Sarhul Festival

Sarhul Festival: Adivasis in Jharkhand and the larger Chhotanagpur region recently celebrated the Sarhul festival, marking the New Year and the arrival of spring.

• About Sarhul Festival: Sarhul is a major tribal festival deeply rooted in nature worship and the veneration of Sal trees (Shorea robusta), considered the abode of Sarna Maa, the protective deity of villages.
  • Nature Worship: Sal trees (Shorea robusta) are venerated in Adivasi tradition and seen as the abode of Sarna Maa, the deity protecting villages from natural forces.

  o Sarhul, literally meaning "worship of the Sal tree," celebrates the symbolic union of the Sun and the Earth.

  o A village priest (pahan) represents the Sun, while his wife (pahen) represents the Earth, signifying the foundation of life.

  o Only after the rituals do Adivasis begin ploughing their fields, sowing crops, or gathering forest produce.

  • Three-Day Festival: The main rituals occur on the second day at Sarna Sthals (sacred groves) found in villages across Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Bihar.
  • Evolution of Sarhul: In the 1960s, Adivasi leader Baba Karthik Oraon initiated a Sarhul procession from Hatma to Siram Toli Sarna Sthal in Ranchi.