Sarhul Festival

Prelims – Social Geography of India

Mains (GS I) - Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.

Why in News?

Adivasis in Jharkhand and the larger Chhotanagpur region will welcome the new year and the spring season with the Sarhul festival on Tuesday.

• Sarhul – It literally means “worship of the Sal tree” and is among the most revered Adivasi festivals.
• Nature worship - Sal trees (Shorea robusta) are venerated in Adivasi tradition.
• Sarna faith - Jal (water), jungle (forest), jameen (land) — these three aspects of nature form the core of the Sarna faith.
• Sarna Maa – The Sal trees are seen as the abode of Sarna Maa, the deity protecting the village from inclement natural forces.
• Union of Sun and Earth – The festival celebrates the symbolic union of the Sun and the Earth.
• A male priest from the village (pahan) plays the role of the Sun, while his wife (pahen) becomes the Earth.
• Sowing season - Only after the rituals are completed, Adivasi folk begin ploughing their fields, sowing their crop, or entering the forest to gather produce.
• Tribes - Sarhul has been celebrated by tribes such as the Oraon, Munda, Santal, Khadia, and Ho, with unique names for the festival and particular ways of celebrations.
• Sarna Sthals - These are communally protected “sacred groves” and can be found near villages across Chotanagpur, including Jharkhand, parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Bihar.
• Sarna flags - In the lead up, homes and Sarna Sthals are lined with triangular, red and white Sarna flags.

• Three-day festival - The main rituals happen on day two of the three-day festival at Sarna Sthals.
• First day event - On the first day of Sarhul, the village’s pahan, who observes a rigorous fast, fetches water for the ceremonies, houses and Sarna Sthals are cleaned, and Sal flowers gathered for rituals.
• Second day event - On the next day, the main rituals take place at the Sarna Sthal.
• The deity is presented with Sal flowers, and a rooster is sacrificed.
• Villagers seek prosperity, safety, and a good harvest.
• Holy water is then sprinkled across the village, with performances of traditional songs and dances such as Jadur, Gena and Por Jadur.
• Later, young men head to nearby ponds and rivers and participate in ceremonial fishing and crab-catching to gather food for the ceremonial feast.
• Third day event - The final day is marked by a grand community feast, in which people share handia (rice beer) and enjoy a variety of delicacies.
• The festival ends with the pahan’s blessings and the villagers praying.
• Evolution - Over time, Sarhul evolved from being a hunting-centred tradition to one that revolves around agricultural processes, reflecting the evolving lifestyle of Adivasis in Chhotanagpur.
• Celebration in other countries - During the 19th and early 20th centuries, when tribes such as the Munda, Oraon, and Santal were sent to faraway places as indentured labour, Sarhul traveled with them.
• Today, the festival is celebrated in locations ranging from the tea gardens of Assam to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.
• Sarhul procession - In the 1960s, Adivasi leader Baba Karthik Oraon, who advocated for social justice and the preservation of tribal culture, began a Sarhul procession from Hatma to the Siram Toli Sarna Sthal in Ranchi.
• Siram Toli - In the past 60 years, festive processions have emerged as a crucial part of Sarhul, with the Siram Toli site becoming a major point of convergence for processions.
• Political identity – The procession and gathering has also made Sarhul increasingly political, and an occasion to assert the Adivasi identity.
• Separate religion - Adivasis following the Sarna faith have been demanding the inclusion of a Sarna religion column in the census.

At present, under the census, there are codes for only six religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Reference

The Indian Express | Sarhul