Video | Marriage customs of the Santals: A large mural created by village artists to express their cultural identity – West Bengal

Marriage Reception A Santal marriage takes five days and involves various, often complex, rituals. On the day of the Gidi-chumara (Marriage Reception) the women arrive to bless the bride and groom with grass and grains of rice which are kept in a basket. The high wooden turmeric crusher called akhur (on the right) indicates that … Read more

The status and spread of Santali in different regions of India: A flourishing language hardly in need of being “revived”

Santali is not a dead language in the first place so it does not need to be “revived”! I have grown up in Santal Parganas where people speak Santali in their homes, in the marketplace, attend church service in Santali (in the Lutheran churches) and sing hymns in Santali. […] Finally, the Santals of Santal … Read more

Audio | Historical recordings of Santali songs (1931): Arnold Bake’s recordings at Kairabani – Jharkhand

In Kairabani [Arnold Bake] photographed Santali pupils playing their instruments at the mission, but he seems to have been dissatisfied with the sober ambience of the premises. To also have a picture of a Santali musician in a natural environment, he probably arranged a photo with one of the musicians outside. Source: “The Santals, Scandinavian … Read more

ePaper | Writing and teaching Santali in different alphabets: A success story calling for a stronger sense of self-confidence – West Bengal

Santali is one of India’s many Adivasi languages. Today, seven different alphabets are used to write in it. Some argue that this great variety does not help the community’s development. | Read the full article by Boro Baski (3,3 MB) >> Among South Asian Adivasis, we are the largest homogenous group. More than 10 million … Read more

What keeps us together? Working side by side: Rabindranath Tagore’s play “Raktakarabi” & “Vidyasagar-Charit” in Santali translation – Sahitya Akademi

The Santali translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Raktakarabi by Dr. Boro Baski was published by the Sahitya Akademi (www.sahitya-akademi.gov.in) in 2016. Free copies are available from ds.sales@sahitya-akademi.gov.in “The Jinn of that dead wealth we invoke. If we can enslave him the whole world lies at our feet.“ – Professor to Nandini (the protagonist puzzled to “see … Read more