Chapter 138: Tribal and Adivasi Sanātan Traditions: Sarna, Bonga, Earth, Ancestors, Forests and Local Gods

India’s tribal and Adivasi religious traditions cannot be reduced either to “Hinduism” or to a single category called “animism.” Communities such as the Ho, Munda, Oraon, Santal, Kondh and many others possess distinct cosmologies, ritual authorities, sacred landscapes and languages. Some communities have developed long interactions with neighboring Hindu traditions; others emphasize distinct religious identities. The most responsible approach is to describe their own categories and then study historical interaction.

This chapter is part of the regional and comparative expansion of the Sanatan Dharma portal. It distinguishes shared civilizational patterns from practices that are specifically regional, sectarian, tribal, household or historically contingent.

1. Sarna and sacred groves

Among several central and eastern communities, the sacred grove or Sarna is a ritual center. Government Tribal Affairs documentation on the Ho describes the village sacred grove as the dwelling place of Desauli, a protective village deity. The grove is simultaneously ecological space, ritual site and community institution.

2. Bonga and the Ho world

Ho traditions use bonga as a broad category for divine or spirit powers. Government documentation records Sing Bonga, Marangburu and other localized beings connected with sun, hills, forests, water, hunting and wealth. These names should not be casually translated as equivalents of Hindu gods; their meanings arise from Ho cosmology.

3. Kondh cosmology and Earth

Kondh traditions documented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs include Darni Penu, the Earth Goddess, alongside mountain, stream, rain, village, ancestor and hunting powers. The list demonstrates a religious geography organized around ecological relationships.

4. Ancestors and land

Ancestor traditions can be inseparable from territory. A community may understand ancestors as connected to village land, forest or ritual sites. This differs from a purely individual model of afterlife because collective memory is anchored in place.

5. Interaction with Hindu traditions

Historical interaction has included shared festivals, deity identification, pilgrimage and changing ritual vocabulary. Some communities identify local deities with Shiva, Devi or other figures; others maintain separate names and institutions. “Hinduisation” is therefore not a single process with one outcome.

6. Missionary, colonial and modern pressures

Colonial ethnography often classified Indigenous religions through European categories such as animism. Missionary activity, state forest policy, land dispossession and modern religious movements also reshaped community life. Contemporary identity movements sometimes emphasize distinct tribal religion precisely because older categories were imposed from outside.

7. Sacred ecology

Sacred groves can function as conservation institutions, but one should not romanticize them as untouched ecological sanctuaries. Their condition varies. The religious rule protecting a grove can nevertheless create practical limits on extraction and can preserve biodiversity.

8. Why terminology matters

Adivasi, tribal, Indigenous, Sarna and Hindu are not interchangeable terms. Communities use different self-descriptions, and legal or political contexts matter. A scholarly book should avoid declaring an entire community’s religion “really Hindu” or “really non-Hindu” without attending to the community’s own history and internal diversity.

Research expansion: evidence, interpretation and regional comparison

Editorial note: This expanded edition distinguishes textual evidence, regional observation and later interpretation. Claims are deliberately qualified where the sources do not support a universal statement. References are linked to academic or institutional records so readers can inspect the evidence behind the discussion.

1. Terminology and self-identification — a source-critical reading

A careful reading begins with the evidence itself. Adivasi communities have diverse religious identities and histories; “Sanātan” should not be imposed as a universal label when communities use other terms for their traditions. The point is not to turn a regional practice into a universal rule, but to ask what kind of evidence supports the description: a ritual manual, an inscription, an ethnographic observation, an oral account, an institutional archive, or a modern community representation. These sources answer different questions. A textual prescription may tell us what a learned author thought should happen; an ethnography may show what participants actually did in a particular place and period. Keeping those levels separate prevents a common error in writing about Sanātan traditions: treating an idealized textual formulation as if it were a timeless description of every household. [1]

Historical interpretation becomes stronger when chronology is kept visible. Adivasi communities have diverse religious identities and histories; “Sanātan” should not be imposed as a universal label when communities use other terms for their traditions. Religious practices that look ancient today may have changed substantially through patronage, urbanization, migration, print, mass media or the growth of pilgrimage networks. Conversely, a practice that appears “folk” or local may preserve older institutions even when its present form is relatively recent. The responsible formulation is therefore usually layered: identify the documented form, identify the period for which the evidence is strong, and then distinguish later interpretation from earlier evidence. This allows continuity to be discussed without inventing an unbroken line for which the sources do not provide proof. [1]

2. Sarna sacred groves — a source-critical reading

Historical interpretation becomes stronger when chronology is kept visible. Research on Sarna traditions describes sacred groves as sites of ritual, community identity and ecological relationships, especially among Oraon communities in Jharkhand. Religious practices that look ancient today may have changed substantially through patronage, urbanization, migration, print, mass media or the growth of pilgrimage networks. Conversely, a practice that appears “folk” or local may preserve older institutions even when its present form is relatively recent. The responsible formulation is therefore usually layered: identify the documented form, identify the period for which the evidence is strong, and then distinguish later interpretation from earlier evidence. This allows continuity to be discussed without inventing an unbroken line for which the sources do not provide proof. [2]

Regional comparison is especially useful here because it exposes assumptions. Research on Sarna traditions describes sacred groves as sites of ritual, community identity and ecological relationships, especially among Oraon communities in Jharkhand. A reader who knows one regional tradition may unconsciously treat its vocabulary as the standard for all others. Comparison shows why that is risky. Similar ritual actions can carry different meanings, while very different outward practices can answer similar religious questions. The analytical task is therefore to compare at the level appropriate to the evidence: calendar, institution, theology, social organization, performance, material culture or ecological setting. Similarity is evidence of relationship or shared structure only when the historical record supports that conclusion; resemblance alone is not proof of common origin. [2]

3. Bonga and local spiritual worlds — a source-critical reading

Regional comparison is especially useful here because it exposes assumptions. Among communities such as the Ho, bonga can refer to powerful spiritual beings; meanings must be reconstructed from community-specific ethnography rather than a single pan-tribal definition. A reader who knows one regional tradition may unconsciously treat its vocabulary as the standard for all others. Comparison shows why that is risky. Similar ritual actions can carry different meanings, while very different outward practices can answer similar religious questions. The analytical task is therefore to compare at the level appropriate to the evidence: calendar, institution, theology, social organization, performance, material culture or ecological setting. Similarity is evidence of relationship or shared structure only when the historical record supports that conclusion; resemblance alone is not proof of common origin. [ecology_calendar]

Material culture deserves equal attention. Among communities such as the Ho, bonga can refer to powerful spiritual beings; meanings must be reconstructed from community-specific ethnography rather than a single pan-tribal definition. Objects are not passive illustrations of belief. Images, vessels, lamps, dolls, painted scrolls, tools, foods, clothing, processional vehicles and temporary structures organize participation and memory. They also have biographies: an object may be made, consecrated, used, inherited, repaired, moved, immersed or retired. Studying these processes helps explain why religious life persists even when texts are not read by most participants. It also makes visible the work of artisans, cooks, musicians, decorators, transport workers and household members whose contributions are often missing from elite textual histories. [ecology_calendar]

4. Earth and land — a source-critical reading

Material culture deserves equal attention. Earth-related ritual can connect agriculture, territory, ancestors and community obligations, making land both an economic and sacred category. Objects are not passive illustrations of belief. Images, vessels, lamps, dolls, painted scrolls, tools, foods, clothing, processional vehicles and temporary structures organize participation and memory. They also have biographies: an object may be made, consecrated, used, inherited, repaired, moved, immersed or retired. Studying these processes helps explain why religious life persists even when texts are not read by most participants. It also makes visible the work of artisans, cooks, musicians, decorators, transport workers and household members whose contributions are often missing from elite textual histories. [4]

The social dimension is equally important. Earth-related ritual can connect agriculture, territory, ancestors and community obligations, making land both an economic and sacred category. Festivals and household rites create relationships as well as worship. Invitations, meals, gifts, processions, collective labor, pilgrimage and performance can renew ties between families and neighborhoods. At the same time, participation is not always equal: caste, gender, class, occupation and institutional authority can shape who cooks, who performs, who leads ritual, who controls funds and whose interpretation is treated as authoritative. A serious account should therefore describe both community-making and the unequal structures through which community life is organized. This avoids romanticizing “tradition” while still recognizing its capacity to sustain belonging. [4]

5. Ancestors and place — a source-critical reading

The social dimension is equally important. Ancestral presence can be tied to specific landscapes, groves, stones and settlements, creating a geography of memory distinct from textual pilgrimage systems. Festivals and household rites create relationships as well as worship. Invitations, meals, gifts, processions, collective labor, pilgrimage and performance can renew ties between families and neighborhoods. At the same time, participation is not always equal: caste, gender, class, occupation and institutional authority can shape who cooks, who performs, who leads ritual, who controls funds and whose interpretation is treated as authoritative. A serious account should therefore describe both community-making and the unequal structures through which community life is organized. This avoids romanticizing “tradition” while still recognizing its capacity to sustain belonging. [1]

The chapter should also resist a false opposition between tradition and modernity. Ancestral presence can be tied to specific landscapes, groves, stones and settlements, creating a geography of memory distinct from textual pilgrimage systems. New technologies, urban venues, diaspora associations, television, social media and contemporary art can change the scale and style of a ritual without eliminating its religious significance. A modern temple may preserve an old deity while introducing new management structures; a diaspora festival may shorten a ritual sequence because of work schedules while intensifying its role in cultural education. These changes are historically meaningful. Rather than asking whether a practice is “authentic,” the better questions are: who changed it, why, under what constraints, and which elements participants themselves regard as essential? [1]

6. Interaction with Hindu traditions — a source-critical reading

The chapter should also resist a false opposition between tradition and modernity. Adivasi and Hindu practices have interacted through trade, marriage, political patronage and temple networks, but interaction does not automatically erase distinct community identities. New technologies, urban venues, diaspora associations, television, social media and contemporary art can change the scale and style of a ritual without eliminating its religious significance. A modern temple may preserve an old deity while introducing new management structures; a diaspora festival may shorten a ritual sequence because of work schedules while intensifying its role in cultural education. These changes are historically meaningful. Rather than asking whether a practice is “authentic,” the better questions are: who changed it, why, under what constraints, and which elements participants themselves regard as essential? [2]

There is also an important methodological lesson about absence. Adivasi and Hindu practices have interacted through trade, marriage, political patronage and temple networks, but interaction does not automatically erase distinct community identities. The survival of a practice in oral or domestic settings does not mean that it lacks history simply because the archive is thin. Conversely, the existence of a textual reference does not prove widespread practice. Scholars therefore triangulate: compare texts with inscriptions, material remains, ethnography, regional language sources, oral histories and institutional records. When evidence is incomplete, the chapter should say so. Phrases such as “in some regions,” “in documented traditions,” or “scholarship suggests” are not weaknesses; they are signals that the author is respecting the limits of the evidence. [2]

7. Colonial and modern pressures — a source-critical reading

There is also an important methodological lesson about absence. Missionary activity, state classification, land change and modern education have altered religious institutions; communities also actively reinterpret tradition in response. The survival of a practice in oral or domestic settings does not mean that it lacks history simply because the archive is thin. Conversely, the existence of a textual reference does not prove widespread practice. Scholars therefore triangulate: compare texts with inscriptions, material remains, ethnography, regional language sources, oral histories and institutional records. When evidence is incomplete, the chapter should say so. Phrases such as “in some regions,” “in documented traditions,” or “scholarship suggests” are not weaknesses; they are signals that the author is respecting the limits of the evidence. [ecology_calendar]

Finally, the subject is best understood as a living field rather than a museum. Missionary activity, state classification, land change and modern education have altered religious institutions; communities also actively reinterpret tradition in response. Communities reinterpret inherited forms because social conditions change, but they also use inherited forms to make sense of those changes. The result is neither pure continuity nor total rupture. It is an ongoing process of selection, translation, memory, innovation and negotiation. This is why regional study matters to a broader history of Sanātan Dharma: it shows how a civilizational vocabulary becomes concrete in particular landscapes and households, while also showing how local practices continually reshape the wider tradition. [ecology_calendar]

8. Sacred ecology — a source-critical reading

Finally, the subject is best understood as a living field rather than a museum. The strongest evidence for ecological religion lies in actual institutions and practices—rules, groves, seasonal rituals and community decisions—not in romantic claims that every Indigenous tradition is inherently conservationist. Communities reinterpret inherited forms because social conditions change, but they also use inherited forms to make sense of those changes. The result is neither pure continuity nor total rupture. It is an ongoing process of selection, translation, memory, innovation and negotiation. This is why regional study matters to a broader history of Sanātan Dharma: it shows how a civilizational vocabulary becomes concrete in particular landscapes and households, while also showing how local practices continually reshape the wider tradition. [4]

A careful reading begins with the evidence itself. The strongest evidence for ecological religion lies in actual institutions and practices—rules, groves, seasonal rituals and community decisions—not in romantic claims that every Indigenous tradition is inherently conservationist. The point is not to turn a regional practice into a universal rule, but to ask what kind of evidence supports the description: a ritual manual, an inscription, an ethnographic observation, an oral account, an institutional archive, or a modern community representation. These sources answer different questions. A textual prescription may tell us what a learned author thought should happen; an ethnography may show what participants actually did in a particular place and period. Keeping those levels separate prevents a common error in writing about Sanātan traditions: treating an idealized textual formulation as if it were a timeless description of every household. [4]