as are rope
making and the manufacture of string beds (charpa ). Santal
woodwork formerly included the building of impressive carts and advanced wooden
utensils. They still make a large number of musical instruments. While
industrial arts have declined, beautiful artifacts are still found, cherished
as private heirlooms. Santal women also brew rice beer and alcohol, made from
mohua flowers (Madhuwa ).
Trade. Santals sell
their products for cash or barter at tribal markets; rice money was still in
use in Bihar in the 1970s. Some trade is also done with Hindu villages and
towns, mainly the marketing of agricultural and craft products. Women dominate
this trade, while the main male preserve is the sale of goats and cattle.
Division of Labor. Hunting was
always a male activity, gathering activities being dominated by women. In
agriculture, men plow and sow, while women transplant and weed; division of
labor by gender extends through most agricultural work. Boys and young men herd
the cattle; women do the milking, collect the dung, and collect fuel in
general. Poultry is tended by women, who also catch freshwater crabs, shrimps,
etc. in the ponds; fishing by boat or with large land nets is done by the men.
Women, as noted, dominate most trade. Ironwork, woodworking, and rope making
are male activities; basketwork, weaving, and leaf work are done by women.
Ritual specialists are traditionally male; women are formally excluded from
such activities.
Land Tenure. Traditionally land was held by
usufruct, for slash-and-burn agriculture. With the introduction of wet rice
cultivation, local descent groups descended from the clans of the original
settlers divided village lands between themselves. The village priest got an
additional allotment. The British introduced individual holdings (ryotwari).
Members of subclans, not represented among the village founders, were
originally landless and are still accorded inferior status.
Kinship
Kin Groups and
Descent. The Santals are divided into 12 clans and 164 subclans. They are
patrilineal and strictly endogamous; their principal function is ceremonial and
referential. The clans (paris ) are ranked according to old
functional divisions: the Kisku were kings, the Murmu priests, etc. There is an
allusion to mythical wars between clans, ending in a ban on intermarriage. The
ranking of clans is reflected in a slight tendency to hypergamy. Subclan
hierarchy is expressed in terms of senior/junior distinctions as well as
pure/impure; sub clan identities focus on modes of sacrifice. On the village
level, the local descent group is of major organizational importance. Here
genealogical knowledge extends backward for only three to four generations. In
some areas, there is a tendency for certain clans to intermarry unilaterally
over several generations, forming a marriage alliance, but this practice never
assumes the form of prescriptive marriage. Of greater importance, however, is
the principle of alternate generations, which explains a whole range of joking
and avoidance relationships. Politically, kinship is overshadowed by the
functions of local chiefs and priests.
Kinship
Terminology. The two main principles of the terminology are the distinctions
between consanguine relatives and between affines. In address, there is a
merging of all cousins into the sibling category. Despite the lack of a clear
prescriptive alliance system, there is a tendency to marry the classificatory
mother's brother daughter. The most distinctive Munda feature of the system is
the alternation of generation (which recalls very clearly the Australian
tribes). There is a slight tendency to have clan hypergamy—possibly a result of
Hindu influence.
Marriage. Ideologically,
the reasons given for marriage are to place offspring under the ancestor spirit
(Bonga ) of the husband's clan and to secure labor for the land.
Marriage may be of several types. William Archer notes fourteen forms, but the
most important are bride-price and bride-service variants. Other alternatives
are marriage by capture or elopement. The variations in form reflect the
relative positions of spouses: bride-price leads to virilocal residence and is
seen as the ideal form, but poor grooms performing bride-service reside
uxorilocally. The openness of the system is reflected in the relative ease of
divorce by mutual agreement, the provision for taking a second wife, the remarriage
of widows, and the special arrangement of purchasing a groom for an unmarried
mother.
Domestic Unit. Household
units tend toward extended rather than nuclear families, with sons and their
wives remaining in the paternal household. It is, however, common for sons to
separate before the death of the father, sometimes at the latter's initiative.
It is also common to extend nuclear households by the unmarried sister of the
wife or through other arrangements. Nuclear households are an ever-present,
though numerically relatively unimportant, alternative. Levirate and sororate
are not uncommon in the case of the death of either spouse.
Inheritance. Inheritance
rules are complex among the Santals, but land is usually divided among the
brothers, with smaller portions going to daughters as dowry. In certain cases,
unmarried girls may inherit land, but their land reverts to brothers on
marriage.
Socialization. The most
striking feature of socialization among Santals is the role of grandparents of
both sexes. It is through them that children receive their cultural education,
even sometimes to the extent of grandmothers initiating their grandsons
sexually. Children are disciplined by teasing rather than punishment; while
breast-feeding is prolonged, toilet training is achieved at an early age.
Children have to work early; otherwise education is very liberal, with much
emphasis on cleanliness.
Boys are initiated
at the age of 21 or 18, when the five tribal marks are branded on their
forearms by a maternal uncle. Girls are tattooed by Hindu or Muslim specialists
at the age of 18, following the first menstruation ceremony, which shows Hindu
features. At this age, girls are considered to be sexually mature.
Modern education is
still a problem, because of a lack of teachers in outlying areas. There is, however,
less difference in school attendance between boys and girls than among the
nontribals. Christian children receive more and better education.
Sociopolitical Organization
Social
Organization. Although, as noted, there is a traditional hierarchy of clans, the
Santals are basically egalitarian, thus contrasting strongly with their Hindu
neighbors. Economically, however, there are considerable differences in wealth
and status. The clans and sub clans, on the one hand, and the villages and
regions, on the other, are the most important internal divisions. The senior
male member of the local descent group enjoys a certain authority and prestige
derived from ritual functions, as do the religious specialists (priests
and Ojha ) and the chiefs. Proficient hunters and orators
likewise acquire prestige. Political leaders in the modern arena, like the
charismatic leaders of the past, become sources of authority. District chiefs (pargana and majhi )
may enjoy a considerable status when successful in the settlement of disputes.
Differences of wealth are expressed in the ability to employ servants. The
well-to-do Santal families employ laborers on a contract basis and sometimes
grant them land.
Political
Organization. In general, authority tends toward a charismatic rather than a
traditional pattern. At the village level, the most important political
institution is the village assembly, which has no head. This institution
directly confronts the "council of the five elders," who represent
the "five brothers" of the Santal tradition and are the village
chief, the messenger of the village, the one responsible for young people's
morals, the village priest, and his assistant.
At the intervillage
level, the pargana (chief of twelve villages), who is sometimes enthroned as a
petty king, presides over the tribal court. He also leads intervillage
ceremonial hunting, with the "hunting priest" at his side. The hunt
is the occasion for a court. Likewise, the pargana is assisted by the
"country chief and the messenger who both carry out his orders.
For Indian Santals,
villages and districts are subjects of panchayati raj (Local
Goverment), sometimes overlapping and sometimes in competition with the
traditional institutions.
Social Control. The sources
of conflict among Santals can be summarized as: sexual offenses, land disputes,
conflicts over money, cases of evil eye, jealousy, and witchcraft. Many
cases are settled by compensation, usually through tribal assemblies, which
still function parallel to, and sometimes in competition with, the Indian
courts. The most general of these traditional assemblies is the Santal Lo bir
Sendra, "the judgment of the burnt forest," which is convened at the
time of the traditional inter village hunts. Village assemblies Like wise play
an important role in the settlement of disputes. Witchcraft accusations are
common. The witch is identified by ritual specialists, either a JaherBaba or
an ojha. Traditionally this naming led to the death of the witch.
While some sexual
offenses, including rape, are usually settled by compensation through the
mediation of the village assembly, the major offenses of incest and breach of
tribal endogamy are primarily the responsibility of the local kin group, which
excommunicates and—at least traditionally—kills the offenders. Excommunicates,
like witches, are ostracized by their relatives. Land disputes may be cited as
the main example of conflicts that are settled by Indian courts.
Conflict. The Santals
have a long tradition of suspicion in regard to the diku, "foreigners,"
above all toward the dominant Hindu population of the area. This is clear not
only from history (e.g., the Santal rebellion) but even more from the content
of their myths and folklore, where the foreigner is the source of death,
sickness, and other calamities. In practice, there has certainly been a history
of exploitation by Hindu merchants, moneylenders, and labour brokers. Today
this conflict continues mainly within the framework of the Indian political
system, where Santals tend to support either the Jharkhand
"tribalist" movement, working for a semi independent state, or the
Maoist Communist party, working for land reform and control of the means of
producing, especially mines and plantations.
Religion and Expressive Culture
Religious Beliefs. The Santal
pantheon includes about 150 spirit deities, generally called Bonga. These
deities include a large number of separate classes, impossible to enumerate
here. Some relate to the sub clan, but even here we must distinguish between
the Bonga of the place of origin of the clan and its ancestral Bonga. Each
village has a sacred grove, where we find represented the Bonga common to the
Santal tradition. They are generally benevolent. The forest Bonga, however, are
malevolent, and include the souls of people who died an unnatural death.
Hindu influence is
particularly notable in the appearance of Hindu goddesses as tutelary deities
of Santal Ojha. On the one hand, these goddesses patronize Santal witches and
introduce disease; on the other hand, their patronage is necessary to combat
the same evils. Hindu symbols, such as the trident, have become potent ritual
paraphernalia of the Santal ojha.
Religious
Practitioners. The village priest (Nayke ) is identified, with his
wife, as representative of the original Santal couple. Their functions are
mainly related to festivals and recurrent annual ceremonies. He consecrates the
animals offered to the sacred grove deities. He often compares himself with the Brahman of
the encompassing society.
The Santal ojha, a
healer and diviner, has several functions. He drives away the malevolent
deities, divines the causes of disease, administers remedies according to
considerable medical knowledge, and expels pain from the body. He learns his
basic magical formulas (mantras) from his master, but he also adds to them from
his own experience. An important element in his repertoire is the sacrifice of
his own blood (conceived as menstrual blood) to the Bonga, for which he
receives a fee. In the rationalization of his practice he employs several Hindu
concepts, yet remains fundamentally within the Santal cultural framework. This
position between two Cultures enables him to interpret his own culture and
society.
Ceremonies. Life-cycle
rituals, such as initiation, marriage, and burial are celebrated individually.
But after burial, the final ceremony of gathering the bones and immersing them
in water becomes a collective rite. Other collective rites are related to the
agricultural cycle: sowing, transplanting, consecration of the crops, and
harvest festivals, as well as the annual festival of the cattle. Another cycle
concerns the old hunting and gathering traditions, notably the seasonal hunts.
The most important, however, of the festivals related to the old hunting and
gathering society is the flower festival, which is also the festival of the
ancestors and related to the fertility of women. Rainmaking rituals, held in
the spring, involve the ritual participation of the village priest, who has the
power to produce rain.
Arts. Santal oral
literature is rich and includes folktales, myths, riddles, and village stories,
and much of it has been recorded or written. Publication began in 1870 with the
work of the Norwegian missionaries, who also left large archives of texts
written by the Santals themselves. There is also a certain amount of literature
in Santali: newspapers, books, and schoolbooks.
Traditional songs
are many and various, including ritual texts, dances in homage to the “BONGA”,
obscene songs sometimes related to hunting or the punishment of offenders, etc.
They are classified according to tunes that in turn relate to content.
Christian songs have been composed to the same pattern. Each type of song is
accompanied by a particular type of traditional dance. The sexes dance
separately except when love songs are performed.
More recently, a
tradition of folk theater, often with Political overtones, has developed. The
main plays have been written by cultural reformers like Ragunath Murmu, and
together they present a message of modernization and tribal uplift for the
Santal tribe as a whole. Among the visual arts, we may mention the designs
decorating houses, the traditional wood carving, and the traditional jewelery,
sometimes made of iron and silver.
Medicine. Traditional
medicine is highly developed among the Santals and implies a surprising range
of botanical and zoological knowledge; more than 300 species each of plants and
of animals are identified and used in the pharmacopoeia. There is even, in the
organization of botanical knowledge, a hierarchization based on the morphology
of plants. The making of remedies implies again a considerable practical
knowledge of chemistry.
This medical
knowledge is described in a Santal text from the turn of the century, which
establishes a complete pathology defining and ranking symptoms and disease
according to consistent criteria. Recent fieldwork data corroborates the value
of this work, though there is a tendency nowadays to replace such remedies by
ritual invocations.
For the Santals,
modern medicine sometimes provides an alternative for healing without in any
way replacing or superseding traditional medicine.
Death and
Afterlife. Santal souls become Bonga three generations after death, provided
that the correct rituals have been performed. At cremation, some bones are
collected by the main mourner (usually the eldest son) and kept for awhile
under the rafters of the house. They are washed and fed ritually by female
mourners with milk, rice beer, and sacred water. Thus, the Bhadan (Mourning)
ritual displays the central Santal symbolism of Jangbaha (flower and bone). The
feeding of bones that are crowned by flowers expresses the complementarity of
the principle of descent (bone) and the principle of affinity (flower =
uterus). The chief mourner is possessed by and impersonates the dead and is
questioned by the village priest. This dialogue aims at providing the deceased
with the wherewithal of the other world. A year later, the bones are immersed
in water, a ritual involving sacrifice of a goat. The dead now becomes an
ancestor known by name; one month later the recitation of a ritual text releases
him from identity to become a nameless ancestor. He now joins other ancestors
in the ancestral room of the house and partakes in the offering of rice beer to
the ancestors. Now his shadow, which was roaming between the worlds, goes to
Hanapuri, the abode of the dead. Here Jom Raja, king of the dead, rules; the
passage from there to the state of becoming a Bonga is never made explicit.
The land of the
dead is conceptualized as a place where certain individuals acquire the source
of magic powers, while others are simply rewarded according to the way they
have acted during their life. While the yogi returns to the world and achieves
immortality, simple men endure the justice of Jom Raja. The idea of afterlife
shows both Hindu and Christian influence.
