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
Santals are the largest homogeneous tribal community in Eastern India. In the 1991 census, more than 5.2 million Santals were counted [5.8 million in the 2001 census]. People of this ethnic group are also found in neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Santals have an oral tradition; songs and rituals play an important role … Read more
The Huka Banam has been a Santal tradition, particularly in Purulia and Bankura. However, this ancient instrument is gradually becoming extinct and there are just a handful of practitioners left today. This workshop was organized as an initial step towards stemming the decline. © 2016 Daricha Foundation. Workshop, Purulia Source: :: Reviving the Huka BanamAddress: https://www.daricha.org/videoplay.aspx?ID=119Date … Read more
Presentation: Museum of Santal Culture (Bishnubati) organized by Kolkata Centre for Creativity and Paschimbanga Sangrahalaya Samiti on the occasion of World Heritage Week – Photos courtesy Dr. Boro Baski (by email 20 November 2021) “The Museum of Santal Culture is located in Bishnubati, a Santal village situated 10 kilometers away from Tagore’s Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan. … Read more
Today, our world is experiencing a rapid decline in cultural diversity and the eradication of indigenous peoples and their lifeway. One in five people in the world speak the same language: Mandarin Chinese. Spoken by the largest single ethnic group in the world – the Han – whose 1.3 billion speakers represent 92 percent of … Read more