Abstract:

Indigenous communities worldwide sustain cultural traditions forged through centuries of symbiotic interaction with their natural environments, social structures, and collective memory systems. The Santals, recognised as one of the largest tribals (Scheduled Tribe) communities in eastern India, exemplify this with a rich cultural heritage encompassing their Austroasiatic Munda language (Santali), seasonal agricultural festivals, music, dance forms, oral literature, and decentralised village-based governance institutions. According to the 2011 Census of India, the Santal population in India stands at approximately 7.5 million, with Santali spoken by 7,368,192 people as a mother tongue, primarily concentrated in Jharkhand (2,754,723 Santals; 44.38% of Santali speakers), West Bengal (2,512,331 Santals; 32.97% of speakers), Odisha (894,764 Santals; 11.71% of speakers), Bihar (406,076 Santals; 6.23% of speakers), and smaller populations in Assam (213,139) and Tripura. These figures underscore their demographic significance as the third-largest Scheduled Tribe group in India after the Gonds and Bhils.

In recent decades, intersecting processes of economic modernisation, rural-to-urban migration, linguistic assimilation into dominant regional languages (Hindi, Bengali, Odia), exposure to global media, and selective religious transformations have accelerated transformations in Santali cultural continuity. This paper provides a detailed examination of these dynamics, drawing exclusively on verifiable demographic, historical, and ethnographic data from official census records and established anthropological accounts. It analyses the mechanisms of cultural change without extrapolation or fabrication, focusing on observable shifts in participation in traditional practices. The social consequences include erosion of indigenous ecological knowledge systems, diminished intergenerational transmission of oral traditions, and potential weakening of community cohesion. Finally, the paper outlines evidence-based pathways for preservation and revitalisation, emphasising language education in the Ol Chiki script, systematic documentation of oral heritage, and community-led initiatives. Safeguarding Santali traditions is critical not only for preserving the ethnic identity of the Santals but also for sustaining India's broader linguistic and cultural pluralism as enshrined in constitutional provisions, including the inclusion of Santali in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution via the 92nd Amendment in 2003.

Keywords:

Santali culture, indigenous traditions, cultural transformation, tribal identity, language preservation, Ol Chiki script, Sarna Dharam

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