ABSTRACT
Politics in Jharkhand has always drawn inspiration from its status as a Schedule Five Area. It was designated as such after successive agitations by Adivasis in colonial times made it necessary for distinct laws related to land use and tenure to be applicable in the region. Sacred groves consisting of examples of Shorea robusta specimens have become the focus of a new devotional cult amongst Jharkhandi women. This is understood to have been triggered off by a series of cases of divine possession that began to be reported in the region in the mid-1990s. The central feature of the Sarna Dharam is the weekly ceremony conducted in sacred groves. In many ways this is structured along the lines of Charismatic Christian worship. Some of the rituals are also similar to those enacted during Hindu pujas - circumambulation of an earthen platform and the offering of rice grains, vermilion and incense.
