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ABOUT THE PLACE AND COMMUNITY
Bagetar is a small hamlet in Chalsa under Matelli Block in Dooars region in West Bengal, majorly inhabited by the Santhali Community. The prominent livelihood of the community is agriculture. Agriculture holds a Special Significance in Santhali Worldview and its manifestation can be seen in the Festivals that these communities have been celebrating since time immemorial. SOHRAI is one such festival where we witness the importance of agriculture among the Santali Community.
With an objective and vision to celebrate, glorify and traverse this festival from the small settlement of Bagetar to a larger community and open the community festival for a larger mass, Jeevan Jyoti Club of Bagetar Basti is organizing the SHORAI JATRA 2023 which showcases their Culture, Tradition and Belief system.
ABOUT SOHRAI
Sohrai, a harvest festival, is the most sacred celebration of the Santhal tribe. When the Supreme God blessed the Santhal people with cattle, He told them to respect the cow as a mother and the bull as a father, because the cow provides milk and the bull works hard to
support agriculture. Thakur became annoyed when he saw that the cattle were being used and every benefit taken from them, but they were not being cared for. He decided to take the cattle back. Thakurain pleaded with him as she realized that the Santhals were totally dependent on their cattle and would not be able to survive without them. Marangburu, on instructions from Thakurain, directed the community to make amends. This was how the three-day Sohrai festival started. The length of the festival depends from region to region and the difference of the tribes. Sohrai is a five-day celebration of the Santhal, Munda, Prajapati, Khurmi, and Oraon clans in the Indian provinces of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal.
It is held toward the beginning of the colder time of year, the collecting season. It is celebrated during Amavasya in Kartik (October-November) month according to the Hindu schedule. In certain locales, it is celebrated in mid-January. The celebration is like Diwali. The community paints the house. In the evening, they lit earthen lights in the dairy cattle sheds and offered penance to the divinity of creatures Pasupati. The celebration is joined by an assortment of ceremonies, utilization of handia (rice lager) in bountiful amounts, moving, singing, and happy making. The date of the celebration is generally settled by the Manjhi, the town headman in meeting with the older folks of the town. There is no proper date separated, accordingly, festivities are regularly stumbled across towns, inside the conventional time period. The object is to empower the townspeople to observe Sohrai in their own towns just as in their family members, particularly wedded sisters and little girls.
SOHRAI JATRA 2023
The Sohrai Jatra 2023 will be a community celebration that will include tribal dances, workshops on indigenous crafts, food stalls serving indigenous food, river hikes, and musical performances by tribal artists where the community will come together to celebrate their oneness.
For the guests who’d want to experience the festival, there is a provision for a stay at a campsite.
The Festival is open for anyone to join and to experience living with the community as they have come together to open their doors to welcome guests at the Community Festival a Bagetar.
We request you to contribute your parts so that Jeevan Jyoti Club of Bagetar Basti can make this event a grand success!
Bagetar is a small hamlet in Chalsa under Matelli Block in Dooars region in West Bengal, majorly inhabited by the Santhali Community. The prominent livelihood of the community is agriculture. Agriculture holds a Special Significance in Santhali Worldview and its manifestation can be seen in the Festivals that these communities have been celebrating since time immemorial. SOHRAI is one such festival where we witness the importance of agriculture among the Santali Community.
With an objective and vision to celebrate, glorify and traverse this festival from the small settlement of Bagetar to a larger community and open the community festival for a larger mass, Jeevan Jyoti Club of Bagetar Basti is organizing the SHORAI JATRA 2023 which showcases their Culture, Tradition and Belief system.
ABOUT SOHRAI
Sohrai, a harvest festival, is the most sacred celebration of the Santhal tribe. When the Supreme God blessed the Santhal people with cattle, He told them to respect the cow as a mother and the bull as a father, because the cow provides milk and the bull works hard to
support agriculture. Thakur became annoyed when he saw that the cattle were being used and every benefit taken from them, but they were not being cared for. He decided to take the cattle back. Thakurain pleaded with him as she realized that the Santhals were totally dependent on their cattle and would not be able to survive without them. Marangburu, on instructions from Thakurain, directed the community to make amends. This was how the three-day Sohrai festival started. The length of the festival depends from region to region and the difference of the tribes. Sohrai is a five-day celebration of the Santhal, Munda, Prajapati, Khurmi, and Oraon clans in the Indian provinces of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal.
It is held toward the beginning of the colder time of year, the collecting season. It is celebrated during Amavasya in Kartik (October-November) month according to the Hindu schedule. In certain locales, it is celebrated in mid-January. The celebration is like Diwali. The community paints the house. In the evening, they lit earthen lights in the dairy cattle sheds and offered penance to the divinity of creatures Pasupati. The celebration is joined by an assortment of ceremonies, utilization of handia (rice lager) in bountiful amounts, moving, singing, and happy making. The date of the celebration is generally settled by the Manjhi, the town headman in meeting with the older folks of the town. There is no proper date separated, accordingly, festivities are regularly stumbled across towns, inside the conventional time period. The object is to empower the townspeople to observe Sohrai in their own towns just as in their family members, particularly wedded sisters and little girls.
SOHRAI JATRA 2023
The Sohrai Jatra 2023 will be a community celebration that will include tribal dances, workshops on indigenous crafts, food stalls serving indigenous food, river hikes, and musical performances by tribal artists where the community will come together to celebrate their oneness.
For the guests who’d want to experience the festival, there is a provision for a stay at a campsite.
The Festival is open for anyone to join and to experience living with the community as they have come together to open their doors to welcome guests at the Community Festival a Bagetar.
We request you to contribute your parts so that Jeevan Jyoti Club of Bagetar Basti can make this event a grand success!
