title: "Marāṅ Burū" tradition_name: "Marāṅ Burū — the Great Mountain god of the Santal" category: "deity" description: "Marāṅ Burū — Marāṅ Burū — the Great Mountain god of the Santal. Non-Brahminic tradition: Sarnaism, Santal." tradition: ["Sarnaism", "Santal"] district: "Dumka / Pakur" historical_period: "Pre-historic Santal; Sarna revival 19th–20th c." geographical_spread: "Rajmahal Hills region, Dumka / Pakur, Jharkhand" audience_level: "All" verification_status: "UNVERIFIED" last_updated: "2026-04-24" mantra: "Oral Santali invocations" sacred_offerings: ["tradition-specific local offerings (rice-beer, eggs, grain, mithun, fowl, etc. per tradition)"] sacred_colours: ["red", "white", "green (grove)"] sources:
- { tier: 2, type: "book", title: "Sarnaism tradition: scholarly and community sources" }
- { tier: 2, type: "book", title: "Tribal Religions of India", author: 'Sarat Chandra Roy / L. P. Vidyarthi / S. C. Sinha' }
- { tier: 3, type: "gazetteer", title: "Dumka / Pakur District Gazetteer" } geo:
- country: "India" state: "Jharkhand" district: "Dumka / Pakur" town: "Rajmahal Hills region" lat: 24.5333 lon: 87.75 temples:
- name: "Main shrine of Marāṅ Burū" location: "Rajmahal Hills region" district: "Dumka / Pakur" state: "Jharkhand" country: "India" built_century: "Pre-historic Santal; Sarna revival 19th–20th c." note: "Marāṅ Burū — the Great Mountain god of the Santal" lat: 24.5333 lon: 87.75 festival_dates: ["Sohrae (harvest)", "Bāhā (flower festival)"] festivals:
- name: "Sohrae (harvest)" month: "Paush (January)" duration: "5 days"
- name: "Bāhā (flower festival)" month: "Phālguna (Feb–Mar)" duration: "3 days" worship: daily_rites: ["tradition-specific (see body)"] offerings_sequence: ["see body"] stories:
- title: "The sacred narrative of Marāṅ Burū" source: "Community tradition + scholarly sources" summary: "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." primary_scriptures:
- title: "Oral tradition of Sarnaism" type: "liturgical chants / folk narrative"
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.