HONOURING THE SANTHAL TRIBES OF WEST BENGAL: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THEIR BELIEFS, RITUALS AND HEALING PRACTICES

The Santhal tribe, one of the largest indigenous communities, form a major segment of the world population and preserves a rich cultural, spiritual and ritual heritage deeply rooted in an animistic worldview and a profound ecological attachment. This paper explores the socio-religious life of the Santhal tribe, their unique festivals, rituals and healing practices. This study is grounded in primary qualitative research and descriptive ethnography. Initially, it discusses the underlying belief system of the ancient festival, the worship of Marang Buru and nature-bound bongas (spirits). Strangely, some of these ancient festivals have not yet been recognised on the mainstream calendar. It also develops an understanding of how their cultural festivals preserve their cultural traditions and develop their identity. The paper adopts an exploratory approach to gain an in-depth understanding of these interrelated dimensions of the Santhal community's life in West Bengal.