Marāṅ Burū

Marāṅ Burū

Tradition: Sarnaism / Santal

This entry honours the self-representation of Sarnaism tradition. India's sacred landscape includes hundreds of traditions beyond the Brahminical-Vedic canon. Each has its own cosmology, priesthood, ritual calendar, and relationship with the sacred landscape. Each deserves first-person recognition.

The Place

• "Location": Rajmahal Hills region, Dumka / Pakur, Jharkhand (24.5333°N, 87.75°E)
• "Tradition": Sarnaism, Santal
• "Historical": Pre-historic Santal; Sarna revival 19th–20th c.

Story & Worship

The "Santal" (~7 million; the 3rd-largest tribe of India) worship "Mar"āṅ Burū ("Great Mountain") as their supreme deity — often identified with the "Parasnath" Hill (the Jain Sammet Sikharji). Alongside: "Jaher" Era (the grove-goddess) and "Th"ākur Jīu (the divine protector). Worship is aniconic — the sacred grove "Jaher" is the primary shrine, not any image. Priests: "Naeke" (male) and "Nayke" (female). Santali literary tradition includes the "Ol" Chiki script (devised 1925, now official in W. Bengal + Jharkhand) and a rich ancestral mythology.

Mantra / Invocation

"Oral" Santali invocations

Festival Calendar

• "Sohrae" (harvest) (Paush (January), 5 days)
• "B"āhā (flower festival) (Phālguna (Feb–Mar), 3 days)

Sources

Drawn from scholarly ethnographies of Indian tribal and regional religions (Roy, Vidyarthi, Sinha, Fuchs, Sarkar, Sontheimer, Kinsley), colonial-era gazetteers, and contemporary community documentation.