Jaale Din : Kulhi Muche' Sohrai Enek' | Banka, Bihar | Kiran Kisku

Jaale Din : Kulhi Muche' Sohrai Enek' | Banka, Bihar | Kiran Kisku
Sohrai is a 5-day long festival celebrated for being thankful for good harvest. The tribe show their gratitude for cattle and nature. Sohrai festival is generally celebrated during January. Some of the regions celebrate the festival during November. It is the main festival of Santhal/Santal Tribe residing in Bihar ,Jharkhand , Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Assam etc.
Day 1 is called ‘UM’ meaning ‘to bathe’ after having finished cleaning, washing, painting and arranging the essentials for the festival.
Day 2 is called ‘Daakai din’ meaning ‘to cook’ cuisines.
Day 3 is called ‘Khuntao Araak’ ’ meaning ‘to release the cattle from their shed’.Cattle are decorated with paddy and ‘dul pitha’ (sweet rice fried bread) and oil is applied on their horns.
Women sing Sohrai songs and dance on the rhythmic beats of Mandar, Tamak, flute, kortal, harmonium etc. They start dancing from ‘Manjhithan’ i.e. ‘Place of Worship’ to cover all ends of village lane.
Day 4 is called ‘Jaale’. On this day, a group of women dance in front of each house and collect food such as chiwda, jaggery and other delicious snacks. It is later distributed among themselves.
Day 5 is called ‘Hako katkom/Sendra’ meaning ‘fishing/to hunt’ customarily in nearby woods.
The rituals of Sohrai slightly differ in different regions due to regional adaptation.
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Written By: Deepti Kisku
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