One of the largest tribes of India are the Santal tribe. The habitation of this tribe is mainly in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and Assam. Santals were also a part of the freedom struggle. Santalis follow Sarna religion. They have many gods and godesses like Marangburu, Zaher Ayo etc. The language of Santals is known as Santali. Apart from Santali, they speak Odia, Hindi and Bengali. If we talk about Santali culture then we can find that Santals enjoy and love dancing. Dancing is one activity which is in their blood. Santals mostly dance on special occassions, festivals and fairs. Santal women dress up themselves in red bordered white or green bordered white and dance in line sequence. They dance to light music after a long day of hardwork. They also have fun and enjoy playing great music with unique instruments. There is also an official script of Santali language which is known as Ol Chiki. It was developed by Dr Raghunath Murmu. Santals love their motherland, plants and forests.

~Kanakaprabha Majhi