Context: The Adivasis in Jharkhand and the larger Chhota Nagpur region welcome the new year and the spring season with the Sarhul festival. Sarhul is celebrated on the third day of the Chaitra month (Hindu calendar), which usually falls in April.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Sarhul tribal festival.
About Sarhul Festival
- Sarhul, literally "worship of the Sal tree", is among the most revered Adivasi festivals.
- Tribes celebrating the festival include: Oraon, Munda, Santal, Khadia, and Ho.
- Origin: In the 1960s, Adivasi leader Baba Karthik Oraon, who advocated for social justice and the preservation of tribal culture, began a Sarhul procession from Hatma to the Siram Toli Sarna Sthal in Ranchi.
- It is rooted in nature worship and celebrates the symbolic union of the Sun and the Earth. A male priest from the village (pahan) plays the role of the Sun, while his wife (pahen) becomes the earth.
- Sal trees are seen as the abode of Sarna Maa, the deity protecting the village from inclement natural forces.
- On the first day of Sarhul, the village's pahan, who observes a rigorous fast, fetches water for the ceremonies, houses and Sarna Sthals are cleaned, and Sal flowers gathered for rituals.
- On the second day, the deity is presented with Sal flowers, and a rooster is sacrificed.
The final day is marked by a grand community feast, in which people share handia (rice beer) and enjoy a variety of delicacies.