Traditional Songs Among the Santals of West Bengal: An Ethnographic Study

Abstract

Santals are one of the most dominant tribes in India. They are the third-largest tribal community in India after Bhil and Gond tribes. They have been described as the ‘most integrated and possibly the most resilient tribe in eastern India’. The origin of the Santals has remained a mystery, to date, the mystery is unsolved. Apart from the mystery of their origin, the other aspects such as their religion, their culture especially their traditional songs and dances are very rich than that of many other tribes in India. The Santals are well-known for their rich serenj-enej, or song-dance traditions. Music, dance, song, and poetry are integral parts of Santal culture, intimately related to the festivals, seasons, and rites of passage. In West Bengal, Santals are the largest tribal Community among the listed forty scheduled tribes communities, who have kept their heritage and identities almost unchanged which reflects in their different traditional songs and dances. I had the privilege of associating intimately with Santals over a number of years and was insensibly drawn to their songs and dances. Gradually, I started to collect the data relating to their traditional songs along with associated festivals or occasions by applying the ethnographic methodology. Sometimes I joined their different festivals and occasions and tried to take part in their festivals, and occasions to get more in-depth data about their traditional songs and dances. Traditional songs among the Santals of West Bengal may be categorized as Songs with Dance, Songs with Lesser Tunes, and Songs without Dance. From these different types of traditional songs among the Santals in West Bengal, we find a glimpse of the Santal folk culture. In this paper, an attempt has been taken to explore various types of traditional songs along with associated festivals or occasions among the Santal tribe of West Bengal.