Photo: Baha Parab- Santal Festival Celebration; Credit: Wikipedia.
Santals are one of the largest indigenous tribes in India, who live mainly in the eastern states of India. They are found in the states of Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh.
History
The Santal tribe belongs to the pre-Aryan period. They are one of the most primitive castes among the oldest tribal groups in India. The Santal Hul (revolution) of 1855-56 was one such landmark revolt fought by the Santal Adivasis against the zamindars, moneylenders, colonial authorities, and the police. The Santhal rebellion occurred in the Rajmahal hills of the Santhal region in Jharkhand. This uprising was led by four brothers Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand and Bhairav. . Among the numerous tribal revolts, the Santhal uprising was the most massive one.
Photo: The Santal ‘Hul’; Photo Credit: Tribal Cultural Heritage in India Foundation
Village Set Up & Community Life
Their villages are located mostly in forested areas. A typical Santal village consists of houses places on either side of road. The houses are kept neat and clean. Santals lead a community life. The Santals mostly speak Santhali – a part of the Austroasiatic family.
Photo: Santal village; Photo Credit: D’source
Occupational Structure
Santal Life revolves around the forests that they live in. Santal tribes are sustained by the forests and their occupations are mainly farming, fishing, hunting.
Farming
The Santals are mostly agriculturalists. They grow rice as their main crop. They consider land as precious as their own life. In agriculture, men plow and sow, while women transplant and weed; division of labor by gender extends through most agricultural work. A yearly round of rituals connected with the agricultural cycle.
Hunting
The Santals are skilled hunters. They perform hunting along with their daily activities as a source of living. The hunt is all about patience. The men have no option but to wait for the animal to emerge. In addition to sticks, Santhali hunters use unique bows and arrows as their hunting tools.
Fishing
Santals are mostly agriculturalist but due to many types of water bodies (such as shallow pond, swamps, running water, marshy places & paddy field) present in the district they catch fishes as hobby, for food, festival & livelihood. Santal have inherited the traditional fishing system from their forefathers. They are well acquainted with fishing sites & know which fish species they will get from there. They use different appliances made mostly of natural artefacts like basket made of bamboo which is wider at one end than the other and both ends are open. It is plunged with the wider end down into the water over the fish and the hand is put in through the smaller opening & the fish is caught.
Music & Dance
After a long day at work, Santals find relaxation in music and dance. Traditionally, the Santal dance is performed with the tune of beating of drums and blowing of the flutes. Their traditional musical instruments include bamboo flutes called tirio, drums named tamak (single-headed kettle drum), ankle bells named junko (tied to the feet of dancers from where they produce rhythmical sounds), and fiddles known as banam (a single-string wooden instrument), among others. The Santals make these instruments themselves.
After a long day at work, Santals find relaxation in music and dance. Traditionally, the Santal dance is performed with the tune of beating of drums and blowing of the flutes. Their traditional musical instruments include bamboo flutes called tirio, drums named tamak (single-headed kettle drum), ankle bells named junko (tied to the feet of dancers from where they produce rhythmical sounds), and fiddles known as banam (a single-string wooden instrument), among others. The Santals make these instruments themselves.
Photo: Santal People Dancing. Credit: D’souce
Check out the catalogue on Santal Cultural Items published by Ghosaldanga Bishnubati Adibasi Trust Birbhum, West Bengal HERE.
Festivals
As the Santals are agriculturists, their festivals are mainly connected with various agricultural activities and a few are connected with the hunting and collection of forest produce. The Santal festivals are celebrated along with the seasonal cycle like Baha (flower festival), Karam (festival of productivity), Saharai (festivals of ancestors’ worship and domestic animals) etc. Saharai porob, is a harvest festival and the most popular festivals. Their inherent love of dance and music forms an important part of Santal fairs and festivals. The Santal festivals are always accompanied with traditional home-made fermented rice beer (Handia).
Social Life
The local weekly market or Haat occupies an important place in the socio-economic life of the Santal. Marriage (bapla) is one of the most significant events in Santal society and it is a sign of prosperity and the beginning of new life. In Santal marriage bride and groom being carried in a doli (palanquin) from house to house. To celebrate the marriage ceremony, the Santal play drums and flute. Everything is intended to make the palanquin and the marriage itself auspicious.
Photo: A Santal Haat; Photo Credit: D’source
Art & Crafts
The Santals have inherent talents in art and crafts which is reflected in their beautiful wall paintings and housing architecture. Murals on the walls of the mud houses is a common feature in some Santal villages. The walls of the mud houses are painted with vegetative, figurative and manmade visual forms during festivals, weddings, and other social occasions. Sometimes the wall painted by white mud and the flor is plastered and painted by cow dung and mud. The Santals are also skilled in making several structures from bamboo, leaves and other naturally available resources.
Photo: Decorated village home in Patua Village of Nayagram, Pingala. Credit: Better India 
Photo: Santal house; Credit: Wikimedia 
Photo: Santhali Sohrai Murals in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand; Credit: Sahapedia
Santal Paintings
The themes in Santal paintings revolve around this community life especially celebrations and rituals. Paintings depict dancing, harvest and merry making through enchanting minimalist images in muted shades.
Santal Painting of West Bengal (Naya village of Pingla block in Paschim Medinipur district) is one of the varieties of Bengal Patachitra painting. The paintings are drawn by a special community called Jadu Patuas. The Jadu Patuas are a community of Patuas who have been living among or in close proximity with the tribal. The patas they paint are associated with the tribal life and the songs are sung in the Santhali language.
Basically freehand painted, Santal paintings replicate their perception of life. The paintings are traditionally made from handmade paper, backed with cloth. These paintings are traditionally made with natural mineral and vegetable colors. Delightful and earthy, these paintings reflect the ancient tradition of story-telling in India.
Source:
- Trends in Sociology, Psychology and Anthropology, Chapter 5, The Santals: Their Culture and Traditions, By Priyanka Soren & Waluneba Jami. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354858400_The_Santals_Their_Culture_and_Traditions#:~:text=The%20Santals%20are%20one%20of,have%20a%20rich%20cultural%20heritage.
- SCSTRTI. SANTAL [Internet]. 2014. [Cited 2017 Aug 15]. Retrieved from: http://www.kbk.nic.in/tribalprofile/Santal.pdf