Comparative study between Santhal and Khasis tribe

1. RICHA DHINGRA

2. The Santal or Santhal, are an
ethnic group native
to India and Bangladesh in Sou
th Asia. Santals are the largest
tribe in the Jharkhand state of
India in terms of population
and are also found in the
statesof Assam,Tripura, Bihar,
Odisa and West Bengal. They
are the largest ethnic minority
in northern
Bangladesh's Rajshahi
Division and Rangpur
Division. They have a sizeable
population
in Nepal and Bhutan.

3. According to linguist Paul
Sidwell (2018), Austro-Asiatic language
speakers probably arrived on coast
of Odessa from Indochina about 4000–
3500 years ago. The Austroasiatic
speaker spread from Southeast Asia and
mixed extensively with local Indian
populations.
British officials intended to enhance the
revenue by expansion of
agriculture.They encouraged the Paharia
people of Rajmahal hills to practice
settled agriculture but they refused to
cut the trees. Then British officials
turned their attention to Santals, who
were ready to clear the forest for the
practice of settled agriculture. In 1832, a
large number of areas were demarcated.

4. CULTURE
Sohrai is the principal festival of
Santal community. Besides
that Baha, Karam, Dansai, Sakrat, Ma
hmore, Rundo and Magsim are
important festivals. The Santal
traditionally accompany many of their
dances during these festivals with two
drums: the Tamak‘ and the
Tumdak’. Chadar Badar, a form
of puppetry , is a folk show involving
wooden puppets. Originally hunter-
gatherers, Santals made a transition to
agrarian lifestyle. Decision-making
matters is done through a village
council which is headed by a person
titled manjhi. The manjhi is aided by
other council members to carry out
and deal with local affairs.

5. ART
The Santhal people loved music and
dance. Like other ethnic groups,
their culture had been influenced by
mainstream Indian culture and by
Western culture, but traditional music
and dance still remain. Santhali music
differed from Hindusthani classical
music in significant ways
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
Bengali language; Hindi.
The Santals mostly
speak Santali, the most
widely spoken of
the Munda languages.

6. The Khasi people are an
indigenous ethnic group
of Meghalaya in north-
eastern India with a significant
population in the bordering
state of Assam, and in certain
parts of Bangladesh. The Khasi
people form the majority of the
population of the eastern part
of Meghalaya, and is the state's
largest community, with
around 48% of the population
of Meghalaya. A cultural
tradition of the Khasi people is
that they follow the matrilineal
system of descent and
inheritance.

7. Khasi mythology traces the tribe's
original abode to 'Ki Hynñiewtrep ("The
Seven Huts").According to the Khasi
mythology, U Blei Trai Kynrad (God,
the Lord Master) had originally
distributed the human race into 16
heavenly families (Khadhynriew Trep).
However, seven out of these 16 families
were stuck on earth while the other 9
are stuck in heaven. According to the
myth, a heavenly ladder resting on the
sacred Lum Sohpetbneng Peak (located
in the present-day Ri-Bhoi district)
enabled people to go freely and
frequently to heaven whenever they
pleased until one day they were tricked
into cutting a divine tree which was
situated at Lum Diengiei Peak.

8. CULTURE
Before the arrival of Christian
missionaries, the majority of the Khasi
people practiced an indigenous tribal
religion. Though around 85% of the
Khasi populace have embraced
Christianity, a substantial minority of
the Khasi people still follow and
practice their age old indigenous
religion, which is known as Ka Niam
Khasi or Niam tre. The main Christian
denominations followed by the Khasis
include Catholicism, Anglicanism, Pres
byterianism (largest Christian
denomination among the Khasis), and
others marriages, who are Muslims.
There are also followers of Khasi
Unitarianism as founded by Hajom
Kissor.

9. DRESS
The traditional Khasi male dress is
a Jymphong, a longish sleeveless coat
without collar, fastened by thongs in
front. Nowadays, most male Khasis
have adopted western attire. On
ceremonial occasions they appear in
a Jymphong and sarong with an
ornamental waist-band and they may
also wear a turban.
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
The Khasi language is
classified as part of
the Austroasiatic language
family.. Many of the words
are similar to other
Austroasiatic languages such
as Palaung and Khmer
language.