Village Deities of the Santal and Associated Rituals Author(s): V. K. Kochar Reviewed work(s): Source: Anthropos, Bd.

61, H. 1./2. (1966), pp. 241-257 Published by: Anthropos Institute Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40458237 . Accessed: 25/11/2011 02:27
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DeitiesoftheSantalandAssociated Rituals Village

By V. K. Kochar

Contents : Introduction 1. Ritualin theSacredGrove Deities 2. The Jaher Marang-Buru Moreko-Turuiko Jaher-Era Gosaen-Era Deities 3. Other Village Manjhi-Haram-Bonga arg Bong a anaSima-Bonga Bahre-Bonga Deities of 4. Nature Village * Introduction

of The Santal1 believethat the worldis inhabited a largenumber by some of whomare directly of variouskinds,called bonga, beings spiritual The Santal have or of withthe welfare particular connected persons groups. of notionsabout the individualities the supernatural beingsor veryvague withthese relationship bonga.One of the mainreasonsforthisis thattheir witha are beingThakur, shrouded exceptthe supreme beings, supernatural and fear. oftaboo,mystery, secrecy feeling se The Santal of the villageKuapara 2, as elsewhereu, the termbonga
* The paperis based upon author's and workon Santalsocial structure larger at Ph. for D. degree Lucknow University. religion 1 Thanks theworks Rev. P. O. Boddingand other the to missionaries, Santal by to austric Bihar.Theyarerelated other of tribes Chotanagpur, areoneofthebestknown of tribes the area,viz. Munda,Ho, Birhor, Kharia,etc. The Santalare now speaking of account thetribesee over distributed a vast area in Bengaland Bihar.For general Culshaw 1949. 2 The field was on work, the basis of whichthispaperis prepared, conducted
61. Anthropos 1966 16

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for of the indiscriminately thevarious categories spiritual beings thecreator, evil that hoverabout in the habitat, individual "downright" spirits tutilary of witches and spirits, spiritdoubles,ghosts, spirits the deceased relatives, evenHindudeities. kindofnon-corporal, ethereal be referred Any beingmay to as bonga.The cognatetribesof Chotanagpur area, Bihar (viz. Birhor, Munda,Ho, Kharia)have similar usage. This usagehas lead someto believethatall bonga are designates manifestations a single,all pervading, of sourceof energy power(Roy 1925; or Majumdar 1942,1950). Some believethat bongado not have any personal attributes (Risley, p. 352). On the otherhand some believethat the bonga are highly evil personate (Culshaw 1939) and are essentially agencies(Bodding 1925: III). My enquiries have led me to doubttheseopinions faras so the Santal are concerned. The Santal do not talk about bonga even amongthemselves. Bongain are not a subjectofdiscussion theorization or general amongthe Santal.The namesofbonga, ritualprocedures, the and aids incantations, thematerial used forsacrifice, sacrificial the meal and its consumption, sacredaltar (than) the ofthe deities all theseare charged it I found very with significance. magical difficult collectdetailsabout the bonga any queryabout thesematters to as made even the best informants as keep silent.This unwillingness emerges fearas from factthat theirknowledge thesematters, muchfrom the in inthatofthe priests, veryvague and uncrystallized. is cluding The Santalmaintain with kinds and degrees relationship these of varying some bongaare worshipped each family its sacred enclosure in bonga: by others the villagepriest the sacredgrove(jaher),someofthem in (bhitri), by are worshipped otherpersons such as the assistant , by priest(kudum-naeki) theheadman thevillage(manjhi) themagician-cum-medicine-man of or (ojha), and others definite at in occasions theyearly when cycleor casually necessary. hereafter usedin specialsensepeculiar theSantalconnoting is the to Worship ritualacts associated withthe propitiation the bonga. of I shall describe belowa definite associatedwithvillage groupof bonga as a whole. Someofthese, to are common thewhole tribe, described community hereas jaher-bonga. localizedspiritual are as Others, entities, described "other villagedeities". As willbe shown withsomeindibelow,each villagedeity3 is endowed vidualcharacteristics which markit from other the Suchdistinguishing bonga. features not verbalized the Santal but are implicit their are in behaviour by with to and from respect thedifferent bonga, have to be inferred it.
the in in during period1958-60 thevillageKuaparanearSantiniketan Mauza Surulof Surisubdivision district of W. detailsaboutthe Birbhum, Bengal,India. For general see village Kochar 1964a. 3 I have described certain as Thereare numerous but bonga "deities". bonga all arenotdeities. these areassigned Of few abodesandareworshipped scheduled at specific occasions a scheduled in manner. whom Santalmaintain the suchstructured Bongawith orformalized have here The as here does relationship beentermed "deities". term applied notnecessarily involve derivation devineness. or anthropomorphism, pantheistic

DeitiesoftheSantaland Associated Rituals Village 1. Ritual in the Sacred Grove

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is Jaher-than johor-than) a sacred grovenear everySantal village (or the where villagepriest sacrifices theprincipal to deities periodic (naeki)offers Some sal and mahua4 treesare leftuncleared the ofthe Santal pantheon. at of timeofsetting thevillageand aremadeabodesofthebonga. Someplastered witha smallpiece ofstoneor a littleraisedplatform the foot at space,often the The primary ofthesetrees, act represents abode of the respective bonga. a village theselection thesacredspotand offering is of before sacrifices settling If divinations to thebonga. thesignsand omensthrough provethatthebonga the and of haveaccepted offerings are pleasedwiththe selection the spot,the not otherwise (Skrefsrud; cf.Bodding 1940:429-30). villageis established; thereshouldbe, according traditional In thejaher-than to rules,three to "sal" treesin a rowassigned Marang-Buru, and MorekoJaher-Era sarjom a "mahua"treefor Thereshouldbe another Turuiko. tree,preferablymatkom There are thus altogether and another Parganafor five Gosaen-Era Bonga. as the The grove is selected seatsor abodesfor deities. in trees thejahergrove in situated the westend of the village.In Kuapara, however, jaherusually thrice sincethevillage was established. original The has than beenshifted jaheris of I than, was told,was in a cluster trees.The present jaher-than situated the village from amidstthe erodedkhoailand about 250 yardsnorth-west of settlement description jaher see O'Malley, p. 141; Culshaw 1949: (for of jaherexcepta fewshrubs one to 80-81).Thereare no treesin thepresent are the which abodesofthesejaher-bonga established. feet under three height, in the Sometimes, than"seat"for may sima-bonga also be provided thejaher is of butin Kuapara area theabode ofsima-bonga locatedon theoutskirts the ends. the where villagestreet village in to and by Worship sacrifice thejaherdeities Kuaparais performed the at thetimeofprincipal the erok, sohrae, festivals, naeki, villagepriest, namely, at wereperformed sacrifices thejaherdeities to and magh, baha.Traditionally, at the The all the festivals. jahergroveis not cleanedor lookedafter except are or No timeofworship. symbols emblems placedin thejaher.It is reported careofthejahergrove and place thatin Bankuraarea theSantaltakeregular in near earthen (Culshaw 1949:80). I did not effigies thethan Hindufashion in come acrosssuch a practice Kuapara area. I have learntthat a similar to of is practice in voguein Malda and Dinajpurdistricts Bengal (according In Kuapara District TribalWelfare information Officer, Birbhum). by provided no flags, etc.,are attachedto the treesin jaher.In Bankura, clothes, strings, is but to are assigned sima-bonga no suchpractice found strings tiedto thetrees festivals thatched a booth(5' 4' and in thisarea. At thetimeofsohrae magh a altarin thejaher.Sometimes bamboostick at 4') is erected the sacrificial in the ground;it is said thatthiskeeps watchover the place and is is fixed intothejahergrove becauseit to It women enter calledlaga thakur. is taboofor witchcraft. the to control bonga thatthey is believed through maytry
4 Thebotanical Roxb. and Bassia latifolia for robusta formahua name sal is Shorea

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"messenat Thedatesfor informally thegoret by worship jaheraredecided to some ger"ofthevillage.Everyhousein the villageis expected contribute These things are meal and a small fowlforsacrifice. rice forthe sacrificial The a the collected thegoret day before appointed forsacrifice. village day by is to sometaboos.He has to sleepon theground (naeki) expected observe priest sacrifice. before from sexualintercourse thenight on ona matandhas to abstain and he On theday ofthe sacrifice takesa bathearlyin the morning wearsa before the sacrificial He washedcloth(dhuti). does not eat anything newly meal is cooked. at For the worship jaher the naekitakes some sal leaves, vermilion, 5 ricegrains, knife withfootwheatflour, adwe tengoi (sickle-shaped cowdung, all the fan, hold) forcutting fowls, put in a winnowing and a metalpot conand fowls be sacrificed ricefor Thegoret thevillagecarries to water. of taining meal in a basket. The naekiis accompanied some the sacrificial by cooking The and such as jog-manjhi, villageofficials paranik,bhogdar kudum-naeki. do The for the and persons accompanying carry fowls animals sacrifice. villagers the not accompany naekiand his party.Theywait forthemon theoutskirts meal. of for of the villageand makepreparations the cooking the sacrificial the the On reaching jaher-than naekicleansthe spotat the footof each the After treewhich regarded theabode oftheparticular is as cleaning bonga. mixedwithwater, is spot withhishands(no broom used)he appliescowdung He a markofsix inches one footin diameter. thenplacesa to making circular this smallflatpieceof stone, abouttwoto fourinchessquare,within cleaned ontheground itinto donethis naeki the circle after water. dipping Having squats in front the circlewithhis right folded underhis hips and his leftleg of leg in He underhis leftfoot.He flexed front his shoulders. holdsthe tengoi of makesa small circlewithwheatflour within the plastered space and puts vermilion markwiththe thirdfinger his righthand on the tree,on the of He the stone,and within whitecirclemade withflour. thenputs someadwe in mark ricegrains thecircle He and takesthesacrificial fowl. putsvermilion on its head,right in and footand holdsthe fowl his cuppedhands.He wing, makesa bow and extends cuppedhands withthe fowltowards stone the his the bonga holdsthe fowlnear the circleso he piece. Havingthusbowedto thatitshead is just above thewhite havebeen in somericegrains circle which till in the and placed.He holdsthefowl thisposition mutters incantation the fowl eatensomeofthericeplacedinthecircle. has he After this, cutstheheadof thefowl with tengoi placestheheadintothewhite the circle. Simultaneousand above thecircle thata fewdropsofblood so of ly he holdsthetrunk thefowl falluponthericeplacedin it. The trunk thefowl handedoverto thegoret of is whokeepsit in a basket.In theend,thenaekiwashes handsand bowswith his folded handsto the bonga. The other do persons present notmakeanymovements and sit silently. theyjoin thenaekiin final obeisance thebonga. to But The same seriesofactionsis repeated again and againundereach treein the
5 The adwericegrains husked Thisvariety usedforritual is without are boiling. is boiledbefore The usedforcooking usnawhich partially is husking. purposes. variety

Village Deities of the Santal and Associated Rituals

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in are to jaher and propitiations offered all the bonga turn.The heads of the sacrificed collected the naekiin his winnowing are animalsand fowls fan by The same whilethe bodiesof fowlsand animalsare kept by otherpersons. incantation uttered each bonga is for exceptthenameoftheparticular bonga. in : as The incantation I recorded Kuapararunsas follows
"Salute to you then,Jaher-Era, am giving I tobenokokinj imam Johar[Jaher-Era] kana. Niye gi khusiko me. Attumahandare you thisnow. Be pleased to accept it. In the duka apa aloyembolokuchhosorouchhoye. village no miserylet enter,let come."

Thereis one exception be noted.One of the sacrificed to fowls not is but This styleof sacrifice calledjeba beheadedcompletely onlypartially. is the a In the zibah, practice among Muslims). Kuaparathisis reported (cf. word One related thatitis donefor tobe donefor Morekohowever, Jaher-Era. priest, Taruiko.In Bankurait is done forManjhi-Haram Culshaw notes although withMoreko-Turuiko thatthere maybe a mistaken identity (Culshaw 1949: could to treatment any 105).Noneofmyinformants assign meaning thisspecific is and at no otheroccasionthismodeof sacrifice adopted.My guess is that turuiko the nameMoreko-Turuiko in theterm it means"six" though literally in someway be associated withturuk and hencetheyadopt might (Muslim) modeofsacrifice. traditions The statethatthere thepeculiar weresomewars in theSantaland Muslim rulers Champa thepeculiar modeofsacrifice ; among to withturuk. mayhave something do withthatperiodofcontact The sacrificial meal is prepared the villagers the outskirts the on of by are village.Proportions made and allocatedto the respective representatives The of the households. naekitakes forhis sharethe whitefowlsacrificed to to and and one Gosaen-Era the red fowlsacrificed Moreko-Turuiko goret gets and consume themseparately. The head. They cook thesefowlsseparately a pig is also consumed the priest. Bankura In head of a sacrificed or by goat are the fowls consumed thepriest and elsewhere headsofall thesacrificed by 1949: 106); but in Kuapara,exceptthosementioned above, these (Culshaw of are cookedwiththerestofthemeal and consumed themalepopulation by thevillage. from above incantation jaherdeities, sacrithe to the As it is apparent on of The village fices madeby thevillagepriest behalf thewholevillage. are also play an important role. Othervillagers do the officials, especially goret, meal. the and of connected with sacrifice thecooking thesacrificial errand jobs He for is The naeki thustheritual village. alonekeepsthe spokesman thewhole for taboosnecessary sacrificial purification. at variessomewhat certainoccasions, of The procedure jaher worship The of festivals. essentials theritualare the and at baha,sohrae erok especially detailsand accessory same but theseare accompanied otherceremonial by at and rites. baha,flowers also used forworship boothsare erected the are At to the In dancing processions accompany naeki jaher-than. other placeselaborate areenacted the "possessed" thejaher-than where roleofdifferent the bonga by individuals (Skrefsrud,pp. 182-190;Culshaw 1949).Purification (rum-bonga) But the before jahersacrifices. noneofsuchelaborate ritesare also performed

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in of festival ceremonies performed Kuaparaarea.Atthetime thesohrae are the - a ritual is connected cattleworship with by jaherworship accompanied rituals . shared with somelowcastesofBengal(Bhowmick, 49-50) Atthetime the of pp. festival some in nawae areasthesprouts newpaddy of earsareoffered thejaherto and deities. is in The festival no longer bonga to family performed Kuaparaarea it there sometime the past.At the timeof in although used to be performed which a rain-making is the erok are ritual, festival, specialofferings made to Moreko-Turuiko bahre-bonga. and Deities 2. The Jaher the to any According theSantaltraditions, Santaldid notworship bonga in thebeginning; worshipped Thakur. Firstthey started only they worshipping GosaenLater,at Champa,the tribeadoptedMoreko-Turuiko, Marang-Buru. -than. was thenthat Era and Jaher-Era and enshrined themin thejaher It the a learnt from thesebonga right under sal treethey wayto live(Skrefsrud, p. 10; Campbell). in Kolean Guru gave a hierarchy the following order:Marang-Buru realnameis Ram-Salgi), realnameis Lita),Jaher-Era Moreko(whose (whose Turuiko, Gosaen-Era, Pargana-Bonga (Skrefsrud, pp. 159-160).I enquired from threepriests Kuapara area the orderof precedence the timeof of at in actualworship the bonga thejaher.Thereweresomeminor variations in of but wereconsistent. Sacrifices madein the their statements the groupings are order:Jaher-Era, Par Gosaen-Era, Moreko-Turuiko, gana, Manjhifollowing and bahre-bonga. position Marang-Buru not The of is Haram,Marang-Buru definite it is interesting notethatMarang-Buru is characterized to who but in is not classed in Kuapara withproper as traditions the highest deity jaher deities is instead and The classed with and bahre-bonga. Pargana- Manjhi-Bonga are personalized deities analogousto counterparts tribal organization; in Parganait beingthe head ofthe Pargana,and Manjhi-Haram beingthehead ofthevillage.One informant classedMarang-Buru with thesebonga. Gosaen-Era and Moreko-Turuiko accordedthe highest are Jaher-Era, statusamongthe villagedeities(besidesMarang-Buru). The statements by somepriests theactualconduct rituals of that and my support contention this is I of different other from deities. have, primary group deities somewhat village thesefourbonga jaher deitiesin contradistinction as to therefore, designated other minor deities. Thereare somefamilies certain of sub-clans village (khut) oftheSantalwhoworship as but villagedeities their abge-bonga, thesefamilies do not worship the villagedeities;theyoffer all sacrifice onlyto the three The ex-priest a villagebelonging thenaeki-khil above mentioned deities. of to to deitiesin his bhitri the timeof sub-clan offers sacrifices the three at jaher bahaand nawaefestivals (Kochar 19656:63).

MARANG-BURU:
in of The position Marang-Buru the Santal pantheon an important is buthisexactplacein thehierarchy at thesametime, clearenough. not is, one,

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is and sacrifices variousoccasions on Since Marang-Buru accordedlibations with variouslevels of social existence, connected namely,the individual, and the in clan,community, thetribe, statusofMarang-Buru theSantal family, ofhisplacement the in jahergroup bonga. is somewhat of independent pantheon of Thisis one ofthe fewbonga theSantal who have a mythical background. a nextonlyto the have assigned highplace to Marang-Buru, Some authors creatorThakur(Culshaw 1949: 109; O'Malley, p. 146). Kolean assigned the third (Skrefsrud,p. 159). place to Marang-Buru of a rice-beer Whenever Santalsitsto drink he, (handi) first all, sprinkles to and This a fewdropsofhandias an offering hisancestors to Marang-Buru. of Whenthefirst ofhuman their with act is associated pair beings myth origin. of on was wandering Marang-Buru appeared aimlessly the surface the earth, He himself their as themand introduced before grandfather. taughtthefirst to to and humanpair,Pilchu-Haram Pilchu-Budhi, cultivate, dance,to hunt and to brew rice-beer (Campbell, pp. 18-20). Among the Santal, joking and and existsbetweenthe grandparents grandchildren, it is relationship as a grandfather and one ofthemostaffectionate Marang-Buru relationships. as and prehumanpair is regarded a "good old fellow" of the first guardian in is revealed thedivinasumedto be a benevolent Marang-Buru never deity. of tionsas theoriginator evils. of was started how the worship Marang-Buru Another mythnarrates of lost theSantal.It is said thatoncethetribe itswayin course itswanderby on They failedto findtheirway ings,surrounded all sides by a mountain. their obstructed as because, theysay,the"bigmountain" patheachtimethey to madean attempt crossthevalley.Findingno way out thetribepromised and in the to worship spirit residing the"bigmountain" calledit Marang-Buru its the tribefound way out, and sincethenthe "the big hill". Subsequently the has tribe keptitspromise worshipping bonga Bodding 1926:67). by (cf. as is In another Marang-Buru portrayed the chiefof all the evil myth werethemessengers all It in spirits theworld. is said thatoriginally thebonga to of the highgod Thakur.They used to workaccording his orders. {goret) there most.However, confided in was Marang-Buru the bonga whomThakur it The and the between bonga Thakur. former, is said, was sometussleofpower all became angryand threw the bonga Thakur demanded authority. greater fell The bonga hereand there someon trees, from skydownon theearth. the ; fell and so on.Marang-Buru on a big mountain. someonhills, someintorivers, the He becamethe leaderof all the bongaon earth. Under his authority and the timeimmemorial, have been,from obstructing deedsofThakur bonga life of course human (Bodding 1926: 68). the obstructing normal to references the Marang-Buru-Bonga The threemythical givenabove the One reveals bonga of characterizationsMarang-Buru. different revealthree themthe trueway who and as an affectionate benevolent grandfather taught as oflife;the secondrevealsthe bonga one to whomthe tribeis boundwith as revealsthe bonga the chief their for path,and the third gratitude opening meninto the obstruct acts ofhighgod and instigate who ofall theevilspirits to bondage evilforces.

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are for and by Offerings worship Marang-Buru made in thejaher-than is the villageprieston behalfof the wholevillage.Marang-Buru one of the are to deitiesof the Santal. Offerings Marang-Buru also made fiveprincipal is no sacrifice madein thefamilies. at thetimeofbhitri Although worship by withotherfamily in Kuapara villageto Marang-Buru bhitri along worships in wereoffered thepast at thetimeof to suchsacrifices Marang-Buru deities, are festival the sohrae (Skrefsrud,p. 172). Libationsto Marang-Buru made This is the only deity who receives the whenever Santal drinkrice-beer. on libations behalf all libations everyindividual; otherdeitiesare offered by At is also associatedwithhapram of a group.Marang-Buru (ancestors). the in of in timeofumulader(bringing theshadow)ceremony course funeral rites, and one become twopersons by possessed, bythedeceasedindividual theother are calledrumbonga, welcomed The possessed formally spirits, Marang-Buru. The of libations waterand rice-beer. spirit of and are offered by the persons Associafor tellthereason itsdeparture. to thedeceasedone is thenrequested on of withthespirit thedeceasedone,as dramatized the tionofMarang-Buru has which the with ancestors of of is occasion, an evidence theaffinity thebonga human of as beingthegrandfather thefirst in itssanction theorigin pair. myth is of of The different components theindividuality Marang-Buru probathanone we of blydue to thefactthatin theworship Marang-Buru havemore on and association meaning superimposed theother. both as a family of deityand as a jaher deity Worship Marang-Buru, deitiesare the deitiesofthevillageand tribe needssomeexplanations. Jaher alone.The families deitiesbelongto the respective as a wholebut the family the conceptof validityof the of conceptof ownership the deity,or rather is markedin the Santal rituals. of a deityfora particular group, worship of associatedwitha definite group.Groupaffiliation Everydeityis ritually not clear. is, Marang-Buru however, somefamilies" is the Marang-Buru a family "amongst god Among Birhor, are or of (Roy 1925a: 313). Buru-bonga thespirits thehillsin general acquired of "Theseare thespirits certain clansamongtheBirhor. as orak-bonga among the homesof the different hills to the different reputed have formed original are Birhor clans"(Roy 1925a: 300). Totemic symbols also used on theseoccasionsof clan sacrifices amongthismost (Roy 1925:165-66).These practices showthatin the earlystagesof tribeofthe Mundagroupperhaps backward theirwanderings Munda tribesacquiredburu-bonga bonga)as clan the (hill Kharwar or a deities.The Santal as a whole,forming sectionof the original in remote a Mundaric people,probablycomparised singleclan or subtribe the that among Mundais theaccumupast.Roy has conjectured Marang-Buru "At in clans of thedifferent residing a localizedregion. lated totemic symbol clans thisstage",Roy writes, "the Buru-Bonga clan gods of the different or into an settled within area ofseveralmilesappearto have merged highgod or : Bum" (Roy1925& or calledbytheMunda, Marang-bonga Marang general deity is 173). Amongthe Munda and Santal, Marang-Buru a high god. Munda as of thisbonga the elderbrother Singdescribe Bonga,thelatterbeing myths is Thakur. withsupreme identified AmongHo, Marang-Buru a minor being

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clan deity (Majumdar1950:258). Among Birhor,Marang-Buruor buruas (Roy 1925a: 300). Amongthe Munda of bongaare reckoned orak-bonga as Tamaria region, reported Roy, the buru-bonga reckoned killiare as by or clan gods(Roy 19250:173). bonga of In thislightthe hypothesis correlation betweenMarang-Buru and the clan groupsis suggestive enough.The clan groupcuts across familial, The of and the tribalrelationships. propitiation Marang-Buru community in levelsalso indicates thisdirection. theSantalat thethree among

MOREKO-TURUIKO:
is Moreko-Turuiko actuallynot one bongabut a groupof bonga five as "fivenamedcollectively Moreko-Turuiko, and brothers six sisters, literally, in whomthe six". The "Five and Six" are somewhat bonga loose-tempered in to Santal take morethan casual interest comparison other jaher deities. in sacrifices libations the and in somefamilies thevillageperform Sometimes, in bhitri thetime at nameofthe bonga) their of honour Moreko (theabridged of erokand baha festivals. They invitetheiragnatickin speciallyforthe festival heldin was thatin someplacesan occasional It occasion. is reported of thehonour the bonga;the name of the festival beingmakmore (Bodding available from . 1935: 212-13) No evidenceof such practicewas, however, In is sacrifice all thejaherworships. Kuapara, at Kuaparaarea.Moreko offered is to a fowlsacrificed Moreko eaten only by the village priest.Individual makesuch which madeonlyby thosefamilies are to sacrifices Moreko generally is or oath at thetimeofillness.The decision takenon the adviceof promise afterhis divinations of the ojha who declaresthe necessity such a sacrifice the Sometimes wholevillagejointly the cause of disease or distress. about or at to sacrifice the Moreko the timeof an epidemic cattle collective offers disease.This was done in all the villagesin thisarea in 1959 whena cattle is spreadin thearea. It maybe notedthatMoreko-Turuikotheonly epidemic in of is which revealed thedivinations theojhaandheldas thecause jaherdeity of personalor generalcrisis.The special fearof the bongaand the special to accorded it is due to thisreason. treatment or as The "Five and Six" are treated a singlebonga deityand onlyone is to sacrificed Moreko notbeheadedcomis sacrifice madeto them.The fowl are ofthe"Five and Six" bonga notknown. Actualnames but pletely partially. and maleand six female A group five of by together designated bonga grouped in theSantalpantheon. nameis an interesting a single Tendency phenomenon is common them and deities to assign similar to group appellation a concurrent to are vaguelyconceived in the Santal religion. they Although phenomenon are and emotional the be a groupof bonga, actual ritualbehaviour responses towards abstraction Thisinvolves a madeas ifthegroup bonga. representssingle of individualities bonga.I have of the atomistic collective personification and notedthe same factwithrespectto orak-bonga, abge-bonga patta-bonga about Moreko, statements Fromtheir elsewhere my general (Kochar 19656). that the "Five and Six" are a kindof the informants conveyed impression

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are to of habitatoftheSantal.The bonga attributed bahre-bongasomeancient havecontrol overrains, The given Kolean by cropsand epidemics. bahasongs with rains and welfareof the country clearlyassociatedMoreko-Turuiko (Skrefsrud,p. 187f.).

JAHER-ERA:
are The individualities Jaher-Era of and Gosaen-Era morevague. The Santal did not (or theycould not?) seem to knowmuchabout thesefemale tendstheother overthejahergrove, deities jaher.Jaher-Era of bonga presides In her of in thejaher-than looks afterthe interest the villagers. myths and associates withtheHindudeity her nameis givenas Ram-Salgi which proper or refers a meresuperimposition derivation to Ram. Whether association this as is difficult say. She is considered "good old lady in chargeof thejaher to from other it At areas,three young grove". thetimeofbahafestival, is reported and twoby Marang-Buru menbecomepossessed, by Jaher-Era, theother one in dressthemselves specific The and Moreko-Turuiko. possessedindividuals reflects SantaFs the The different activities. dramatization way and dramatize at notionsabout these deities(such dramatization the time of baha is not or nowin Kuapara area). The man representing Jaher-Budi Jaherpractised and a basketand sweeps likean old lady. "She" takesa broom Era is dressed washesthe the jaher grove.At another Jaher-Budi stage of dramatization, feetof the naekiand otherpersons (Skrefsrud,p. 183). She thusappearsto of She be themosthumble all jaherdeities. is notattributed specialpower any in either. is notheld She and I couldnotfind suchindication theliterature any to for diseaseorwelfare. roleappears be likethatofa caretaker. Her responsible

GOSAEN-ERA:
In Still less can be said about Gosaen-Era. Kuapara, she is vaguely - thesupreme oftheSantal.As or associated thewife Gosaen Thakur as of god usedto be erected of two Kolean, at thetime bahafestival booths by reported and one forMoreko, and Marang-Buru, the otherforGosaen-Era. Jaher-Era of no is At the timeofdramatization bonga, person possessed thespirit of by is a fowl sacrificed Gosaento Gosaen-Era. thetimeofalljaherworships white At Era. The head of thisfowlis cookedwithriceand eatenby naekionly.The the withGosaen-Era baha festival although appearsto be vaguelyconnected connection. Santal do notappearto be awareofany suchexplicit of the between description the baha festival Thereis striking similarity as givenby Kolean, and the worshipof "earth goddess or the spiritof of festival observed at amongthetribes Chotavegetation" thetimeof spring and as described S. C. Roy. Whenflowers new vegetations sprout nagpur by married up, the goddessof the sacredgroveof the villagewas "ceremonially and hiswife of to thesungod,thevillagepriest actingas theproxy thelatter she oftheformer On thedayofannualKhaddiorSarhulfestival is conducted ... houseto the the in procession her winnowing basketfrom villagepriest's on sacredgrove"(Roy 1928:69).

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in observed Kuapara and adjoining The ceremonies villagesat the time are for of the baha festival not so elaborateas described Santal living in Santal parganas (Skrefsrud, pp. 182-190)and Bankura (Culshaw 1949: in ; 103-110) as such,manypointsare concealedor shadowed my own data. are in of this festival in a way highly exceptional the sense Manyfeatures takesplacein anyoftheceremonies rituals or like connected thatnothing these in to the : the the with bonga Taking priest thejahergrove a dancing procession, menbythe and direct indanofthree deities, their jaher participation possession and accorded thepriest hiswife, to of and worship flowers importance cing ritual, of in thejaher-than, by stay washing thenaeki'sfeet Jaher-Era, of thenaekiin backtothevillage a dancing in when is brought he thejaherall alonetillevening mealby thenaeki'swife jaher, in of theconsumption thesacrificial procession, of the and finally honouring the naekiin each house of the villageand the from of distribution the'Vater ofluck"brought is, jaher.The wholeprocedure and practice bonga of from as I see it,verymuchdifferent theSantal concept on at worship, homeor in thejaher. Mostof thesefeatures, the otherhand, of of or festival sometribes Chotanagpur festival spring us remind oftheflower as described Roy. by reference or In the absenceof any myths, to, any director indirect and in the absence of any coherent with the fertility association concept, we of by explanation thesepractices the Santal themselves, are unable to outlined above. But the whole to the ceremonies meaning assigna definite whenviewedin becomesmeaningful otherwise seriesof events, unexplained, the the of thecontext Roy's aboveexplanation. Among Santal,however, roles thesecerehave got mixedup. Roy connects and Gosaen-Era of Jaher-Era withthe "goddessof thejaher". I have notedabove that amongthe monies and Santaltheprincipal deityofthejaheris Jaher-Era herstatusis guardian at individual the the thatof a humbleold lady. Her rolethrough possessed in whose with timeof bahais inconsistent thehighstatusoffertility goddess Roy's explanation the flower of are the honour baha ceremonies performed. that of the deitywiththe sun-god, as festival beingthe marriage suggests and is Gosaen-Era the corresponding amongthe Santal. Gosaen-Era not deity the as is regarded the wifeof Gosaen, highgod of the Santal. A Jaher-Era at for boothused to be erected Gosaen-Era the timeof bahafestival separate at to sacrificed Gosaen-Era thetimeofall and thefowl in thedaysofKolean Thesebitsofevidence himself. is suggest by jaherworships consumed thepriest as withthe role of fertility be connected thatthe deitywhich goddess, may But and is Roy's explanation, Gosaen-Era notJaher-Era. among by suggested of to is ; theSantal,Gosaen-Era notconceived be the "goddess thejaher" it is of thejaher.Whilethe to whois conceived be the guardian deity Jaher-Era ideas about Jaher-Era Santal have moredefinite theyseem to knowlittle associated withthe village is somewhat about Gosaen-Era. closely Jaher-Era Both Jaher-Eraand Gosaen-Eraare regardedas benevolent community. deities.

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3. OtherVillage Deities

described above are common thewholeSantaltribe for Thejaherdeities the worship jaheris valid fora particular at villageonly.Thereare although on other propitiated behalfof the whole villagedeitieswho are collectively in is different different of villagebut the individuality thesebonga implicitly villages.

: MANJHI-HARAM-BONGA
as is of founder of Manjhi-Haram-Bonga regarded thespirit theoriginal someofmyinformants seemedto imply thevillage.The statements givenby of from standsforthe spirits all the villageheadmen thatthisbonga starting alive headman. coupleof decadesago A the founder headmanto the present headman nearthehouseofthe original founder was themanjhi-than situated nearthehouseofthepresent headofthevillageKuapara. Now it is situated about six incheshigh, of man. The manjhi-than Kuapara is a mud platform on threefeetbroadand fourfeetlong.Thereis no structure or aroundit as in found otherareas (O'Malley, p. 141). Thereis ampleopenspace perhaps aroundthe than.Villagemeetings, dances and games are generally held in thisopen space. At the timeof marriage outgoing incoming the and parties have to pay obeisanceat the manjhi-than. Sacrifices performed the are at festivals. The by manjhi-than the headmanonlyon the occasionof principal sacrificial animalis provided himalone.The head ofthesacrificed animal by is consumed the headmanand the restofthe meat can be sold off the to by In facthe is expected invitevillageeldersformeatand rice-beer to villagers. at his own expense.An unmarried from headman's the housecleansand girl the sacrifices offered. clay effigies stone are No or plastersthe thanbefore are emblems kept at the thanin Kuapara; thisseemsto be the practice in Bankuraand Murshidabad 1949: 82 and personal communication (Culshaw from W. 0.) T. Sacrifices theheadman themanjhi-than regarded hispersonal at are as by of headmen the villageare a kindof tutelary of duty.The spirits the earlier for headman. derives He validation hisoffice authority of and spirits thepresent from ritualcommunication maintains the he withhis deceasedpredecessors. Sacrifices Manjhi-Haram-Bonga also offered the naekiat the to are by timeofjaherworships. Some informants illudedit to be worship the bonga of ofthemanjhi-haram thealiveonetoo). A vaguespiritual (implying counterpart is attributed theheadman thevillagepeople.Thiswas,however, to denied by the headmanhimself. Thereis no otherinstance Santalreligion the in of by of of at to worship thespirit a living person an altar.According Santalreligious a unlesscremated withfullhonours. concepts personcannotbecomea bonga The bonga regarded be specially is to It connected with villagewelfare. is a benevolent and seldomrevealedin divinations the ojha as a cause bonga by ofsomegeneral distress. The bonga also deemedresponsible thewelfare is for

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the On is to oftheheadmanand his family. suchdivinations sacrifice offered in thebonga theheadman. neglect theheadman making by Anyconspicuous by is withconcern at and the sacrifices the manjhi-than notedby the villagers be movedto presstheheadmanforthis. council may village

PARGANA-BONGA:
has for The Pargana-Bonga specialsignificance the Santal because the of as is regarded thehead ofthewitchesas a kindoftutelary ; guardian bonga the Pargana-Bonga get to It witches. is said that witches all the worship The in have to invoke and training proficiency the art ofwitchcraft. witches and for and take his permission well wishings theiractual Pargana-Bonga the It missions. is said that in theirnightmeetings witches bringParganais to dressedlike a king.The Pargana-Bonga easily susceptible the Bonga The bongaassiststhemin theirmisadventures. of enticements the witches. of over has,itis said,influence theminor stray bonga theregion Pargana-Bonga The and can directthemagainsthumanbeingsat the requestof witches. in ofthevillage where to is supposed reside thefuneral ground Pargana-Bonga to are Sacrifices Pargana-Bonga hold theirmeetings. the witches generally but at madein thejaher-than thetimeofprincipal jaherrituals thesacrificial At kudum-naeki. thetimeofgeneral is ritual performed theassistant priest by the in is or illness, whenthere sometrouble thevillageon accountofwitches, The to the Pargana-Bonga. modusoperandi magicalsacrifice ojha may offer at of in involved thepropitiation Pargana-Bonga or outside and thepersonnel for from is different thatadopted thejaherdeities thevillage the priest. by jaher to do withtheoffice has The roleof Pargana-Bonga apparently nothing is oftheparganait. parganait thejuraiand socialhead oftheadministrative and council headmen of unit pargana.He acts as thehead oftheinter-village matters. or dealsinter-village inter-village disputes someoutstanding generally the with particular ofthebonga to It appears methatnomenclatorial similarity does is in incumbent political office organization onlyan analogy.The bonga case ofManjhi-Haram-Bonga. as of the notrepresent spirit anyparganait is the is Perhapsthe bonga namedso because it holds the same statusamongthe overthe peoplein the as of bonga the region does theparganait strayminor the was But no suchsuggestion availablefrom Santal of Kuapara. pargana.

SIMA-BONGA:
and are or are Sima-bonga the bongaof the outskirt villageboundary occasions. at called kudum-naeki definite the assistant priest by worshipped are of are Thesacrifices madeonbehalf thewholevillage.Sima-bonga regarded for treesare marked thesima-bonga definite Sometimes as veryfurious bonga. are wherethe sacrifices givento them.It is at the end of the villagestreet are to treesassigned thesima-bonga marked that reported in Bankuraspecific 1949: 80) but thisis not the at withthreads the timeof festivals (Culshaw a and constitute cateare in Kuapara. Sima-bonga a groupof bonga practice

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in suchbonga Kuapara but I was unable Thereare three gory themselves. by as and are namesofthem.The bonga treated a single to gettheproper entity in are is collective sacrifice givento them.If thebonga revealed theoil divinaor for tionsas a sourceof trouble a family the wholevillage,the respective is the sacrifices the sima-bonga to offers through ojha. This ritual more group at occasions. thantheritual performed kudum-naeki scheduled by complicated with are so that they are propitiated Sima-bonga considered furious is from called bul-mayam, different that humanblood.The modeof sacrifice, followed naeki.Kudum-naeki alone at the spotand secretly performs goes by the the ritual.Sun-dried is placed on a sal leafand put before particular rice on incantations the bonga treeor shrubwithproper to presumably behalfof armsand,ifnecessary, his then thewholevillage.Kudum-naeki pricks thighs, his He chest with thorn. drops ownbloodon thericegrains placedon a sal leaf is until riceis soakedwithblood.Each timethesameincantation uttered. the

BAHRE-BONGA:
in of are living thearea surrounding Bahre-bonga thebonga the outskirts are pools,ditches, Favourite abodesofbahre-bonga thevillage. streams, ponds, treestumps, funeral old a deserted houseor land or groveortree, sites,holes is in theground, etc. hillocks, by pits,mounds, Each bonga known thespecific The name and sex. Some bongaare specifically knownto be morefurious. are are abodesofthesebonga, which known thevillagers avoided.Someof by are human actionsthem known their towards by specific predisposition specific a knowledge females. Thesebonga which shared all thevillagers is including by essential are similar character bhut-bonga in to "ghosts".Thereis, however, difference between two. the in Thereare abouttwenty suchbahre-bonga living thearea aroundKuais about thesebonga sharedby the adjoining para. Knowledge villageswho in sharethehabitat.The distant have different bonga "living" "their" villages area. The Kuapara Santal do not recognize thesedistant though bahre-bonga 's statement, in theymay be aware of them.This is reflected a kudum-naeki "there bonga are nearrailway line but we do not name them(at the timeof sacrifice)". A collective is sacrifice offered thesebonga thenaekiin Kuapara at to by to the timeofjaherworship. the timeofer festival At ok sacrifices offered are name.The modeofsacrifice similar thatadopted is to important bahre-bonga by in are by thenaekiforother jaherdeities.The bodiesofthesefowls included thesacrificial mealalongwithother to fowls sacrificed thejaherdeities. as In someinstances bahre-bonga be revealed thedivinations in the may cause of some distress disease.In that case sacrifice offered ojha on or is by behalfof the patient.

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4. Natureof Village Deities

aboutthecharacter function the Santal have veryvaguenotions and of of about these different villagedeities.We are reminded Risley's remark we sacredgroves, abode of equally the deities:"All overChotaNagpur, find whoare represented no symbols, whoseform of indeterminate and by things, account" no The remark, function onecan givean intelligent (Risley, p. 352). but it in a way,is correct, at the same time,as I have shown, is possibleto and of sufficient at arrive someidea aboutthecharacter function thesedeities between them.It shouldinhibit from us to differentiate hastyconcluenough at. individual sionofthetypeRisley has arrived Thereare definite attributes, have to be builtup witheach deity.Thesenotions however vague,associated of at behaviour thetimeofactualperformance therituals on thebasisoftheir The inability the Santal to spellout,in precise of withthedeities. connected of the and concepts, exact natureand function theirdeitiesdoes not terms the between different Conclusions meanthattheydo not differentiate bonga. in verbalresponses baseduponmerely maybe verymisleading suchinstances. Roy has noted,the villagecollectively Birhor, acquiressome Among A similar new bonga 1925<z: as families 316). process (Roy acquire bonga just commented for seemsprobable the Santal deitiestoo. I have elsewhere upon families and of the acquisition orak-bonga abge-bonga individual (Kochar by whoare deemedto have significant the bearing upon Similarly, bonga 1965&). have or of welfare thevillageand the tribeas a whole(positively negatively) ritualrecognition of whichsignifies beengivenplace in thejaher-than highest and in thecase ofbahre-bonga sima-bonga. Thisis more a bonga. explicit from"othervillagedeities". I have treated"jaher"deitiesseparately deities. is thanofother statusofjaherdeities higher The ritual village 1. The jaher deitiesare tribaldeities;theirindividuality beingshared of the wholetribe.The individualities othervillagedeitiesare localized by or either surroundings. persons through through are 2. Thejaherdeities worshipped naekialone.Other villagedeities by be worshipped others. by are/can and are 3. Thejaherdeities, exceptMoreko-Turuiko, benevolent are not while othervillage deities are malevolent, revealedin divinations except benevolent. who Manjhi-Haram-Bonga is equivocally that of other from of 4. The ritualtreatment jaher deitiesis different deities. village the 5. Whilethejaherdeitieslive in thejaher-than, othervillagebonga The latterare givenplace in thejaherforpropiabodeselsewhere. have their welfare. for of on tiation account their significance thevillage have one Santaldeities all thesedifferences theabovementioned Despite or involvesthe wholevillagedirectly Theirpropitiation in common. thing The is ofvillagedeities villageaffair. ritualbondbetween Worship indirectly. the is as and thevillagecommunity a group marked. thesedeities Jaher-than,

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of the at the worships, associated festivity some occasions, consumption the for sacrificial officiant the of meal,therepresentation thegroupby a selected of worships all theseare symbols community identity. on The sacrifices thejaher-bonga performed the villagepriest to are by is of behalf thewhole of The selection thepriest madeostensibly the by village. their choicethrough and themselves who possessan individual express bonga him.Everyvillagehas a jaher-than no two villagessharethe same than and of the factthe deitiesare the same. The association a villagewitha despite It the theritual ofthegroup. is,among Santal,an imporjaherexpresses unity and community tant criterion for ascertaining membership community no I boundary. have come acrosssome villages wherethereis apparently is the between hamletsbut the wholesettlement dividedin spatialdistance The of two or moreritualgroupswithclear-cut demarcation membership. ritualunitmaintains and social unityas well.The someamountof political on for villageKaligonjo, example, sightappearsto be a hamletofthevillage the between two settlements. Kuapara. Thereis no markedspatialdistance But the two settlements constitute separatecommunities the criteria two by abouttwomiles ofritual, In and political socialsegregation. Kalitola,a village fromBolpur,I foundwithin the same clusterof housesas many as three and distinct socio-ritual withseparate groupings jaher-than separatepriests. to The threesections the villagecommunity, fact,originally in of belonged in due to floods their three different which havebeenbrought villages together theirritual have maintained originalhabitat. The threeseparateclusters a theserepresent single and identity although spatially, economically socially village community. divination Thejaheris established theoriginal careful after settlers (cf. by the Bodding 1940:429-30).Thejaher-bonga everywhere same but due to are of their constant association a particular with the village village, jaher-bongaevery areimplicitly in attributed distinctiveness thesamebonga thesacred from groves ofother The are of by villages. jaher-bonga onevillage notworshipped themembers of another of moreis ritualassociation the whole village.What matters and roleofvillageofficials, particular ofthevillage in that village, priest, joint settlers sacrifice consumption thesacrificial and of meal.The groupoforiginal with more for of associates itself closely responsible theestablishmentjaher-than the Ifoneormore to families movefrom village another, acquire one they jaher. en-bloc settlers moves with of relationship a newjaher,butifthegroup original in to someother establish their ownjaherdeities thenew place theygenerally habitat.Thereis, however, idea or act prevalent no amongthemsuggesting withthemas is found physical amongthe Birhor away" the bonga "carrying but 1925a: 295). Thejaher-bonga thesameall overtheSantaltribe the are (Roy and ritual ofno twovillages thesamein terms ritual of are identity jaher-bonga for status of as withbonga a symbol societal validity thegroup. Relationship is discussed elsewhere (Kochar 19646). as thus The villagedeities, and ceremonials symbolize associated rituals within the well as dramatize differentiation bonds and internal community community.

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Kochar V. , of 1964:Profile a TribalVillage.Vanyajati pp. 80-95. 12, of 1964:Attributes SocietalStatus amongthe Santals.Bulletin theCultural of Institute Bengal)3, pp. 20-29. Research (W. of AnthroEastern Unitsin theDomestic-Groups a SantalVillage. 1965a: Nuclear 18, pologist (Lucknow) pp. 12-21. the and Rituals. and : 19656 Family among Santals Associated Journal Spirits Deities 5. 1963,pp. 59-72. Asiatic the Society of MajumdarD. N., to Presented In: : EssaysinAnthropology (1942) Bongaism. Mills J.P. et al., [edit.], S. C. Roy.Lucknow, 60-79. pp. of : 1950 The Affairs a Tribe.Lucknow. O'MalleyL. S. S., Patna. SantalParganas. Gazetter: 21938: District RisleyH. H., Vol. 1, Part1 (1901).Calcutta. of 1903: Census India,Report. RoyS. C, Ranchi. 1925a: The Birhors. and 11, 19256: Totemism Religion. Society of Journal Biharand OrissaResearch pp. 162-176. in 1928: Primitive Journal Bihar and OrissaResearch of Religion Chotanagpur. 14,pp. 65-74. Society SkrefsrudL. C. [edit.], Reak Katha [in Santali]. Banagoria. Lucknow 1887: Horkoren Marehapramko is source usedhere.] 61958. [Thelatter

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