Santhal community struggles to preserve culture
Summary
The Santhal community in Jhapa and Morang is struggling to preserve its language, rituals and traditional lifestyle as cultural erosion and landlessness deepen. Community leaders say local and ward authorities have begun allocating support to protect their heritage.
Key Points
- Santhal people in eastern Tarai are preparing their traditional Dashain dance using indigenous musical instruments and rituals.
- Community members say their language, festivals and dress are increasingly at risk as younger generations forget customs and economic hardship grows.
- Many Santhal families have become landless after selling ancestral land, forcing them into sharecropping, daily labor and work in others’ homes.
- Local ward authorities say they have allocated budgets to help preserve the cultures and languages of ethnic communities in the area.
