Religious faith and Festivals of Seraikela-Kharsawan
Majority of the population in this
district are scheduled tribes and mainly depends upon agriculture and forest produce.
The main tribes of the area are Ho, Santhal and Oraon. Besides tribal
population inhabit in this area who belong to religious beliefs and practices.
Non-Tribal populations belong to other religious like Hindu, Muslim,
Christians, Sikh & Jain and Buddhists. Religious faith in Tribal community
The majority of Tribal population
belongs to Ho community. Basically dependent on cultivation Ho communities
believe in nature. They believe in Sarna religion .The village has its sacred
grove Sarna place or Jahira where the village God Desauli resides with his
consort Jahira Buri. Naser Bonga residing in water is the presiding deity of
water. The main God and Goddesses in Ho community are: -
1.
Sing Bonga The sole creator of the
nature and the principal deity.
2. Marang Bonga Next to Sing Bonga Marang Bonga is worshipped at the times of
great difficulties.
3.
Deshauli
The God of village who nourishes all
the human beings, animals, birds & trees and gives relief from disease,
trouble and natural calamity.
4.
Pawnee
Associate of Deshauli who lives in hills.
5.
Nage
Era and Bindi Era water
Goddesses who lives in lakes and ponds.
6.
Others In Ho community there is a separate
kitchen cum worship room known as Andi. After the death of a family member they
establish the soul in Andi where the soul is being worshipped regularly. At the
time of difficulties they worship them to keep their family in good health and
peace. They use to address these holy souls as Hadanko-Tudanko, which means
such elders who are in sleeping stage.
The priest or Deuri worships the Bongas on the occasion of every
important festival. He offers prayer along with offerings of Illi or Rice-bear
and fowl. To the Hos, diseases are usually caused through the interference of a
evil spirit. To counteract these evils there are many Hindu deities such as
Dehima, Durgama, Kalima, and HanmanBir etc. are involved along with the typical
tribal deities.
There is no place for idolatry in traditional Ho religion. The
religion is entirely practical concerned with happiness in this world. Hos
believe that death is caused by the escape of the soul through mouth, nostrils
or the eyes. The soul is ordinarily invisible, but may appear at will in any
form. There is no concept of good or evil and corresponding belief in heaven or
hell associated with soul.
Fairs and Festivals of Seraikela-Kharsawan
The tribal and non-tribal populations in West Singhbhum are almost
in equal ratio. During the time of different festivals people maintain communal
harmony, no matter which festival it is, they do not hesitate to invite their
neighbors and friends to their houses at the time of festive occasion. Communal
tensions and religious antagonism are rarely seen in this area.
Ho Festival: -
The Ho has to earn his living by the
sweat of his brow. But the drudgery of economic life is intermittently relieved
by a regular cycle of festivals. Each festival is marked by the following
features:
i. The
houses are repaired, cleaned & painted.
ii.
Offerings
are made in the sacred grove.
iii. Excessive
drinking of rice beer.
iv. Communal
dance.
All the festivals are based on
religious faith. In each festival Dance, instrument and songs are essential
entity to celebrate. They celebrate all the festivals collectively in mass with
song dance and instruments. They never celebrate any festival individually .The
main festivals are as follows: -
1. Maghe: This is the most important festival of Ho community.
This is celebrated during the month of February ? March. Every village has a
separate date fixed for its celebration, which is done to enable the
inhabitants of other villages to participate in it. Diang (Rice-Beer) flows in
abundance and the young boys and girls dance with instrument and song. This
festival is observed to bring prosperity to the community and for this Puja is
offered to all their Gods.
2. Baa: Baa is a flower.
This festival is celebrated to mark the splendour of the nature during the
month of April when all the trees in the forests are covered with flowers.
3.
Hero: Hero means
sowing. No one sows any seed before the celebration of this festival in the
month of May-June. Puja is offered in the field.
4. Jomnamah: When the first
crop is ready for harvesting in the month of Aug-Sep this festival is
celebrated. The first harvested crop is cashed in every house on this occasion.
Those whose crops are not ready by that date, they get some grains from their
neighbours who have harvested their crop.
5. Kolom: This is a
sort of thanks giving ceremony to Deshauli and Sing Bonga for giving good
harvest and takes place either before starting the thrashing operations or when
thrashing operations are over.
6. Damurai: This is celebrated in May at
the time of sowing of first rice crop. A male goat and a cock are sacrificed
and the ancestral spirits are worshiped.
7. Batauli:
It follows
Hero about in July. This is also associated with the fertility of the crops.
Each cultivator sacrifices a fowl and after some mysterious rites a wing is
stripped off and inserted in the cleft of a bamboo and struck up in the rice
field and dung heap.
Santhal Festivals
The main festivals of Santhal Community are as follows
i.
Maghe
ii.
Baba Bonga
iii.
Sahrai
v. Asaria
vi. Hariar
vii. Namah
viii.
Ma More
Oraon Festivals:
i.
Sarhu
l
Christian
Festivals:
The Christian
Community in this district celebrates mainly the X-Mas and Easter.
Muslim Festivals:
Muslims in
this district celebrates Id, Muharum and Bakrid mainly. Other
community also gets themselves involved in these festivals.
Hindu Festivals:
In Hindu
Community various languages like Bengali, Hindi and Oriya are been spoken in
this district. Hence all festivals of different speaking peoples are being
celebrated in this district. The main festivals in Hindu Community are as
follows:
1.
Makar Sankranti
7.. Mansa Puja
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