ABSTRACT
Flanked by rows of tall palmyra palms, Santal villages have an air of genial comfort. In the middle of the Santal Parganas district they nesde at the foot of hills, protected from the hot gales of March and the windy rains of August. While the street expresses Santal unity, the houses give the village its uniquely Santal air. The mud walls have a hard cement-like precision, a suave and solid neatness, and the roofs, softly thatched or ribbed with tiles, compose a vista of gently blending curves. Within this neat and ordered setting most Santals lead calm and happy lives. Although fields, houses, men and women seem to constitute a Santal village, Santals regard them as at most a portion of their total world. It is underneath the sun, beneath the clouds, that Santal rule is challenged. Bongas or spirits roam and only by coming to terms with them can Santals be happy.
