A study of Santals as children of nature in the light of Santal folktales

Abstract

South Asian nations are home to the Santal tribe. Even though they are dispersed over several nations, most of the Santal are found in India and Bangladesh. The Santal people describe themselves largely as natural beings. This assertion has found support from some scholars who have analysed the Santal rituals and festivals. However, very few studies have tried to define the identity of the Santals from a literary perspective. Therefore, by examining their folktales, this article aims to demonstrate the idea that the Santal are children of nature. The study was guided by The National Folklore Theory, Cultural Functional Theory, and Theory of Reality. The qualitative research was based on a textual analysis of 27 Santal folktales. The rationale of this paper is that Santal folktales serve as a repository of knowledge about their customs, cultures and identities. From the study findings, it is clear that the Santals live in and through nature. They have such intimate relations with nature as one would have with a parent or sibling. They emulate the simplicity of nature in their lifestyle. Even the spirits they worship and revere are thought to reside in nature. Therefore, the Santal are born from nature and exist in mutually beneficial and shared spaces with other creatures in nature.

Human and nature relations in Hooykaas Christiaan’s Enige Sasakse Volksvertelsels (Lombok): An ecocritical study

“…Nature as a mother of Earth reflects a view that recognises her existence as a source of life that transcends mere functional aspects. From this perspective, nature is not only a provider of physical resources, but also a spiritual guardian and ecological balance (Hembrom, 2022). This concept illustrates that nature plays an active role in creating and maintaining harmony in an entire ecosystem.…”

“…Local community knowledge can be used as an important part of maintaining biodiversity and overall ecosystem sustainability (Porten et al, 2019;Abas et al, 2022). Local knowledge is usually spiritual/sacred, emotional, and related to the establishment of relationships between people, humans, and God, and humans and nature (Varghese & Crawford, 2021;Hembrom, 2022).…”

Life and Society of the Ethnic Santals of Bangladesh: An Ethnographic Analysis in the Context of Culture and Tradition

“…Proto-Australoids are a subset of pre-Aryan immigrants, who are the oldest of all (Chowdhury A. M. 2004). Since there are no written records of the Santals, it is hard to figure out where they came from (Hembrom, 1948). This is because multiple research studies have come to the same conclusion (Singh, 1988).…”