Sarna is a place of worship in the Chotanagpur region of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. It is a sacred grove, where people of village gather to perform rituals in village festival. [1]
Sarna is a sacred grove of Sal trees, also called Sarai in Chotanagpur. It is a remnant of forest in the village, where spirits are thought to reside. [2] According to traditional belief, Sarna is the residing place of gaon khut (village deity), the founder of village. Each year people gather to offer sacrifice to the Sun, the village deity, and their ancestors to ensure a good harvest and the safety of village. The village priest in Chotanagpur is known as Pahan, sometimes called Laya. Pahan and his assistant Pujar sacrifice animals, especially goat. Then cooked meat is eaten with Tapan (liquor). [1] The ritual of Sarhul festival takes place in Sarna. [3] [4]
Sarna is place of worship in village of the Sadan and Kurukh of Chotanagpur. [5] [6] [7] Several tribal organizations, including Santals, are demanding a separate religious code for Sarna as Sarnaism as they believe it differs from Hinduism. [8] [9] Although Santals call their sacred groves Jaher and village priest Naike. [10] [11]
The Santal people are an Austroasiatic-speaking Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and Assam. They are the largest ethnic minority in northern Bangladesh's Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division. They have a sizeable population in Nepal. The Santals speak Santali, the most widely spoken Munda languages of Austro-asiatic language family.
Chhath is an ancient Hindu festival native to the Indian subcontinent, more specifically, the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and the Nepalese Autonomous provinces of Koshi, Madhesh and Lumbini. Prayers during Chhath puja are dedicated to the solar deity, Surya, to show gratitude for bestowing the bounties of life on earth and to request that certain wishes be granted.
The Kurukh or Oraon, also spelt Uraon or Dhangad, are a Dravidian speaking ethnolinguistic group inhabiting Chhotanagpur Plateau and adjoining areas - mainly the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal. They predominantly speak Kurukh as their native language, which belongs to the Dravidian language family. In Maharashtra, Oraon people are also known as Dhangad.
The tribes of Jharkhand consist of 32 scheduled tribes inhabiting the Jharkhand state in India. In 1872, only 18 tribes were counted among the schedule tribes from which Banjara, Bhatudi, Chik Baraik and Mahli were marked as semi-Hindu aboriginal and Kora as proletariat Hindu. In the 1931 census, including the above four semi-Hindu aboriginal and Kora, a proletariat Hindu, the number was raised to 26 from 18. They were Birajia, Godait, Karmali and Paharia, but Kisan was excluded from the list. In 1941 census, Baga, Bedia and Lohra included again taking Kisan in the annexure and number came to 30 which prevailed till June 2003. Kanwar and Kol were added on 8 June 2003 in the annexure and the number of Schedule Tribes came to 32.
The Ho people are an Austroasiatic Munda ethnic group of India. They call themselves the Ho, Hodoko and Horo, which mean 'human' in their own language. Officially, however, they are mentioned in different subgroups like Kolha, Mundari, Munda, Kol and Kolah in Odisha. They are mostly concentrated in the Kolhan region of Jharkhand and Odisha where they constitute around 10.7% and 7.3% of the total Scheduled Tribe population respectively, as of 2011. With a population of approximately 700,000 in the state in 2001, the Ho are the fourth most numerous Scheduled tribe in Jharkhand after the Santals, Kurukhs, and Mundas. Ho also inhabit adjacent areas in the neighboring states of Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar bringing the total to 806,921 as of 2001. They also live in Bangladesh and Nepal.
Paiki is a Sadani Nagpuri martial folk dance of the Chotanagpur plateau region of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In the dance, people wear dhoti, a turban with peacock feathers in it. They hold sword in their right hand, a shield in their left hand and dance to the tune of musical instruments of Nagara, Dhak, Shehnai and Narsingh. It is done by men and reflect valour. It is performed at weddings and functions. Paik were foot soldiers during medieval period. It is primarily performed by Rautia, who used to be soldiers during reign of Nagvanshi dynasty in Chotanagpur. It is also performed by some Munda tribe in Khunti and Mayurbhanj district.
Chik Baraik or Baraik are a tribal community originally from the Chota Nagpur plateau and neighbouring states of Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.
Sohrai is a harvest festival of the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Bihar. It also called cattle festival. It is celebrated after harvest and coincide with Govardhan Puja of Diwali festival. In Santal Parganas it is celebrated in the Month of January. It is celebrated by Bhumij, Sadan, Oraons, Ho, Munda and Santal among others.
Sarnaism is a religious faith of the Indian subcontinent, predominantly followed by indigenous communities in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region across states like Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh. This belief centers around the reverence of Sarna, the sacred groves of village communities where the village deity, known as Gram deoti resides, and where sacrificial offerings are made twice a year. It is also referred to as "Sarna Dharma" or the "Religion of the Holy Woods", and it holds the distinction of being India's largest tribal religion.
Dewri Mandir is a mandir situated in Diuri village, Tamar near Ranchi in Jharkhand in India. It is located near the Tata-Ranchi Highway (NH33). The main attraction of this ancient mandir is, 700 year old murti of the Goddess Durga, Kali. The murti have 16 hands. It is an ancient Mandir and It was renovated few years back. The ancient mandir was constructed by interlocking stones without using chalk or binding material. This temple is also known as, Mata Dewri Diri in tribal Bhumij Munda languages.
Ghasi is a caste found in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal. They are traditionally caretakers of horses and village musicians. They are known as Ghasiya in Uttar Pradesh.
The Nagpuria people, also Nagpuri or Sadan, are an Indo-Aryan speaking ethnolinguistic group who are the native speakers of the Nagpuri language and natives of the western Chota Nagpur Plateau region of Indian states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
Sadan are the native Indo-Aryan-speaking ethnolinguistic groups of Chota Nagpur Plateau consist of Indian state of Jharkhand and neighbouring states who speak Nagpuri, Khortha and Kurmali language as their native language.
Sarna Burhi is a deity worshiped by various animist peoples living in the Bengal region of India and Bangladesh. Sarna Burhi is depicted as the goddess of Sal tree groves and she is strongly associated with water and plant life. The deity is traditionally worshiped by the Munda, Kurukh, and Oraon peoples of Bengal.
Binod Bihari Mahato was an advocate and politician. He founded Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, established in 1972. He was a leader of the movement for the establishment of the separate state of Jharkhand. He was a member of Bihar Vidhan Sabha three times, in 1980, 1985 and 1990, and a member of the Lok Sabha from Giridih in 1991.
Sahani Upendra Pal Singh was an Indian writer. He was one of the prominent writers in the Nagpuri-language in the modern period. He translated "Ram Charit Manas" in Nagpuri. He wrote around 20 books in nagpuri. He was awarded "Jharkhand Ratna", "Praful Samman", "Seva Ratna" and "BCCL Koyal Bharti Rajbhasha award".
Sarhul is a spring festival in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is a symbol of commencement of the new year. The festival is celebrated for three days, from the 3rd day of Chaitra month in Sukla Paksh to Chaitra Purnima. In the festival, the village priest Pahan offers sacrifice of flowers, fruit, vermilion, rooster and tapan (liquor) in Sarna to Sun, village deity and ancestor for good fortune of the village. Then the locals dance holding flowers of the sal tree. According to the tradition, it also symbolises marriage between the Earth and the Sun. It is an important festival observed by the Kurukh and Sadan. Among Kurukh it is known as Khaddi in Kurukh.
Nawakhani is harvest festival of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In this festival people eat new grain of rice after harvesting.
Nagpuri culture refers to the culture of the Nagpuria people, the native speakers of the Nagpuri language, which includes literature, festivals, folk song and dance. It is also referred to as the culture related to the Nagpuri language.
Raman Gupta is an Indian actor, dancer and singer. He works in Nagpuri albums, Nagpuri films and Khortha film. He also acted in many hindi films. He is known for the Nagpuri film Sun Sajna, Deva Rikshawala and Gangwa. He was awarded best regional actor award in Jharkhand International Film Festival Awards in 2018 and Best Evergreen Actor in Jhollywood Award Show in 2022.