The

Santhal Tribe
Introduction
• With a population of more than 1 crores, Santhal tribes are the largest tribes in India. Belonging to pre
Aryan period, these tribes of India are found in regions of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh,
Assam, Meghalaya and Jharkhand. They are also found in huge concentration in Bangladesh and
Nepal. Many also call them as “ the tribes at extreme”.

• Santhali is the prime language spoken by the Santhal Tribe. This Indian tribe also have a script of their
own called Olchiki. Apart from Santhali they also speak Bengali, Oriya and Hindi but Santali remains
to be the most spoken. Santali is also one of the official scheduled languages of India.

• Ironically, Santhals don't have a temple of their own

and neither do they worship any idols. These tribes
of India follow the Sarna religion, with
Marangburu, Jaheraera, and Manjhi as their god and
goddess. Santhals pay respect to the ghosts and
spirits like Kal Sing, Lakchera, Beudarang etc.
Animal sacrifices in order to appease the Gods is a
common practice amongst these energetic tribes of
India.
Shivangini Chakraborti
 Settlement Pattern
● The Santhal village is surrounded by agricultural fields, pastures,
ponds, graveyard and a common place of worship known as jaher
era or jaher in short. Located at the village outskirts the jaher is the
sacred groove comprising of sal trees within which their deities are
believed to be residing.

● In the past, the Santhals were leading a nomadic life. Gradually they
came to settle down in the Chottanagpur plateau. Towards the end
of 18th Century they migrated to the Santhal Parganas of Bihar and
then they came to Odisha.

Pratiksha Singhal
 Settlement Pattern
● Usually, the Santhal villages are large and the number of households
vary from fifty to hundred. Their houses enclosed within boundaries
are arranged in a linear pattern on both the sides of a wide village
street..

● Santhals typically live in their own villages, laid out on a street

pattern, and numbering from 400 to 1,000 inhabitants each. While
separate villages are preferred, various groups sometimes live more
or less separately in the tribal or low-caste quarters of mixed villages
or towns.

● They normally inhabit in a cluster of villages, which grow with the

expansion of families. Their villages are settled at the outskirt of
forest (Veer) land or forest fringe areas flanked by hill (Buru).

Sonakshi Chakrabarti
 House Type
• A Santhal house is often a piece of art. Soothing earthly
colours, organic colour bands, graphic designs are put in best
possible elegant way. They call it Bhitti Chitra (Mural).

• Santhal houses are mud structures, but they are sturdily built
and often decorated with floral designs. Roofs are tiled and
slope toward all four sides. Houses have verandas and at least
two rooms; the "inner room" (chitar ) contains the ancestors
and the granary protected by them. The main post (khunti ),
located at the center of the house, to which sacrifices are made
on building the house, is of considerable ritual importance.

• Santhal houses called olah are large, neat and clean as well as
attractive with multi-coloured paintings on the outside walls.
The bottom of the wall is painted with black soil, the middle
portion with white soil and the upper portion with red soil.

Rajanya Chakraborty
 House Type
● The houses are multi roomed and thatched with local tiles (khapar) or straw (busub).
● The walls are made of wooden planks plastered with cow dung and mud. Each house has a long
verandah. Rooms are very spacious.
● Towards the corner of the main room, there is a sacred place known as bhitar where the ancestral
spirits are worshipped.
● The main room is partitioned with a mud wall, which is used for storing grain and other agricultural
products and kept on a wooden platform. The kitchen(dakaolah) is found at one side of the main
room.

Raina Dutta
 Economic activities
• Over decades, the most important economic activity of Santhals in the
village is agriculture. Their principal economic activities are agriculture,
hunting, fishing, rearing of domestic animals They mainly grow rice,
millets, fruits, vegetables, mustard, tobacco, cotton and groundnut.
Irrigation on these agricultural land are performed by gathering watering
from nearby canal and ditches .
• Santals also maintain live stock like cattle, goats and poultry for their
livelihood.
• Santhals are experts in wood carving, basket work, weaving of mats and
creation of dishes and cups from Sal leaves, which are crafts but still of
commercial importance.
• However, in current past, their has been a shift in the socio-economic and
cultural life of tribal communities. Many Santhals have migrated to work
in plantation, mines and industries. Migrant labor plays an important role.

Sneha Mukhopadhyay
Economic Activities
• Trade. Santals sell their products for cash or barter
at tribal markets; rice money was still in use in
Bihar in the 1970s. Some trade is also done with
Hindu villages and towns, mainly the marketing of
agricultural and craft products. Women dominate
this trade, while the main male preserve is the sale
of goats and cattle.

• Labor. Hunting was always a male activity, gathering activities being

dominated by women. In agriculture, men plow and sow, while women
transplant and weed; division of labor by gender extends through most
agricultural work. Boys and young men herd the cattle; women do the
milking, collect the dung, and collect fuel in general. Poultry is tended by
women, who also catch freshwater crabs, shrimps, etc. in the ponds; fishing
by boat or with large land nets is done by the men.

Rashika Sadani
 Lifestyle
● Food: Typical Santhal and Pahariya food habits include large amounts of
rice, which is either eaten with watery potato gravy, or with watery pulses
with salt and chilly to enhance the taste.

● Dressing Styles: Santhals have their own clothings and distinctive draping
styles. However Santhals prefer cotton fabric for daily use and synthetic
fabric for occasional use. Women usually wear petticoat, saree and blouse.
Nowadays children of Santhal tribe wear shirt and pants. Males wear a lungi-
a rectangular cloth at bottom and a waist or shirt on top. Usually these men
tie a Gamcha on the head or on waist.

Srija Chaudhuri
Lifestyle
● Identification: The traditional livelihood
and the changing livelihood both were
historically researchable they had a rich
culture heritage and a free way of living
which were really distinct from other
communities, simultaneously they had to
change dome of their long established
beliefs and practices and accept modern
culture that was also accountable.

● The occupation of the Santhals revolve

around the forests in which they reside.
Their basic needs are fulfilled from the tress
and plants of the forests.

Sreejani Rakshit
 Culture
• The people of the Santhal tribe enjoy dancing. Dancing is one thing that is
their in their blood. Santhal dance is performed in a group of girls and boys
accompanied by instruments Dhol, Flutes, Pipes and Cymbals.
• Santhal women dress themselves in red bordered white sari and dance in a
line sequence.
• The Santhalis usually accompany their dance with two drums- the Tamak
and Tumdak.
• The Santhals celebrate some very unique festivals. To name some of them,
they are- Sohrae ( celebrated between December and January), Sarhul/ Baha
( celebrated in February and mid- march) and Karam (celebrated during
September and October).

Prisha Goel
 Conclusion
• At present, these backward, underprivileged and desperately poor people are still
struggling for their existence and toiling for a piece of bread to eat. 

• We are grateful to Mrs. R. Sarkar for giving us this project. We got to know a lot
about the different tribes of India and their living. We look forward to more such
informative group projects.

• Hope this presentation was interesting and you liked it.

 Participants
• Pratiksha Singhal (31)
• Prisha Goel (32)
• Raina Dutta (33)
• Rajanya Chakraborty (34)
• Rashika Sadani (35)
• Shivangini Chakraborti (36)
• Sneha Mukhopadhyay (37)
• Sonakshi Chakrabarti (38)
• Sreejani Rakshit (39)
• Srija Chaudhuri (40)
Thank you...