In Hijla village, a fair for Marang Buru

“There used to be a huge sakhua gaach [tree] here. People from in and around Hijla village would meet at this spot and hold a baisi [meeting]. When the British noticed these daily gatherings, they decided to cut the tree… its blood dripped. The stump of the tree then turned to stone.”

Rajendra Baski is narrating this centuries-old tale sitting where the tree used to stand in Jharkhand’s Dumka district. “The trunk of that tree,” says the 30-year-old, “has now become a sacred place for worshipping deity Marang Buru. Santal (also spelt Santhal) tribals visit this place from Jharkhand, Bihar and Bengal to offer their prayers.” Baski, a farmer, is the present nayaki (priest) of Marang Buru.

Hijla village is located in the Santal Pargana division, outside Dumka town, and has a population of 640 people as per the 2011 Census. The legendary Santal Hul – an uprising by Santals against British administration – began on June 30, 1855, under the leadership of Sido and Kanhu Murmu of Bhagnadih village (also known as Bhognadih), roughly a hundred kms from Hijla.

Hijla village is located around the Hijla hill, which is an extension of the Rajmahal range. So, if you begin walking from any point in the village, you come back to it after completing a circle.

“Our ancestors used to form rules and regulations for the whole year there [at the tree],” says 50-year-old Sunilal Hansda, who has been the head of the village since 2008. The site with the tree stump continues to be a popular place for meetings, Hansda adds.

Hansda owns 12 bigha in Hijla, and farms it during the kharif season. In the remaining months, he works as a daily wage labourer on construction sites in Dumka town and earns Rs. 300 on the days he gets work. In fact, all of the 132 families living in Hijla, a majority of whom are Santals, depend on agriculture and wage labour for their livelihood. The uncertainty of rains has also increased in the last few years, sending more and more distress migrants out.

An important fair is also held at Hijla dedicated to Marang Buru. The annual event held around Basant Panchami in February is organised on the banks of Mayurakshi river. A notice by the Government of Jharkhand states that this fair began in the year 1890 under R. Castairs, the then Deputy Commissioner of Santal Pargana.

The Hijla fair has been organised every year except for the two years during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Sharmila Soren, professor of Santali at Sido Kanhu Murmu University, Dumka, told PARI. From bhala (spear) and talwar (sword) to dhol (drum) and daura (bamboo basket), a variety of items are bought and sold at the fair. Dance performances are also staged by men and women.

But with locals migrating out, “this fair is no longer ruled by tribal culture”, says 60-year-old Sitaram Soren, former nayaki of Marang Buru. He adds, “Our traditions are losing influence, and other [urban] influences are dominating now.”