Santhals celebrate "Baandhana" as festival of lights

Baripada, Oct 21 (UNI) The Diwali or the Festival of Lights marks the beginning of one of the most important five-day long festival ''Baandhana'' among the Santhals of Mayurbhanj.

It is a winter harvest festival where the tribe adorn their cowsheds and worship the cows with devotion to help them in agricultural operations.

The annual event begins with thanksgiving to the God of rain, fair weather and the sun with the hopes of better crop.

Madhav Chandra Hansda, a Santhali scholar, said the event begins with a purification ceremony (Um), when every member of the tribe take part in a ceremonial ablution. The typical Santhal houses are cleaned, with the courtyard wearing a new look with cowdung water smeared on it.

The day one is devoted to 'Gohal' (Cowshed) Puja, in which the cowshed is profusely decorated with ''Alpana'', the traditional floral patterns made on the floor and walls of the shed.

The lady of the house sprinkles water on the cattle from a pot with mango leaves. The head of the family then anoint the animals' horns with oil and vermilion.

''Baandhana'' is considered as the biggest and the most important festival of the Santhal tribals.

On this occasion, Mr Hansda said the community wash their agricultural tools and anoint them with powdered rice and vermilion.

The tribe keep their cowsheds illuminated throughout the night with the help of oil lamps.

At midnight, the tribe rejoice by singing and dancing around the cowsheds. Early in the next morning, the people assemble at the headman's residence with drums and other traditional musical instruments and make ''biras'', a stack paddy straws coiled together to resemble like a ball.

These balls are then tied around the horns of the headman's cattle and after that the animals are let loose. As they run helter-skelter, men shower ''rice-beer'' (Handia) on them , and the women throw eggs on them.

As the cattle dashes off, the Santhal youths jostle among themselves to catch the last of the lot.

According to Sonali Murmu, a Santhal social activist, this play forms a part of the ''Baandhna'' festival of the Santhal tribe.

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