Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Many tribals are not Hindus or Muslims as is the case with most Indians. Many are animists that believe in
spirits. Some are Christians. Some tribes believe that having their picture taken will shorten their lives.
Among tribals, the religious concepts, terminologies, and practices are as varied as the hundreds of tribes,
but members of these groups have one thing in common: they are under constant pressure from the major
organized religions. Some of this pressure is intentional, as outside missionaries work among tribal groups
to gain converts. Most of the pressure, however, comes from the process of integration within a national
political and economic system that brings tribes into increasing contact with other groups and different,
prestigious belief systems. In general, those tribes that remain geographically isolated in desert, hill, and
forest regions or on islands are able to retain their traditional cultures and religions longer. Those tribes
that make the transition away from hunting and gathering and toward sedentary agriculture, usually as low-
status laborers, find their ancient religious forms in decay and their place filled by practices of Hinduism,
Islam, Christianity, or Buddhism. [Source: Library of Congress, 1995 *]
One of the most studied tribal religions is that of the Santal of Orissa, Bihar, and West Bengal, one of the
largest tribes in India, having a population estimated at 4.2 million. According to the 1991 census,
however, only 23,645 people listed Santal as their religious belief.According to the Santal religion, the
supreme deity, who ultimately controls the entire universe, is Thakurji. The weight of belief, however, falls
on a court of spirits (bonga ), who handle different aspects of the world and who must be placated with
prayers and offerings in order to ward off evil influences. These spirits operate at the village, household,
ancestor, and subclan level, along with evil spirits that cause disease, and can inhabit village boundaries,
mountains, water, tigers, and the forest. A characteristic feature of the Santal village is a sacred grove on
the edge of the settlement where many spirits live and where a series of annual festivals take place. The
most important spirit is Maran Buru (Great Mountain), who is invoked whenever offerings are made and
who instructed the first Santals in sex and brewing of rice beer. Maran Buru's consort is the benevolent
Jaher Era (Lady of the Grove). *
A yearly round of rituals connected with the agricultural cycle, along with life-cycle rituals for birth,
marriage and burial at death, involves petitions to the spirits and offerings that include the sacrifice of
animals, usually birds. Religious leaders are male specialists in medical cures who practice divination and
witchcraft. Similar beliefs are common among other tribes of northeast and central India such as the
Kharia, Munda, and Oraon. *
Smaller and more isolated tribes often demonstrate less articulated classification systems of the spiritual
hierarchy, described as animism or a generalized worship of spiritual energies connected with locations,
activities, and social groups. Religious concepts are intricately entwined with ideas about nature and
interaction with local ecological systems. As in Santal religion, religious specialists are drawn from the
village or family and serve a wide range of spiritual functions that focus on placating potentially dangerous
spirits and coordinating rituals. *
Unlike the Santal, who have a large population long accustomed to agriculture and a distinguished history
of resistance to outsiders, many smaller tribal groups are quite sensitive to ecological degradation caused
by modernization, and their unique religious beliefs are under constant threat. Even among the Santal,
there are 300,000 Christians who are alienated from traditional festivals, although even among converts the
belief in the spirits remains strong. Among the Munda and Oraon in Bihar, about 25 percent of the
population are Christians. Among the Kharia of Bihar (population about 130,000), about 60 percent are
Christians, but all are heavily influenced by Hindu concepts of major deities and the annual Hindu cycle of
festivals. Tribal groups in the Himalayas were similarly affected by both Hinduism and Buddhism in the
late twentieth century. Even the small hunting-and-gathering groups in the union territory of Andaman and
Nicobar Islands have been under severe pressure because of immigration to this area and the resulting
reduction of their hunting area.
Gond Religion
The Gonds live primarily in eastern Madhya Pradesh. Their gods include clan gods, an earth-mother,
village deities, mountain gods, ancestor spirits and spirits associated with every hill, lake, tree, or rock or
river. They are not arranged in a hierarchal order. Important deities include the Sivalike Bhagavan and
Yama, the god of death. The earth goddess is responsible for bringing fertility and crops and evil gods, it is
believed, bring sickness. In the old days their principal deities were cholera and small pox gods.
Ceremonies for gods and spirts are generally brief and infrequent although the gods are often consulted for
advice and help with problems. The most important ceremonies are sacrifices of cows, goats and sheep
which are held in thatch temples twice a year. Religious objects include iron spear points and yak-tail
whisks like those used by Hindus. During festivals, priests dress up in peacock feathers and masks to act
out dramas about mythical figures and shamans go into a trances, acting as oracles and mediums, so that
the gods can speak directly to the people.
The Gonds believe they are kept alive by a substance called jiv that when removed after death changes the
person's personality. The dead live in their own personal sphere with clan deities. There is no connection
between the gods and morality nor is the one between good deeds and a positive afterlife. Gonds were
buried with toothpicks for use in the after-life. Cases of human sacrifice were reported in the 19th century.
Bhil Religion
The Bhils—a tribal group found in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra—merge
animism and Hinduism and many are Muslims and Christians. Traditionally, they believed in a pantheon
of deities that over time absorbed Hindu gods. Important local deities include Wagh deo, the tiger god, and
Nandervo, the god of agriculture, and Chagwam, the supreme deity. They also believe in an afterlife where
one is reunited with family members, a pantheon of earth spirits that sometimes band together in groups
and malicious individuals that cause harm through sorcery and witchcraft. Muslim Bihl were converted
during Muslim invasions of India and interaction with Rajputs. Christians have adopted the faith relatively
recently due to the efforts of missionaries.
The dead were traditionally buried but Hindu influences has meant that many are cremated and their
remains and are buried. People who die unnatural deaths it is believed can become malevolent spirits that
can cause great harm and those who die natural deaths become good spirits Twins and babies with unusual
deformities are also believed to cause harm and have traditionally been destroyed immediately after birth.
Many tribes have priests that act as mediums, diviners and healers and undergo a long training period. For
serious matters witch doctors are called in because they are said to have the power to battle sorcery and
witchcraft. Among the important ceremonies are appeasements and exorcisms of ghosts, one of which is
the exorcism of the cattle shed.