The Santal (also spelled as Santhal (formerly also spelt as Sontal), are the largest tribal community in India, who live mainly in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Assam. There is also a significant Santal minority in neighboring Bangladesh, and a small population in Nepal. The santals belong to the Proto-Australoid group,and may have arrived in India soon after the Negritos.The name is given because of the similarity of racial type with Australian tribes.There is no precise information as to when this race first came into India.It is found among the prehistoric skulls in the Tinnevelly district, and from references in early Sanskrit literature to 'Nishads', where they are described as noseless (anash) with dark skin colour and peculiar speech and habits,there can be no doubt that the Proto-Australoid tribes were meant.The Santals are short in stature, and among them the broad flat nose with a sunken nose ridge is fairly common. They frequently have wavy hair;sometimes it is curly, though it is never frizzy.They share all these characteristics with other primitive tribes in the same group. To the Proto-Australoid races may perhaps be attributed a largest share of totemistic rites, exorcism, food taboos, and magical belief still obtaining in Indian life. The ban on commensality and intermarriage which forms the basis of the caste system must also owe its origin to them.It is impossible to dogmatize on these subjects when one remembers how widespread each of the above factors is among primitive cultures in various parts of the world. The tribal structure of the Santals is totemistic and the clans are patrilinear, as among the other tribes of Central India. Many of the taboos and customs which have grown up round life's crises, many features in the tribal ritual, their attitude towards disease and towards the supranatural world, are fundamentally similar throughout these tribes.

Santali language[link]

The Santals have been more tenacious of their language than many of the other peoples to whom they are racially allied. They are the largest tribe in India to retain an aboriginal language to the present day.The Santali language is part of the Austro-Asiatic family, distantly related to Vietnamese and Khmer.It is closely related to Mundari as well as to Ho,Korku, Savara and Gadaba, languages spoken by smaller tribes. The relationship of the Santals with these tribes is racial and cultural as well as linguistic, and as they live in neighbouring territories it is very likely that they have a common origin. They have nevertheless been separate long enough to develop their individual languages and to possess distinct though allied cultures.

The Santal script is a relatively recent innovation. Santali did not have a written language until the twentieth century and used Latin/Roman, Devnagri and Bangla writing systems. A need for a distinct script to accommodate the Santali language, combining features of both the Indic and Roman scripts was felt, which resulted in the invention of new script called Ol Chiki by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in 1925. For his noble deeds and contribution of the script Ol Chiki for the Santal society, he is revered among Santals. He wrote over 150 books covering a wide spectrum of subjects such as grammar, novels, drama, poetry, and short stories in Santali using Ol Chiki as part of his extensive programme for uplifting the Santal community. Darege Dhan, Sidhu-Kanhu, Bidu Chandan and Kherwal Bir are among the most acclaimed of his works. Pandit Raghunath Murmu is popularly known as Guru Gomke among the Santals, a title conferred on him by the Mayurbhanj Adibasi Mahasabha.

Beside Pandit Raghunath Murmu, very few Indian linguists worked seriously on the linguistic aspects of the language. One of them was Dr. Byomkes Chakrabarti (1923–1981). He was a Bengali research worker on ethnic languages. He was a renowned educationist and a poet too. His major contribution was in finding out some basic relationship between Santali language and Bengali language. He showed (in 'A Comparative Study of Santali and Bengali') how the Bengali language, under the influence of the Santali language, has some unique characteristics absent from other Indian languages.

The Santali script, or Ol Chiki, is alphabetic, and does not share any of the syllabic properties of the other Indic scripts such as Devanagiri. It uses 30 letters and five basic diacritics. It has 6 basic vowels and three additional vowels, generated using the Gahla Tudag.^[5]

His contribution on the origin and development of the Bengali and Santali language was fundamental in nature, and provided the scope for research in newer fields of liguistics.

Religion[link]

Santals believe in supernatural beings and ancestral spirits. Santali rituals consist mainly of sacrificial offerings and invocations to the spirits, or bongas. It is believed by some scholars that Bonga means the same as Bhaga (or Bhagavan).^[6] The Santals have their own story of creation, from two heavenly birds Pilchu Haram and Pilchu Buddhi.These two birds were created by God and then allowed to fly in all directions. One day they made a nest and laid two cosmic eggs. Out of this two eggs came the male and females of the Earth. Apart from the story of creation of human there is another story explaining the creations of all living things. These two stories are integral to the Santal worldview as it uniquely connects the life of humans to animals. The Santhals have a high regard of the flora and fauna and they decorate the mud walls of their houses with figures of animals and plants. Similarly the association of the Santals with the Hindu neighbors influenced their religion as well.

Santal Surnames[link]

A total of 12 clans is found in Santals.Pilcu Haram and Pilcu Budhi divided the clans as per the traditional tale as listed below:

1. The original Nijhasak
2. The one who ground down the horn-Marandi
3. The one who killed a sunbird-Soren Sipahi
4. The one who carried a deer-Hembram
5. The one who killed an owl- Tudu
6. The one who killed a kingfisher-Kisku
7. The one who made a bundle of stale Rice-Baske
8. The one who carried an umbrella over his head-Besra
9. The one who killed a rough-necked Iguana-Core
10. The one who killed a dove-Pauriya
11. The one who killed a bushy-haired monkey -Donka or Bhaduli-some scholars give the name of the lost clan as Bedea/ a title that is not known.
12. The one who restores us to tribal Status-Murmu.

The clans are exogamous and, with two exceptions, the members of one clan may marry a person belonging to any of the other clans. The first exception to the general rule prohibits a marriage between a Marandi and a Kisku because of the quarrel in which these two clans were involved. The second prohibits the marriage of a Tudu and a Besra. Another version of the origin of the clans bears rather obvious traces of the influence of the surrounding culture by dividing them on an occupational basis after the analogy of Hindu castes. According to it, the Murmu became the priests, or Brahmins, of the tribe;The Soren were the warriors, or Kshattriyas: hence the addition to their name of the epithet sipahi, or "sepoy". The Marandi were traders, the Kisku were rajas, the Tudu were drummers, and so on. This version, now widely current, is probably of comparatively recent date and may have arisen out of the need to compensate the Santals, or at least certain of the clans, for their low social status in the eyes of their caste Hindu neighbours.The totemistic basis is very clearly marked, and in certain directions it still exercises a powerful influence on the habits of the Santals. The Nijhasak are always named first and they are the original clan. Their name is related to the goose and gander of the myth, from which the first human beings were born, and they do not eat either goose or duck.

Tradition says that each of the twelve clans are divided into twelve sub-clans, or khut.At the present day in the case of most of the clans there are in fact many more than twelve sub-clans. These sub-clans do not affect the rules govern-ing marriage outside the clan. Some of the sub-clan names are found in more than one clan, and while it is unusual for the member of a sub-clan in one clan to marry a member of the corresponding sub-clan in another clan, there is no absolute barrier preventing such marriages. In each clan there is a division that is taken to have been the original sub-clan, the word Nij being prefixed to the clan name.

The Santal clan system is not rigid and thus the society is free from untouchability, non association and other ill effects of harsh class laws.

Profession[link]

The Santals are agricultural tribe, from time immemorial they have cleared forests, toiled the land, and produced food for subsistence. Santals laborers were considered very efficient and they easily found employment in coal mines. Beside agriculture they also domesticate animals like cows, buffaloes and pigs. Apart from these the Santals also are well versed in the art of hunting, where their exceptional skills with bow and arrows is noticeable. After the ban on hunting by the Government of India, the Santals do not get chance to practice their archery skill but recently a new venture of organizing village level archery competitions during festive seasons has given a chance to culture this unique legacy.

Moving with time the Santals have taken up profession in every field. There are good number of Santal doctors, engineers, governments servants, the opening up of new avenues have changed their lifestyle and made it typically urban.

Santali culture[link]

The Santali culture has attracted many scholars and anthropologists for decades. Some studies of the Santali culture were done by the Christian missionaries. The most famous of them was the Norwegian-born Reverend Paul Olaf Bodding. Unlike many other tribal groups of the Indian subcontinent, the Santals have preserved their native language despite waves of migrations and invasions such as Aryan, Hun, Mughals, Europeans, and others.

Santali culture is depicted in the paintings and artworks in the walls of their houses. Local mythology includes the stories of the Santal ancestors Pilchu Haram and Pilchu Bhudi.

The Santals mainly prefer group performance than solo, which is an important feature of tribal art form in India.

A Santal drummer playing Tumda

Group dancing and singing is the most important medium to express their joy and happiness.

Santali dance

The Santali dance and music is tuned with the nature of occasion whether it is social or ceremonial. The three most quintessential instruments in Santali music are two kinds of drums one Tumda and the other Tamak, besides Tiriao or flute. The Tumda is a double headed drum having the shape of a frustum, the drum skins at left and right are made of animal skins. The one at the left has bigger circumference than the right. The Tamak has a hemispherical shape, with a wider circumference and played by two drum sticks. Tiriao or basically a bansuri is a bamboo made musical instrument with five holes.

The most well known dance form of the Santals is a group of women with interlocked hands forming a semicircle, encircling a relatively smaller group of male percussionists at the centre. The dance steps and movements are in accordance with the beats which is relatively simple. The dance forms, countenance, and beats differ from region to region. The Santali Dance have a wide variety and types and is tuned with ceremony and social celebrations. The Dasai dance is performed only by males of the community on festive occasions. Langre, Guluri, and Humti is danced all round the year, whereas Baha and Sohorai are only for festive seasons. In social ceremonies like marriage Dong is danced. Along with these popular dances some other rare forms like Rinjha and Jhika also exist and performed only in few regions.

The Santal songs also have similar variety like there dance, the Santali word for song is "Sereng". Generally singing is accompanied with dancing but there are some songs which do not include dancing. There is also a kind of song sung during the sowing of paddy. The "Gam Sereng" is another type of song which is sung in hot summer evening.

The Santal rebellion[link]

Background[link]

The insurrection of the Santals was mainly against the British People & their supporters like moneylenders, bangali zamindars and their operatives. Before the advent of the British in India the Santhals resided peacefully in the hilly districts of Mayurbhanj Chhotanagpur, Palamau, Hazaribagh, Midnapur, Bankura and Birbhum. Their agrarian way of life was based on clearing the forest; they also engaged themselves in hunting for subsistence. But, as the agents of the new colonial rule claimed their rights on the lands of the Santals, they peacefully went to reside in the hills of Rajmahal. After a brief period of peace the British operatives with their native counterparts jointly started claiming their rights in this new land as well. The simple and honest Santals were cheated and turned into slaves by the zamindars and the money lenders who first appeared to them as business men and lured them into debt, first by goods lent to them on loans. However hard the Santals tried to repay these loans, they never ended. Through corrupt measures of the money lenders, the debts multiplied to an amount for which a generation of the santal family had to work as slaves. Furthermore, the Santali women who worked under labour contractors were disgraced and abused.

Rebellion[link]

On 30 June 1855, two Santal rebel leaders, Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, mobilized 30 thousand Santals and declared a rebellion against British colonists.

Soon after the declaration the Santals took to arms. In many villages the Jamindars, money lenders and their operatives were put to death. The open rebellion caught the British Government by surprise. Initially a small contingent was sent to suppress the rebels but it with meet no success and this further fueled the spirit of the revolt. When the law and order situation was getting out of hand the British Government finally took a major step and sent in large number of troops assisted by the local Jamindars and the Nawab of Murshidabad to quell the Rebellion.

A number of skirmishes occurred after this which resulted in large number of casualties for the Santals. The primitive weapons of the Santals weren't a match against the musket and cannon of the British. Troop detachments from the 7th Native Infantry Regiment, 40th Native Infantry and others were called into action. Major skirmishes occurred from July 1855 to January 1856, in places like Kahalgaon, Suri, Raghunathpur, and Munkatora.

The revolt was brutally crushed, the two celebrated leaders Sidhu and Kanhu were killed. Elephants supplied by the Nawab of Murshidabad were used to demolish Santal huts and likewise profound atrocities were committed by the British army in quenching the Rebellion. Although the Rebellion was crushed with a heavy hand, some British army officers like Major Jervis who observed-

"It was not war; they did not understand yielding. As long as their national drum beat, the whole party would stand, and allow themselves to be shot down. Their arrows often killed our men, and so we had to fire on them as long as they stood. When their drum ceased, they would move off a quarter of a mile; then their drums beat again, and they calmly stood till we came up and poured a few volleys into them. There was not a sepoy in the war who did not feel ashamed of himself."^[7]

Charles Dickens in Household Words wrote-

"There seems also to be a sentiment of honour among them (Santals); for it is said that they use poisoned arrows in hunting, but never against their foes. If this be the case - and we hear nothing of the poisoned arrows in the recent conflicts - they are infinitely more respectable than our civilised enemy the Russians, who would most likely consider such forbearance as foolish, and declare that is not war."^[8]

Although its impact was largely shadowed by that of the other rebellion, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the legend of the Santal Rebellion lives on as a turning point in Santal pride and identity. This was reaffirmed, over a century and a half later with the creation of the first tribal province in independent India, Jharkhand.

Santal Population[link]

Sl.Name of State/District Total Population Santal population Per cent

I JHARKHAND-BIHAR

  DEOGARH               9,33,113                           NA
  DHANBAD              26,74,651                     2,40,718            9
  DUMKA                14,95,709                     5,68,370           38
  GIRIDIH              22,25,480                     3,56,077           16
  GODDA                 8,61,182                     1,20,565           14
  HAZARIBAGH           16,01,576                       64,063            4
  KATIHAR              18,25,380                     1,09,522            6
  KODARMA               6,29,264                       37,755            6
  PASCHIM SINGHBHUM    17,87,955                     1,78,795           10
  PURBI SINGHBHUM      16,13,088                        NA
  PURNIA               18,78,885                       93,944            5
  SAHIBGANJ             7,36,835                     3,09,471           42

II ORISSA

 BALASORE             16,96,583                      1,69,658           10
 BHADRAK              11,05,834                        33,175            3
 CUTTACK                  NA
 DHENKANAL                NA
 KEONJHAR             13,37,026                            NA
 KHURDA                   NA
 MAYURBHANJ           18,84,580                       5,67,282          28
 SUNDARGARH               NA

III TRIPURA*

 TRIPURA                                                 2,200

IV WEST BENGAL

 BANKURA               28,05,065                       3,36,607         12
 BARDHAMAN             60,50,605                       3,63,036          6
 BIRBHUM               25,55,664                       1,53,340          6
 WEST (N&S) DINAJPUR   12,00,924                       1,80,138         15
 JALPAIGURI            28,00,543                             NA
 MALDAH                26,37,032                       1,84,592          7
 MEDINIPUR             83,31,919                      13,33,107         16
 PURULIA               22,24,577                       3,33,686         15

V ASSAM

 ASSAM                      NA                        2,00,000

VI NEPAL

 NEPAL               2,27,36,934                    485757453\

\565432.3984+654

   42,698           0.2
  JHAPA                 6,88,109                        23,172           3
  MORANG                8,43,220                        16,387           2

See also[link]

• Santhal rebellion

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2009)

Bibliography[link]

• Archer, W. G. The Hill of Flutes: Life, Love, and Poetry in Tribal India: A Portrait of the Santals. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1974.
• Bodding, P. O. Santal Folk Tales. Cambridge, Mass.: H. Aschehoug; Harvard University Press, 1925.
• Bodding, P. O. Santal Riddles and Witchcraft among the Santals. Oslo: A. W. Brøggers, 1940.
• Bodding, P. O. A Santal Dictionary (5 volumes), 1933-36 Oslo: J. Dybwad, 1929.
• Bodding, P. O. Materials for a Santali Grammar I, Dumka 1922
• Bodding, P. O. Studies in Santal Medicine and Connected Folklore (3 volumes), 1925–40
• Bompas, Cecil Henry, and Bodding, P. O. Folklore of the Santal Parganas. London: D. Nutt, 1909. Full text at Project Gutenberg.
• Chakrabarti, Dr. Byomkes, A Comparative Study of Santali and Bengali, KP Bagchi, Calcutta, 1994
• Chaudhuri, A. B. State Formation among Tribals: A Quest for Santal Identity. New Delhi: Gyan Pub. House, 1993.
• Culshaw, W. J. Tribal Heritage; a Study of the Santals. London: Lutterworth Press, 1949.
• Edward Duyker Tribal Guerrillas: The Santals of West Bengal and the Naxalite Movement, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1987, pp. 201, SBN 19 561938 2.
• Hembrom, T. The Santals: Anthropological-Theological Reflections on Santali & Biblical Creation Traditions. 1st ed. Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1996.
• Orans, Martin. "The Santal; a Tribe in Search of a Great Tradition." Based on thesis, University of Chicago., Wayne State University Press, 1965.
• Prasad, Onkar. Santal Music: A Study in Pattern and Process of Cultural Persistence, Tribal Studies of India Series; T 115. New Delhi: Inter-India Publications, 1985.
• Roy Chaudhury, Indu. Folk Tales of the Santals. 1st ed. Folk Tales of India Series, 13. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1973.
• Troisi, J. The Santals: A Classified and Annotated Bibliography. New Delhi: Manohar Book Service, 1976.
• ———. Tribal Religion: Religious Beliefs and Practices among the Santals. New Delhi: Manohar, 2000.

External links[link]

• Santal Engineers' Welfare Association - Working for all round development of Adivasi
• All India Santal Welfare and Cultural Society
• Santal Arts
• A Portal for Santals
• Santal Dance
• Santal lute - Dhodro Banam

Arif Lohar (Punjabi, Urdu: عارف لوہار) (born 1966) is a Punjabi folk singer. He usually sings with native musical instrument resembling tongs (called a 'chimta'). His folk music is representative of traditional folk heritage of the Punjab. He is the son of folk singer Alam Lohar.^[1]

Early life[link]

Born in a small village called Aach Goch in Gujrat District, Punjab, Pakistan, arif Lohar started singing to explore the folk singing of Punjab, and to keep the tradition of his father alive.

Career[link]

In 2005, he was awarded Pride of Performance Award from Government of Pakistan-the highest civil award in Pakistan. Son of Alam Lohar (another icon of Punjabi music) he started his singing career at an early age. To-date he has more than 150 albums to his credit and has recorded more than 3000 mostly Punjabi language songs. He is without doubt the number one living Punjabi Folk Singer in Pakistan. Worldwide he is among the Top Five Punjabi Folk and Pop Singers. In 2006 he made headlines in the Punjabi music world by his super hit album '21st Century Jugni', music produced, arranged and mastered by Mukhtar Sahota in Wolverhampton, UK, and was released by Internalmusic UK. Recently in June 2010 COKE STUDIO released his album Jugni COKE STUDIO which became a smash hit in Pakistan and over the Punjabi music world. Arif Lohar has made more than 50 foreign tours around the world during the last 20 years including UK, US and UAE. Further to this he is the only south Asian artist to perform in North Korea as part of a international delegation of peace and goodwill, performing in front of the present president.

In 2004 he performed in China for the opening of the Asian Games which had a crowd of close to 1 million in the open square, and was greatly appreciated by the local people: even though they do not understand: but feel his great performing style and great voice. Arif Lohar in the past has played lead roles in Punjabi movies also. He performed at the Wembly Arena London September 2010 to help the flood victims of Pakistan to an expected crowd of 25000 plus. Currently his career is at the peak in the Punjabi music world. He appeared in Pakistani film Jugni Nach De Aye, singing and producing three songs for the soundtrack.

In 2010 Arif Lohar participated in Coke-Studio(Pakistan live session programe by Rohail Hayat). In Coke-Studio season 3, Arif Lohar performed "Alif Allah Chambay Dey Booti/Jugni" with upcoming music star Meesha Shafi. The song became a massive hit in Pakistan and it is recognized as one of the greatest hits of Coke-Studio series.

Discography[link]

• Alif Allah Chambe Di Bootey ( [Coke Studio] )

• Ek Pal

• Bol Mitti Da

• Sher Punjab Da

• Soniye

• Aakhian

...

See also[link]

• Music of Pakistan
• List of Pakistani folk singers

References[link]

External links[link]

• Arif Lohar & Meesha - Coke Studio
• Arif Lohar Video Collection
• Arif Lohar music