Seasons & festivals

“Our boys and girls get an opportunity to set their eyes upon each other during the dance of the Dandari. They also get to interact a little before they can mutually agree to take the matter to the next step. […] As per our customs and traditions the youngsters enjoy liberty in many aspects. It is rare that a selection made during the Dandari-Ghusadi [dance festival] phase gets cancelled.” – Patel of Bandeyer Atram Sone Rao (Telangana), quoted in “Adivasis dance their way to a girl’s heart” (The Hindu, 29 October 2016)
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/Adivasis-dance-their-way-to-a-girl’s-heart/article16085049.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=22436

Depicting the shooting competition that concludes the Santals’ Sohrai or Harvest Festival celebrated in early January: A large mural created by village artists to express their cultural identity – West Bengal

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Sohrai – The first day The most important festival of the Santals is called Sohrai. It is the Harvest Festival celebrated after the rice harvest in early January. The celebrations stretch over several days. The first day is Um hiloah. Every family contributes half a kilo of rice, a young chicken, salt, turmeric powder, potatoes, … Read more

The Forest comes to the city: “Vatavaran”, India’s largest festival on environment and wildlife issues – New Delhi

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Kavita Bahl and Nandan Saxena made the award winning film “I cannot give you my forest” | Synopsis | Learn more about their documentary | Festival website: http://vat2015.cmsvatavaran.org Contact Kavita BahlDirector, Top Quark Films Private LimitedDelhi, India099100 37244https://www.facebook.com/pages/Top-Quark-Films/103419556380496 Press reports Coverage of the CMS Vatavaran film festival and the film I cannot give you my Forest: ABOUT THE FESTIVAL … Read more

Video | JAGWAR Santal Literary Meet 2015

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Published on Feb 21, 2015 Song performed by the Santali folk group, Sange Bariyat, at Jagwar-2: Santal Literary Meet 2015, 14-15 February 2015, Johar HRD Centre, Dumka, Jharkhand, India Also listen to another Santali song in the traditional lagre rhythm that asks on YouTube: “Why are we forgetting our beautiful language and culture?” Courtesy: Dr Ivy Imogene Hansdak … Read more

The Dasai Parab festival celebrated by the Santals in October: A large mural created by village artists to express their cultural identity – West Bengal

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Dasai The Dasai Parab, celebrated in October, goes back to a period in history when the Santals had to defend themselves and hide their identity behind masks. During the festival not much of this martial spirit is left. The men dance with peacock feathers adorning their turbans. Some even dress up as women or wear … Read more

Video | Serving India’s working poor by partnering with grass-root level organizations: Solar microgrids for Santal villages of Purulia District – West Bengal

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Mlinda’ s Bony Tarafder and Champ Tudu tell the success story of a remote Santal rural community in Purulia District of West Bengal: about the new possibilities that came with access to lighting for the first time, health services and sanitation. A film by Ruchir Saraf for milaap.org • Milaap.org is a new way of doing good. Giving loans to the communities … Read more