Sarhul

Understand

Where Sarhul comes from

Sarhul is the spring festival of the Oraon, Munda and Ho tribes of Jharkhand, associated with the blossoming of the Sal tree (the sacred tree of the Adivasi community). The festival is celebrated in March-April (the Chaitra month of the Hindu calendar) and is the central New Year festival of the indigenous Adivasi of the Chota Nagpur plateau. Sarhul also marks the beginning of the agricultural season — the first sowing of the rice seed. The dance is associated with the worship of the sarna (the sacred grove, particularly the Sal grove of the village) and the village ancestors. The festival is observed across Jharkhand, particularly by the Oraon of the Lohardaga, Gumla and Simdega districts.

How it's practiced

Sarhul is performed by the entire village at the sal-grove (sarna) of the village and in the central village square. The dance is led by the village priest (the pahan) and the head-man (the mahto) of the Oraon community. The ritual sequence begins with the offering of flowers of the sal tree to the ancestral spirits, followed by the village-wide dance, in which men and women dance in a circle to the sound of the drums and the singing of the Sarhul songs of the festival. Music is the dhol, the mandar and the bansuri, with songs of the Sal blossoms and the new harvest. Costume is the everyday Oraon Adivasi dress — the dhoti-kurta for men and the colourful sari with the silver jewellery for the women. The Sarhul is celebrated for several days, with the music and dance continuing in the sal-grove.