Overview:
This book is a compilation of Santal folktales collected and translated by Cecil Henry Bompas. It provides a glimpse into the rich oral tradition of the Santal people, offering insight into their worldviews, beliefs, and social customs. The stories often feature themes of cunning, resilience, justice, and the power of nature. They demonstrate the Santal people’s respect for their ancestors and their relationship with the natural world, particularly the spirits or “bongas” they believe inhabit it.
Main Parts:
- Part I: General Tales: This part covers a wide range of folktales, including stories about tricksters, stepmothers, jealous wives, wise daughters-in-law, and mythical creatures.
- Part II: Animal Tales: This section features tales involving animals, often using animals to illustrate human characteristics or morality.
- Part III: Anecdotes: This section delves into real-life stories and situations from Santal life, showcasing their everyday customs, social structures, and perspectives on life.
- Part IV: Bonga Tales: These stories explore the interactions between humans and the spirits (bongas) that the Santals believe inhabit the world. They demonstrate how these spirits are appeased and how they influence people’s lives.
- Part V: Legends & Traditions: This section focuses on Santal legends and traditions, providing insights into their beliefs about the creation of the world, the afterlife, and social customs.
- Part VI: Witchcraft: This part explores the Santal belief in witchcraft, providing a collection of stories about witches, their powers, and their interactions with the human world.
View on Life:
- Respect for Ancestors & Spirits: The Santals believe in the presence of spirits or “bongas” who influence daily life. Stories often include rituals and sacrifices to appease these spirits, showcasing their deep connection to the spiritual world.
- Resilience & Cunning: Many tales involve characters overcoming adversity through cleverness and resourcefulness. The Santal people often portray those who succeed as those who outwit others or use their wits to solve problems.
- Value of Justice: Often, the stories depict a system of justice that is not simply based on legal codes, but on a broader sense of fairness and retribution. Characters are punished for their wrongdoings, while those who act morally are often rewarded.
Scenarios:
- Jealousy & Betrayal: Many stories feature characters who are motivated by jealousy or betrayal, leading to conflicts and consequences.
- Magic & Supernatural Powers: The stories often involve magical powers, supernatural beings, and the use of spells and incantations to influence events.
- Tricksters & Fools: The stories often feature tricksters and fools, demonstrating how people deal with those who are cunning or foolish in their actions.
- Social Interactions: The stories offer glimpses into the social lives of the Santal people, showcasing marriage rituals, family dynamics, and communal life.
Challenges:
- Poverty & Survival: Many stories highlight the challenges faced by the Santal people in their daily lives, such as poverty, hunger, and the need to work hard for a living.
- External Threats: The stories frequently depict characters facing external threats such as wild animals, witches, and jealous rivals.
- Natural Disasters: The stories acknowledge the Santal people’s vulnerability to natural disasters such as floods, storms, and famines.
Conflict:
- Conflict with Supernatural Beings: Characters often encounter conflicts with spirits, witches, and other supernatural beings. These conflicts are usually resolved through cunning, cleverness, or sometimes through the intervention of a higher power.
- Conflict with Other Humans: Many stories involve conflicts between individuals due to jealousy, greed, or the desire for power. These conflicts are often resolved through a system of justice or by a character’s resourcefulness.
Plot:
- Triumph of the Underdog: Many stories follow the arc of a seemingly ordinary or marginalized character who ultimately triumphs over obstacles and achieves success.
- Trials & Tests: Often, characters face trials and tests that determine their character and their ultimate fate. These trials can be presented as challenges, conflicts, or journeys.
Point of View:
- First Person: Many stories are narrated from a first-person perspective, giving the reader a sense of immediacy and engagement with the story.
- Omniscient Narrator: Some stories are told from a third-person omniscient perspective, allowing the narrator to share insights into the characters’ thoughts and motivations.
How it’s Written:
- Simple & Direct Language: The language used in the stories is straightforward and easy to understand, reflecting the oral storytelling tradition of the Santal people.
- Descriptive Details: The stories are richly detailed, showcasing the Santal people’s connection to their environment, their customs, and their beliefs.
- Example: “He took a stick to beat its life out, but the jackal cried: “Spare me and I will find you a wife.”
Tone:
- Humorous: Many stories are told with a light and humorous tone, showcasing the Santal people’s appreciation of humor and their ability to find amusement even in challenging situations.
- Serious: Some stories address serious themes such as death, betrayal, and social injustice, but even in these stories, the tone is often grounded in a sense of hope and faith.
Life Choices:
- Seeking Wealth & Prosperity: Characters often make choices driven by the desire for wealth and prosperity, showcasing the Santal people’s values in a society where economic security is a major concern.
- Love & Marriage: The stories often feature characters who make choices based on their desire for love and marriage, demonstrating the importance of these relationships in Santal society.
- Following Ancestral Wisdom: The stories often depict characters making choices that align with their ancestral beliefs and values, showcasing the importance of tradition in the Santal worldview.
Lessons:
- Value of Kindness & Compassion: Many stories emphasize the importance of kindness and compassion, highlighting the rewards that come from helping others and treating them with respect.
- Importance of Courage & Resilience: The stories demonstrate the importance of courage and resilience in overcoming challenges and overcoming adversity.
- Dangers of Greed & Jealousy: The stories warn against the dangers of greed and jealousy, showcasing how these negative traits can lead to conflict and destruction.
Characters:
- Tricksters: Characters such as the jackal, the monkey, and the caterpillar boy often use their cunning to outwit others and achieve their goals.
- Brave Heroes: Stories feature heroes such as the shikari, Lakhan, and the strong man, who are brave and resourceful in the face of danger.
- Faithful Wives: Stories feature loyal wives such as the Prince’s wife, who are willing to sacrifice for their husbands and help them overcome challenges.
- Bonga Girls: These are often depicted as beautiful and alluring, but they also carry the power and unpredictability of the spirits they represent.
Themes:
- Human Nature & Morality: The stories explore human nature and morality, offering insights into the Santal people’s beliefs about right and wrong, and how they understand the complexities of human behavior.
- Power of Nature: The stories demonstrate the Santal people’s respect for the power of nature, which they believe is inhabited by spirits and which plays a major role in their lives.
- Value of Tradition: The stories reflect the Santal people’s adherence to their traditional beliefs and customs, highlighting the importance of these traditions in maintaining their identity and worldview.
Principles:
- Animistic Worldview: The Santals believe in the existence of spirits or “bongas” who inhabit the natural world and influence human affairs.
- Karma & Retribution: The stories often feature a sense of karma and retribution, suggesting that people are rewarded for good deeds and punished for wrongdoing.
- Importance of Family & Community: The stories emphasize the importance of family and community bonds, showcasing the Santal people’s reliance on their social networks for support and guidance.
Intentions:
- Characters: The characters’ intentions often vary depending on the story, ranging from a desire for wealth and prosperity to a longing for love and companionship.
- Reader: The author’s intention is likely to share the rich oral tradition of the Santal people with a wider audience, shedding light on their unique culture and worldview.
Unique Vocabulary:
- Bonga: A spirit or deity that is revered and appeased by the Santal people.
- Hutibudhi: A witch or an evil spirit.
- Jogimanjhi: A village elder responsible for the moral conduct of young men and women.
- Paramanik: An assistant headman.
- Godet: A village constable.
- Raibar: A marriage broker.
Anecdotes:
- The Oilman’s Bullock: This story teaches about the dangers of greed and the importance of keeping promises. The bullock’s strength is a symbol of its moral worth and its debt to the oilman, reflecting the Santal people’s beliefs about justice and fair treatment.
- The Monkey Boy: This story illustrates the power of cleverness and resourcefulness in overcoming challenges. The monkey boy’s ability to use his unique abilities to gain wealth and find a wife showcases the Santal people’s appreciation for unconventional wisdom.
- The Wise Daughter-in-Law: This story emphasizes the value of foresight and resourcefulness. The daughter-in-law’s ability to use seemingly insignificant items to solve problems and gain wealth highlights the Santal people’s beliefs about the importance of observation and careful planning.
Ideas:
- The Power of Beliefs: The stories demonstrate how strong beliefs, whether in spirits, magic, or the power of nature, can shape people’s actions and their lives.
- Importance of Tradition: The stories highlight the value of maintaining tradition and respecting ancestral knowledge.
- Nature’s Influence: The stories portray nature as a powerful force that is both beneficial and dangerous, reflecting the Santal people’s awareness of the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world.
Facts and Findings:
- Santal Social Structure: The stories offer detailed insights into the Santal people’s social structure, including their hierarchical organization, their role-based duties, and their beliefs about marriage and family.
- Animistic Beliefs: The stories provide evidence of the Santal people’s animistic beliefs, showcasing their worship of spirits, their rituals, and their connection to the supernatural world.
Statistics:
- The book includes detailed information about the Santal Parganas district, including its size and population.
- The book notes that Santals constitute approximately one-third of the district’s population.
Points of View:
- Santal Perspective: The stories are written from a Santal perspective, providing a unique and valuable understanding of their culture and worldview. This perspective is significant because it offers an alternative to the dominant colonial narratives that often shaped earlier understandings of Indigenous peoples in India.
Perspective:
- Respect for Indigenous Cultures: The stories offer a rich perspective on the Santal people’s culture, traditions, and beliefs, highlighting the importance of respecting diverse Indigenous cultures and their rich oral histories.
- Challenge to Colonial Narratives: The stories challenge colonial narratives that often depicted Indigenous peoples in India as primitive or uncivilized. The tales reveal a complex and nuanced worldview that emphasizes resilience, ingenuity, and a deep connection to the natural world.