Customs

“We have a song for every situation. We feel money takes away from the enjoyment of life. But to earn a livelihood, people have to learn other languages.” – Santal teacher Pada Murmu interviewed by Nandini Nair (OPEN Magazine, 13 January 2017)
https://openthemagazine.com/features/dispatch/santali-talking-time/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=21581

Demonstrating the brain’s astonishing capacity to decode information – Ancient “whistled languages” used by indigenous communities in India, China, Turkey & Spain

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For generations, the residents of Meghalaya’s Kongthong village have communicated with each other using a unique form of whistled identity instead of names! | Read the full story and view more images >> In The Whistling Village of Meghalaya, Every Child Has a ‘Unique Lullaby ID’! In most ways, Kongthong resembles countless other villages nestled in the … Read more

eBook | Museum of Santal Culture: A Catalogue on Santal Cultural Items – West Bengal

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To learn more about specific items and their usage, type words like “instrument”, “ornament”, “drum”, “flute”, “puppetry”, “dress”, “ceremony”, “fish” etc. in search inside. For up-to-date reports type “Santal culture”, “Santali education”, “Santal heritage”, “West Bengal Santal dance”, “Tagore Santals”, “Santal Santiniketan” or similar combination of keywords in the search fields seen below.

The Bhils, a proud and ancient ethnic group: On the descendants of some of the original inhabitants of India – Madhya Pradesh

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The Bhil tribe is a proud and ancient ethnic group inhabiting the Western part of Central India with the highest concentration in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh State. | Read more >> The western region is home to a wide variety of people with different religious ‘s and cultures, most of whom have distinctive traditional … Read more

The social significance of an individual’s name: The Oram community – Jharkhand

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Name of the Individual […] The selection of individual’s name bears relevant social significance in the Oram community. Generally the main purpose of name selection for an individual is to point out the particular person who is being granted specific social position in the contemporary society. Oram vs Gotra (clan): crises in the use of … Read more

ePaper | “Great relevance for the human welfare”: Traditional knowledge of ethnic people & sustainable utilization of plant resources – Himalayan region

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The present investigation aimed at documenting medicinally important species of trees usedby Tharu tribe in the Himalayan Terai region of India. Out of 204 tree species belonging to 143 genera and 50 families reported in this study, uses of 148 species have been recorded from this region for the first time. Over all, more than … Read more