them to
help make golden hued fabric called tussar. According
to the Santal culture, the supreme deity, who ultimately
controls the entire universe, is Thakurji. The weight
of belief, however, falls on a court of spirits (bonga),
who handle different aspects of the world and who must
be placated with prayers and offerings in order to ward
off evil influences. These spirits operate at the village,
household, ancestor, and subclan level, along with evil
spirits that cause disease, and can inhabit village
boundaries, mountains, water, tigers, and the forest.
A characteristic feature of the Santal village is a
sacred grove on the edge of the settlement where many
spirits live and where a series of annual festivals
take place.
Like most other tribal socoietis, the Santals did not
have a written language for a long time. They were accustomed
to use as many as four scripts for purposes of writing
depnding on the exigencies of geographical postion they
were put in. they were on the look out for new script
which could be adopted by all the groups of the tribe.
After a prolonged effort and experimewnt, their long
felt need was fulfilled by Oandit Raghunath Murmu of
Mayurbhanj district who discovered the OL Chiki script,
in which books and journals are being published now
a days.
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