Jharkhand, tucked away quietly in central India, known for its lush green forests and natural beauty. These vibrant forests host a vast number of tribes known for their vibrant culture, traditions and handicrafts. The festivals of Jharkhand present the diversity of Jharkhand at its best, displaying the traditions of diverse tribes at their most joyful.
Diversity of Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a linguistically and ethnically diverse state. It houses thirty-two tribes and is at the crossroads of many linguistic paths. The state’s population speak more than fifteen different languages. The state of Jharkhand is truly one of the most diverse in India.
Festivals of Jharkhand
Jharkhand’s many different tribes celebrate festivals celebrating their traditions and culture. There are also many festivals common to the entirety of Jharkhand’s populace.
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1. Karam/Jawa
This is a harvest and fertility festival that is celebrated by many peoples throughout Jharkhand. In this festival, the people of certain tribes worship the Karam Devta. During the festival, people decorate and worship the branches of the Karam tree. Young, unmarried girls also fast and pray to the devta. This festival is celebrated by the Sadan (Khortha, Nagpuri, Kurmali-speaking ethnic group) and the tribal (Munda, Bhumij, and Oraon) people of Jharkhand.
2. Sarhul
Sarhul is a spring festival celebrated in the village of Sarna in Jharkhand. This festival is believed to be the marriage ceremony of the earth and the sun. Surukh, Khaman and several communities celebrate it in the belief that the Gods would protect them. The festival is celebrated for three days till Chaitra Purnima. The Pahan or the priest overlooks the celebrations of Sarhul for a village. The priest ties a new, white cotton dhoti on the day of the Sarhul Pooja and oversees it for a village. In the Pooja, the Gods, known as Singobonga or Dharmesh or other names based on tribal affiliation, are offered a sacrifice of rooster, liquor, flowers, fruit and vermillion. The locals also perform dances around the Sal tree, while holding its flowers.
3. Jitiya
Jitiya is a widely celebrated festival in Central-Eastern India and Nepal. However, while Jitiya is usually celebrated for three days in the month of Ashvin from the seventh day to the ninth, it is celebrated for eight days in Jharkhand and is a very important festival. The festival mainly involves mothers fasting and performing various rituals for the well-being of their children. The way Jitiia is celebrated varies regionally, but in Jharkhand, the women fast for eight days and offer food to the elements and animals like jackals and vultures. On the eighth day, they sow a Jitia(sacred fig) plant in their courtyard. The last day is characterised by a lot of merry singing, dancing and storytelling, following which they immerse the jitia branches in water the next morning and garland their children.
4. Tusu Parab
Tusu Parab is a harvest festival celebrated mostly in the Southeastern regions of Jharkhand, in the Bundu, Tumar and Raidhi regions. It is celebrated in the winters, mostly by unmarried girls, who sing and dance beautiful folk songs together while making and offering a beautiful bamboo frame to water bodies. The simple beauty of the festival represents Jharkhand’s own.
5. Nawakhani
Nawakhani is a festival of feasting celebrated by the Sadan and Kurukh people of Jharkhand. A new batch of rice, freshly harvested, is tried for the first time in this festival. A small sacrifice of chickens is made to the sun and a feast is made out of it. A variety of rice dishes, from Tapan, a fermented rice drink, to Chuda or rice flakes are made and consumed in the feast, alongside bread too.
6. Hal Punhya
Hal Punhya is celebrated by farmers in winters on the first day of the Magh month to commemorate the beginning of the ploughing of the fields. They plough and circumambulate the fields two and a half times in the morning and later celebrate with singing, dancing and feasting throughout the day.
7. Sohrai/Bandana
Sohrai is a regional festival widely celebrated in central India. It is a cattle festival celebrated by many tribes, including the Santals, Sadans, Kudmi and Oroans. It is celebrated on the Amavasya after Diwali in the Kartika masa, and is primarily a festival celebrating gratitude toward cattle and livestock. People fast throughout the day, cleaning and decorating homes and cattle sheds. Then, cattle are worshipped and a sacrifice of black chicken and tapan is offered in the evening. A feast is made and the entire family comes together in feasting and merry.
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8. Rohini
Rohini is an important, but small festival celebrated in Jharkhand on the occasion of sowing the seeds for the season. It is a celebration of few quiet rituals with no singing and dancing.
9. Baha
Baha or Baa Parab is a festival celebrated by the Santal, Munda and Bo tribes of Jharkhand.The tribe comes together to pray to Jaher Ara, the presiding deity for the festival by offering a pot full of Sal flowers and leaves. The village priest or naikey goes from door to door with this pot to bless everyone. The household then welcomes the priest by washing his feet and offering a feast. Following this, the entire community comes together for a day of feasting, singing, dancing and archery practice.
10. Jani Shikar
The festival of Jani Shikhar is celebrated by the womenfolk of the Kurukh community every twelve years, by wearing men’s attire and going for a long day’s hunt. This festival commemorates the valiant spirit of the Kurukh women who had driven away Muslim invaders while their men were drunk on the festival of Sarhul. The women had gone to war dressed as men and drove the invaders away, in each of the twelve attempts in twelve years.
11. Bhagta Parab
Bhagta Parab is celebrated in the spring-summer time in the Tamar region of Jharkhand. The festival is to pay homage to Budha Baba and is one of the most visually astounding festivals of the state. In the morning, people fast, pray and pay homage to the local priest. In the evening, the spectacular celebrations begin with performances of the energetic Chhau dance. Gory visuals can also be seen as individuals pierce their bodies with hooks and hang up to forty feet up in the air and dance as an act of devotion.
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Takeaway
The festivals of Jharkhand represent the rich culture and diversity of the state. A trip to Jharkhand during its many festivals would be an amazing experience as one gets to experience the finest of the state’s culture in a day!
