Sarnaism

Sarnaism is an Indian religious belief in eastern regions of the subcontinent. The belief is based on worship at Sarna, the sacred groves in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region in the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. According to local belief, a Gram deoti or village deity resides in the sarna, where sacrifice is offered twice a year. Their belief system is alternatively known as "Sarna Dharma", or "Religion of the Holy Woods". Many tribal organization seek its recognition as a distinct religious category for indigenous peoples. The tradition is predominantly followed by Munda peoples, as well as other Scheduled Tribes in India. Sarna means "grove" and is etymologically related to the name of the sal tree. The adherents of Sarnaism believe in, worship, and revere a village deity as protector of village called Gaon khunt, Gram deoti, Dharmes, Marang Buru, Singbonga, or by other names by different tribes. Adherents also believe in, worship, and revere Dharti ayo or Chalapachho Devi, the mother goddess identified as the earth or nature. Sarna is place of worship which is sacred grove in Chotanagpur. It is called Jaher than or Jaher gar among Santal, and can be found in villages. Sal trees are in the sacred grove. The ceremonies are performed by the whole village community at a public gathering with the active participation of village priests, pahan and assistant Pujar in Chotanagpur. The priest is called Naike among Santal. The sthal typically has multiple trees like sal, mahua, neem, and banyan. The main festival of Sarnaism is Sarhul, a festival in which devotees worship their ancestors. During the festival, the pahan brings three water pots to the sarna. If the water pots reduce in level, they believe the monsoon will fail, but if it stays the same the monsoon will come as normal. Men then offer sakua flowers and leaves. As a result of Western colonialism and imperialism in Asia, several attempts of indoctrination and forced conversion were carried out by western Christian missionaries in colonial India, which went on for a century, and have caused sectarian conflict in the tribal areas of the Chota Nagpur region.