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Jharkhand is a state in eastern India which was carved out of the southern
part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. The name Jharkhand means 'the land of forests”.
The state of Jharkhand is a part of
Biodiversity rich regions of India because of its diverse physiographic and
climatic conditions. The forest for the most conform to the type- Tropical Dry
Deciduous Forest, Moist Deciduous Forest, Dry Peninsular Forest and Dry mixed
Deciduous Forest.
The forests of the state form catchments of
the three main rivers- Koel, Damodar and Subernekha. State is also rich in
wildlife. The species found represent a wide range of taxa for both plants and
animals. This can be attributed to a variety of terrain and land forms
(including water bodies). Various ethnic groups such as Munda, Ho, Oraon,
Santhal, Paharia, Chero, Birjea, Asura and others have influenced their
ecosystems in varying practices of agriculture and pasture.
The
existence of Jharkhand is for the tribal cause who like the Hindus also
worships in lot many places. These sacred sites therefore can be regarded as
their temples. The tribals worship primarily in major water
holes known aschuiyan, caves called as kho,
megaliths locally known as sasandiri, birdiri,haragarhi.
jaangraha or jaanbagha et al and also in their sacred
groves known as Sarnas.
A Sarna is a cluster of trees where
the adivasis would worship in
various occasions. Such a grove among many others must house at least
five saal (shorea robusta) trees also known as sorjum, held
very sacred by the tribals.
The origin of the word Sarna lies in mystery, but the
noted scholar on tribal matters,the late D.B.Kisku of Dumka who has authored
more than five books on the Santals and is also an authority on
tribals' history, believes that the adivasis had migrated
from Sumeria/Chaldea, where among many other goddesses they also worshipped
Goddess Anna or Anu.
Arriving in
India thousands of years ago they carried Goddess Anna too with them
along with other deities who they later 'placed' within their Sarnas.
Sarna therefore can be understood to
have stemmed from the confluence of two words Sar or the Sal trees and Anna or the goddess Anna. Sarna therefore can be regarded
as the sacred grove of Sar(sal) trees where
the Goddess Anna resides.
The non-tribal Hindus also worship in such Sarnas in many villages of Jharkhand although these villages may not house a single adivasi family today. The adivasis having moved away from these villages left behind their sacred Sarnas which the Hindus later began worshipping naming them Mandar as on today. Mandar may be a mutilated form of the Sanskrit term Mandir or temple.
The non-tribal Hindus also worship in such Sarnas in many villages of Jharkhand although these villages may not house a single adivasi family today. The adivasis having moved away from these villages left behind their sacred Sarnas which the Hindus later began worshipping naming them Mandar as on today. Mandar may be a mutilated form of the Sanskrit term Mandir or temple.
Many anthropologists believe that the Mundas arrived in Jharkhand first (this claim is of course shunned by the austric Asurs who believe that they had arrived in Jharkhand prior to the Mundas) claiming their khunkatti. The Mundas cleared the woods and left a cluster of the primitive forest as a memory and began worshipping it as their Sarna.
Sarnas in Jharkhand are the new target of destruction resulting from
mining and other destructive activities on going in Jharkhand and in many other
states as no one has respect for the tribal way of life, their
temples and heritages.
http://www.cpreecenvis.nic.in/Home.aspx
http://www.cpreecenvis.nic.in/Database/Groves_811.aspx
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