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The sal tree
has great significance in the lives of the indigenous populace of the
Chotanagpur plateau. It is the focal point of the festival of Sarhul
which means the sal blossom festival.
Sarhul which means the
sal-blossom festival is a semi-religious festival of the inhabitants
of Chota Nagpur. This festival is celebrated by several tribes of the
region such as the Oraons, Mundas and the Santhals, the Santhals call
it Baha and celebrate it in end February-March whereas the
Oraons celebrate it a little late in March-April.
The festival revolves
around the sal tree. With much of the forest having been cleared for
the purpose of cultivation, these tribals have spared a cluster of
sal trees to serve as a place for worship. This protected area is
known as the saran, the sacred grove. The festival of Sarhul
is celebrated in the month of Baisakha and announces the onset
of spring. No one in the community is allowed to use the sal tree,
its flowers, or fruits in any manner till the Sarhul celebrations.
Women cannot use the flowers to decorate themselves; the honey and
the flowers cannot be eaten. It anyone breaks these rules, the
village priest boycotts the house of the family for a year till the
next Sarhul.
In early days, the
festivities were spread over a period of three days though now in
many townships the duration of the festivals has been cut down to two
days and in some areas even to one, depending on the number of
holidays declared by the state. In the remote village area, the
celebrations still have the verve and vigour of earlier times and not
much has changed.
Different tribes have a
different significance attached to this festival. The tribes
practicing cultivation for their livelihood such as the Oraons,
celebrate this festival in the month of Baisakha (April)
before the commencement of the sowing of paddy. The puja
(prayer) is undertaken with the aim of securing the blessings of the
gods and goddesses of nature for a good bumper crop.
Each Oraon family saves
at least a handful of the rice blessed by their village priest during
the previous Sarhul festival for the following sowing season. This
rice is believed have special qualities after having been placed on
the saran-sup which is a special winnowing basket and the seat
of the ‘Goddess of the Grove’. This basket is ceremonially
hung at the priest’s house. This sanctified rice (asirbadi)
is mixed with a little cowdung and when the Oraon cultivator sows the
paddy seed, this asirbadi is added to it, with the hope of a good
yield.
Besides this, animal
sacrifices are made for different reasons. If a piece of wasteland is
to be reclaimed for cultivation purposes, a sacrifice has to be made
to appease the spirits of such areas. These sacrifices are normally
made on Tuesday and Fridays as these are considered to be two
auspicious days in an Oraon calendar.
These days of festivities
given everyone the opportunity to rejoice and make merry. Everybody
gets together to eat, drink, sing and dance.
The hunter-gatherer
tribes have a special meaning for this festival. They pray for the
protection of the inmates of the jungle because of their direct
dependency on them. For instance, every part of the sal tree has
great importance in their lives. The root and the new leaves have
medicinal properties; the leaves also serve as a good fertilizer; its
timber is used for beams, posts and doors in their house-building;
bowls and plates are made out of the leaves of sal; marriage
invitations are given in the form of folded sal leaves with a little
bit of turmeric and a few rice grains inside. A liquor is made out of
the Mahua honey and the flowers are eaten.
The Santhals Baha
is a three-day long festival which begins with the day of
purification, when the young men of the village gather at the
jaherthan (the Holy Grove) and make two huts there. One hut is
reserved for the Santhal deity Gosan Era and the other hut is
shared by Jaher Era, the deity of the grove, Monrenko
and Maran Buru. These shrines are purified by spreading of
cowdung by the priest. Thereafter the priest cleanses a winnowing
fan, a basket, a pick-axe, a broom stick and daubs these with oil and
methi (fenugreek). Later in the day, three young men
impersonating the three deities enter the priests house. Jaher Era
places the basket on his head and picks up the broom; Monrenko takes
the bow and arrow and Maran Buru takes the pick-axe. Then all three
followed by more men run to the holy grove and Jaher Era sweeps the
shrine while the other two supervise. In the evening, the three
return to the priests house for a meal and they are entertained with
songs and rice beer.
The second day is spent
in collection of the sal and mahua flowers by the three impersonating
deities. Later these deities are enshrined in their huts and fowls
are sacrificed in their honour by the priest. People assemble here
and the priest offers them bunches of sal and mahua flowers. The
priest washes the feet of the deities and water is sprinkled on all
gathered there. Thereafter a procession is taken out and everyone
joins in. All then return to the village singing and dancing. The
priest and his wife remain at the grove.
The third day is solely
devoted to merry making. Sometimes the festival takes the shape of a
water festival – something similar to Holi. People indulge in
pursuing their traditional games and sports like shooting and
archery.
Though the modalities of
the celebrations are changing over the years, one can still observe a
large element of belief and faith persisting.
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