Not so long ago, was i sent to document these tribal homes and there i found two 
things most emphasized..the symmetry of the santhal homes and the colors that adorned their almost perfectly aligned walls.
The tribe has a curious tradition of the men building the shell of their houses and women with their acute
aesthetic sense and deft hands taking up the plastering and painting.
The colors used are beautiful oxides found at the foothills surrounding these pockets and the results are a matter of envy for the other tribal-folk.
During my stay there, i also observed that the santhals regard their granary and their worship space most sacred and these two spaces are normally together which they consider a sacrilege to photograph or sometimes even to enter. The houses are otherwise a traditional courtyard layout, sometimes two of them, one as the hub around which all the rooms are built and another circumferencing the premise for those who have larger families and can afford it. Normally the houses grow organically with gradual additions of room as and how the family expands and are also circular with thatched roofs.Next to the granary, is always the kitchen which is also quite dark with just one or two small openings for ventilation but barely any light. The tribe still believes in myths and superstitions, one of them being that the presence of large window opening invites evil spirits into their abode, because of which the windows are very small in size and few in number compared to the long front facades. But they more than compensate, by dressing these windows with bright colors and contrasting motifs on the lintel usually animal and nature figures depicting folklore.
Most of these tribal people worship the jungles an
d
do not have deities but stones installed in their sacred spots. They have even been known to indulge in a lot of black magic for issues, both domestic as well as socio-political. One such being the land-grabbing episodes frequently faced by these tribes owing to their proximity to locations rich in bauxite and uranium.
The tribes near dumka and singhbhum in bihar, mayurbhanj in orissa and birbhum and jalpaiguri in west bengal a
re supposed
to be still very authentically following their crafts and traditions but many others are now getting largely influenced by the towns which have come up close by.
The Santhals though, have managed to retain a rich part of their culture still, however many of their crafts and practices are dying, one crucial being their home-building art. Many non profit groups are formed now striving to keep the santhal legacy from becoming extinct which has been rendered very vulnerable while urbanisation and its threats loom large.
things most emphasized..the symmetry of the santhal homes and the colors that adorned their almost perfectly aligned walls.The tribe has a curious tradition of the men building the shell of their houses and women with their acute
aesthetic sense and deft hands taking up the plastering and painting.The colors used are beautiful oxides found at the foothills surrounding these pockets and the results are a matter of envy for the other tribal-folk.
During my stay there, i also observed that the santhals regard their granary and their worship space most sacred and these two spaces are normally together which they consider a sacrilege to photograph or sometimes even to enter. The houses are otherwise a traditional courtyard layout, sometimes two of them, one as the hub around which all the rooms are built and another circumferencing the premise for those who have larger families and can afford it. Normally the houses grow organically with gradual additions of room as and how the family expands and are also circular with thatched roofs.Next to the granary, is always the kitchen which is also quite dark with just one or two small openings for ventilation but barely any light. The tribe still believes in myths and superstitions, one of them being that the presence of large window opening invites evil spirits into their abode, because of which the windows are very small in size and few in number compared to the long front facades. But they more than compensate, by dressing these windows with bright colors and contrasting motifs on the lintel usually animal and nature figures depicting folklore.
Most of these tribal people worship the jungles an
d
do not have deities but stones installed in their sacred spots. They have even been known to indulge in a lot of black magic for issues, both domestic as well as socio-political. One such being the land-grabbing episodes frequently faced by these tribes owing to their proximity to locations rich in bauxite and uranium.
The tribes near dumka and singhbhum in bihar, mayurbhanj in orissa and birbhum and jalpaiguri in west bengal a
re supposed
to be still very authentically following their crafts and traditions but many others are now getting largely influenced by the towns which have come up close by.The Santhals though, have managed to retain a rich part of their culture still, however many of their crafts and practices are dying, one crucial being their home-building art. Many non profit groups are formed now striving to keep the santhal legacy from becoming extinct which has been rendered very vulnerable while urbanisation and its threats loom large.
Comments
Post a Comment