Sarhul Documentation by Anupam Purty

SARHUL

Festival of the Mundas

A Document

SARHUL

Festival of the Mundas

A Document

Student Anupam Purty Guide Shilpa Das

Acknowledgement

I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind support and help of many individuals and organizations. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them. I am highly indebted to my faculty guide Shilpa Das for her guidance and constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information and guidance regarding the project and also for her support in completing the project. I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents and faculty of Graphic Design at National Institute of Design for their kind co-operation and encouragement, which helped me in completion of this project. I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to the staff at the IT Lab and the Printing lab for

giving me such attention and time. This note of thanks will be incomplete if I do not mention my cousin and friend Gunjal Ikir Munda, who has helped me immesely in gathering nformation and guiding me thruoghout my field trips. He has been an invaluable asset to me during this project. My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleagues in developing the project and people who have willingly helped me out with their abilities.

- Anupam Purty

SARHUL: Festival of the Mundas A Document Anupam Purty Graphic Design Semester VIII National Institute of Design Paldi Ahmedabad- 380 007 Documentation of Project I

Contents

1. Theme 2. Topic 3. Research 4. Field Trips 5. The Munda Culture —History —The Munda Faith —Places of Importance —Social Ceremonies —Birth —Marriage —Death —Festivals —SARHUL —Dance and Songs 6. Design Options Considered 7. Type Explorations 8. Layout 9. Colour 10. Illustration Styles 11. Final Typical Spreads 12. Costing 13. Learning

09 10 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 16 16 18 19 20 21 22 26 30 32 33 41 44 46

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Theme

Foods and Festivals of India:

for all year long. These special recipes provide a great opportunity to discover and taste the delicacies India is one of the few countries in of Indians. Everybody is allowed the world that can boast of people to forget about their health related from different backgrounds and different religions living together and problem and enjoy the food and sweets to the fullest. enjoying and celebrating festivals of each other with the same enthusiasm This was the theme that was given to us for our Project I. We could either as they celebrate their own. These choose a festival, a special food that different religions provide India with is cooked during a particular festival a lot of different festivals that are or a food festival. celebrated all year long. These festivals offer a great opportunity for people from different religions to enjoy the traditional delicacies that are cooked using the traditional recipes. These traditional recipes have been passed on from generation to generation. Each and every festival brings with it the joy of the festival and ceremonious food that is awaited

The festival of colours: Holi

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Topic

I took up â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;SARHULâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a tribal festival of the Munda tribe of Jharkhand as my topic for this project. In the entire Jharkhand area the festival starts on the full moon of phagun (the second lunar month). By extension Sarhul is the welcoming of nature in its new form through honouring the Sal flowers. Combined with the all-Indian tradition of celebrating the spring festival Holi/ vasantotsava, it is an announcement of the arrival of the new year. No tribesman would bring home any new leaves or flowers or use them in any way before the village priest or Pahan has formally welcomed it. In welcoming nature man does it by renewing himself along with his surroundings. He repairs his home, puts a new cow dung plaster, buys new clothes, and renews his relations by visiting relatives on that occasion.

Dance is an integral part of the tribal festivals

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Research

As I started with my research on the festival, I discovered that it was incomplete without understanding the culture and lifestyle of the Mundas tribe. Belonging to the aforementioned tribe, I was astonished that I myself knew so little of this ancient and glorious race. I realized that I did not know myself and my identity was somewhat blurred. What I knew was that I belonged to the Scheduled Tribes of India which entitled me to some reservations and that was it. Like many other youngsters of the tribes, I never cared why were we â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Scheduledâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. This gave me an opportunity to immerse myself in an endeavor to discover myself by studying the Munda tribe in great detail.

Old people are the only reliable source of the tribal history

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Field Trips

There is very less material available for the youth on the Munda tribe of Jharkhand. Though there have been many prior attempts at documenting the Munda tribe and cultures I found that they are pertinent to only the people who have deep interests in the subject of anthropology. The lack of books, or for that matter, materials for the uninitiated youth and layman were none.

changes have come about and why. Munda population is now primarily based in southern Jharkhand. I visited the place three times during my research phase. Each time, something new was awaiting me. I talked and discussed with various Munda scholars to confirm my facts and gain additional information. I gathered a general overview of the Munda tribe, which is in no way exhaustive. A very condensed form

I had to go to Jharkhand to find out and dig more about this subject. A very reliable book on the Mundas is â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mundas and Their Countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, written by S. C. Roy in 1912. It has been a hundred years since then and a lot has changed in a century. Nevertheless, it proved to be a very good launch pad for me. It gave me an opportunity to compare what the Mundas were then, and what and where they stand today; what

Searching my roots in the villages of mud houses

of my research is given in the pages to follow.

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

The Munda Culture HISTORY

There is very little information that can be called authentic or reliable about the past life and history of the Munda tribe. They are generally associated with the ancient Kol tribes. The Kolarian aborigines of India are said to be the earliest dwellers of this subcontinent, and the Munda tribe a typical representative of them; who now inhabit the highlands of Chotanagpur. The Mundas and other Kolarian tribes originally lived in the hilly regions along the Aravalli and Vindhyan ranges and gradually spread further to the North and occupied the valleys of the mighty rivers of Northern India. Legends also suggest that these earliest people, the Mundas, immigrated into India from the now submerged hypothetical continent of Lemuria which has been

supposed to have once connected India with Madagascar and Africa. Even the dialects spoken across these continents point to an intimate racial contact in the past, if not to a common origin. The earliest glimpses we catch of the ancient Mundas in the light of tradition reveal them as leading a pastoral existence in the mountainous regions and sunny valleys of Northern India. Hounded down by successive bands of alien enemies, the Mundas moved from country to country till at last they reached present day Jharkhand state of India. Here , in

the primeval forests of ‘Jharkhand’ or literally ‘the forest country’, the first Munda immigrants made clearances in the jungles and established their own villages , just as we see their latter day descendants doing even now in the south-‐eastern parts of the Ranchi District.

Ancient history is riddled with myths and legends

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

THE MUNDA FAITH

The religious beliefs of a Munda is altogether different from the other well known religions of the world. For them, the concept of heaven or hell does not exist. Staying with the society itself is heaven and being ousted from the society is hell. According to their belief, after death, the person assumes the form of a spirit, the spirit whom the Mundas bring back to the house through the ceremony of ’Umbul Ader’-‐ bringing back the shadow. This spirit along with all the ancestral spirits are greatly revered and worshipped by the Mundas. Thus, ancestor worship finds an important place in the religious beliefs of these tribal people. In believing so, the Mundas have unknowingly learned to listen to their

conscience, since their ancestors are always keeping a watch on them and none of their actions should anger their revered ancesors. The Mundas believe in spirits. These spirits have no form and are invisible. Everyone and everything is associated with a spirit, or in Munda words— Bonga. Thus there is the supreme spirit— Sing Bonga, village spirits— Hatu Bongako, household spirits— Ora Bongako, elemental or nature spirits— for example, the

One of the elemental spirits: Buru Bonga

‘Buru Bonga’ (the spirit of the hills) and the ‘Ikir Bonga’ (the spirit of the waters).

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

PLACES OF IMPORTANCE middle of the village and consists of an open space under some old wide spreading tree. Here the public One or more bits of the village jungles meetings are held, the panchayat hold their sittings and the young folk are specifically reserved for the of the village assemble on moonlit worship of these village-Ââ&#x20AC;?gods and are never cut. The portion or portions nights and on festive occasions to dance and sing. of the original forest are known as Sarnas, which serve as sacred The village Sasan, usually adjoining groves. the village, consists of a number of big stone slabs lying flat on the The forest cover has decreased ground, or propped up on small exponentially over the years in chips of stone at the corners. the name of development by the Under one or more of these stone Government. In some Munda slabs, lie buried the bones of the villages, only a small clump of deceased members of each family ancient trees now represents the of the Mundas of the village. These original forest and serves as the sepulchral stones or Sasan Diris are village Sarna. These Sarnas are the proof of them living in the area over a only temples the Mundas know. very very long time. Akhra holds another important place in a Munda tribesmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart. It is usually located almost in the

From top: Pahan at the Sarna, a modern Akhra and the village Sasan

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

SOCIAL CEREMONIES

There are a lot of rites and rituals in a Munda tribesman’s life. Each special ceremony or event calls for certain rituals to be carried out by the village priest or Pahan.

A Munda female is considered ceremonially unclean for eight days after a child is born to her. On the eighth day after childbirth, the purification ceremony or Chati, of the newborn baby and its mother is performed. The name giving ceremony follows the Chati ceremony. On the same day a girdle of thread is tied round the waist of the baby. This is called the Sutam Tol ceremony.

Marriage There are a lot of rituals associated with the marriage ceremony even before the actual marriage or Arandi.

The Chenre-uri or omen reading is performed first. The father of the groom sends a messenger to the Birth brides’ house. Along the way, the messenger looks out for good and There are certain religious bad omens. If any bad omen is seen, ceremonies connected with the messenger returns immediately. childbirth. A short description follows. There is also an ear-boring ceremony, If the messenger reaches the brides’ which is celebrated anytime before house with good omen, he proposes marriage. Earlier it used to be The Garasi Bonga is the deity who the marriage. Then the father of the celebrated anytime before the child watches over the pregnant women bride sends his people to the grooms’ attained the age of three. and presides over childbirth. The house and the same procedure is head male of the family arranges a carried out. If ill omens are sighted, sacrificial feast as soon as there is an marriage is cancelled. indication that a woman of the house is pregnant, in honour of the Garasi The next preliminary ceremony is the Bonga. Bala or betrothal. The bride price is settled not by naming the demand,

Ear boring ceremony in progress

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

but by the bride’s guardian signifying his demand by symbols and the bridegroom’s guardian signifying his acceptance by the use of the same symbols.

to marry and then take her to his house. Similar rituals are then carried out at the bridegroom’s house.

If the marriage takes place in the same year in which the betrothal takes place, the ceremonies of GonongtakaIdituka (the carrying or presentation of the bride price) and the Logon Tol (selection of a suitable date for marriage), take place on one and the same date. A few days before the marriage a rectangular mud-pulpit called ‘Mandoa’ is raised in the courtyard of the house of the bridegroom as well as of the bride. This is the place where the marriage takes place. As any other marriage in India a long list of rituals are carried out during the ceremony. The groom comes to the bride’s house

The Mandoa

A marriage in progress in the Mandoa

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Death The orthodox method of disposal of a Munda corpse is to burn it and collect the bones which are ceremonially interred in the family Sasan on the Jangtopa (boneburying) day. In some villages, however, cremation has nowadays been altogether given up. In these villages, after a provisional burying of the deceased, his bones are taken out, put into a earthen vessel, and ceremonially deposited under the family burial-stone at the village Sasan. There is also a ceremony in which after a few days or maybe months after the burial, the spirit of the deceased is brought back into the house. This ceremony is called Umbul Ader.

The village burial ground: Sasan

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

FESTIVALS song of the passing as well as the welcome song for the coming festive event. The purpose behind the rituals observed during festivals is to renew the relationship between the creator and the creation, and to preserve , promote and continue it through the Tribal man in a symbolic reception. During such occasions, for the time being, the Adivasi stops his regular day-‐to-‐day life as he reviews and evaluates his situation. After having been reassured, he moves on further. This symbolic act is based on the economic system of hunting and cultivation/agriculture. The tribals make preparations for these festivals at least a month ahead of time. Or to state it differently, the culmination of one community observance leads to mental preparation of the next one. The dance ground, on the last day of the festival has both; the farewell

up. The fourth day usually consists of ‘erasing’ of the dance ground, signifying the festival to have come to an end. With minor differences, Nearly every festival lasts normally for depending on the locality, the routine four days. The first day is for fasting, is roughly the same everywhere. The second day is for making offerings primary festivals of the Mundas are— to the gods and deities, third day Baa/Baha (Sarhul), Karam, Mage for eating and drinking, song and and Sohrai. dance and the fourth day for winding

A tribal festival is full of colour and energy

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

SARHUL

baha/baa in the Munda language family and khaddi in Kurukh or Malto, both Dravidian languages, all mean ‘flower’, and as the representative of all flowers it means the Sal flower. The etymology of Sarhul, as this festival is called in Nagpuri and other Aryan languages, is sarai-‐ hul. sarai is Sal and hul means “collectively”, and also “grove”. By extension Sarhul is the welcoming of nature in its new form through honouring the Sal flowers. Sarhul festival is dealt with in detail in the booklet and hence no space shall be allotted to it here. Refer to the booklet— SARHUL for more information and details.

Sarhul is one of the major festivals of the Mundas

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

DANCE AND SONGS

All the distinct Mundari religious festivals have each its appropriate dance and songs. And music invariably accompanies this dancing and singing. The principal classes of Mundari songs and dances are the Mage or Jarga, the Jadura, the Japi and the Lahsua or Karam. The mage dances and songs begin from after the Sohrai festival in Kartik (October-November) and continue right up to the Kolom Sing Bonga and the Mage festivals in Aghan or Poos (December). The songs and dances of the last fortnight or so are specially known as the Jarga. After this, the Jadur and Gena songs and dances are taken up and continued up to the Sarhul festival in Chait (March-April). One Gena is sung after every two Jadura songs. After the

Sarhul festival, the Japi or hunting songs and dances are taken up and continued for two or three weeks during which period the Munda youth have their principal hunting excursions. Then follow the Lahsua or Karam dances and songs, which go on right up to the Sohrai festival. Thus the Mundas have a cycle of dances and songs all the year through.

Dancing all the way, spreading the infectious energy and vigour

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Design Options Considered

Information graphic: I thought of making an information graphic related to all the research done.

Since the target audience selected for the project was the young tribal population who were uninitiated in this field, it would be asking for too much if they had to exercise their minds to extract the information.

Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge. Information graphics are visual devices intended to communicate complex information quickly and clearly. The devices include charts, diagrams, graphs, tables, maps and lists. Many information graphics are specialised forms of depiction that represent their content in sophisticated and often abstract ways. In order to interpret the meaning of these graphics appropriately, the viewer requires a suitable level of graphicacy.

A typical example of an Infographic

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Poster: A poster is any piece of printed-paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. The information that I wanted to send across to my audience was so much that a poster or a series of posters alone could not have done justice to it. Also, young people do not have patience to stand and read a piece of text on the wall for long.

A typical example of a Poster

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Website:

Learning how the Internet works and to work around my research material accordingly would have been an A website, also written as Web site, additional task, which would elongate web site, or simply site, is a set of related web pages containing content my project duration further. I did not (media), including text, video, music, want that to happen and so I kept looking for more suitable design audio, images, etc. A website is options to work upon. hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet address known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web. A website was a good option to consider, given that it has all the properties of information dissemination technology that I was looking for. It could be worked around with to get the right balance of images and text in an effective manner.

A typical example of a Website

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Book/ Publication: A book is a set of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of ink, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. I could work with a lot of texts along with maps and images.

Accordingly the content had to be edited so that it remained interesting and at the same time informative.

Since the tribal youth, at which this project is aimed at, is still in high schools and colleges, a book can easily find place in their daily routine. A big book would be intimidating for them so it was decided that a small booklet would be designed. So I set myself some constraints of the book size, which were: â&#x20AC;˘ relatively thin so that it does not feel cumbersome â&#x20AC;˘ small enough to be held in a â&#x20AC;&#x2020;hand and carried around easily

A typical example of a Book/ Publication

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Type Explorations

Text is an important part of the publication. Therefore the body text typeface had to be such that it: • is familiar and comfortable • doesn’t distract the reader with oddly shaped letters, or extremes in x- height, descenders, or ascenders • has a subdued, formal, or serious look • is legible and readable at small point sizes These parameters helped me to decide that the typeface should be a serif one. I shortlisted five typefaces that fit the above criteria. • Caslon • Baskerville • Goudy Old Style • Hoefler Text • Janson Text

Introduction

In India, we have vast fields for historical research regions and sunny v as yet lying unexplored or but partially explored. Hounded down The early history of the so-called aborigines of enemies, the Munda India is one of those obscure tracts that have hardly till at last they reach yet been rescued from the darkness of oblivion. A India. Here , in the thick curtain of mystery hangs over the antiquities or literally ‘the fores of these prehistoric tribes. Of their real origin and immigrants made cl their primitive abode, we are in utter darkness established their ow Goudy Old Style: of It looks rather light, which may be because its small their successive migrations in ancient times through day ofdescendants doi x-height, but is economical. It makes the page appear different parts of India. We have nofaded written records parts of the Ranchi which takes away the seriousness of the topic to enlighten us and our present knowledge is next to In India, we have vast fields for hist nothing. And yet these are the people whose remote research as yet lying unexplored or but ancestors were masters of Indian soil, whose doings Story Of Crea explored. Theup early history of the so-c and sufferings, whose joys and sorrows once made of India is one of those obs the history of the Indian Peninsula. aborigines A total absence have hardly from of historical traditions regarding thethat antiquities of yet been Therescued various ende ofon oblivion. A thick these tribes is tacitly assumed to existdarkness by writers travel backcurtain to the ‘So hangs over the antiquities theseof pre Indian History. Not even a chapter of decent length is eternal of mystery cr tribes. Ofon their origincosmogonic and their pr allotted to these people in any standard work the real crude m Janson Text: Ithistory is a rather dense typeface. ItAnd makes thus the small pagestory abode, darkness of thei of India. the of theirwe pastare hasin utter India, Australia, Afr appear darker which makes the text look like a back migrations in ancient times d hitherto remained practically untold. It has alsothrough given birt block. of to India. no written recG The Kolarian aborigines of Indiaparts are said be We have conceptions of the enlighten us and ourofpresent the earliest dwellers of this subcontinent, and the the old knowledg and the m And yetofthese are the Munda tribe a typical representativeto ofnothing. them; who evolution of peop mod

Introduction

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Introduction

In India, we have vast fields for historical regions and sunny research as yet lying unexplored or but partially Hounded down explored. The early history of the so-called enemies, the Mun aborigines of India is one of those obscure tracts country till at last that have hardly yet been rescued from the Jharkhand state of darkness of oblivion. A thick curtain of mystery forests of ‘Jharkha hangs over the antiquities of these prehistoric country’, the first tribes. Of their real origin and their primitive clearances in the ju abode, we are in utter darkness of their successive villages , just as we migrations in ancient times through different doing even now in parts of India. We have no written records to Ranchi District. enlighten us and our present knowledge is next In India, we have vast fields for his to nothing. And yet these are the research people whose as yet lying unexplored or bu remote ancestors were masters ofexplored. Indian soil, The earlyStory history ofOf the Cr so-‐ whose doings and sufferings, whose joys andof India is one of those obs aborigines sorrows once made up the historythat of the Indian have hardly yet been rescued from Peninsula. A total absence of historical traditions darkness of oblivion. AThe thickvarious curtainend o regarding the antiquities of these hangs tribes over is tacitly to travel back to th the antiquities of these pre assumed to exist by writers on Indian History. Not the eternal myster tribes. Of their real origin and their pr Caslon 540 LT Std: The small x-height makes Caslon less economical. One even a chapter of decent length isabode, allotted toare these thedarkness many crude co we in utter of the does not want to lose unnecessary space because of an people in any standard work on the history of tribes of India, Au migrations in ancient times through d error on selecting the typeface. India. And thus the story of their of past has hitherto countries. India. We have noother written recordsItt remained practically untold. sublime metaphys us and our present knowledge is next The Kolarian aborigines of India to are the and the Hindu Andare yetsaid these people whosephi re

Introduction

Hoefler Text: Similar to Janson, this too apperars to be a dense typeface. It makes the small page appear darker which makes the text look like a back block. Also the space between the letters is too much which sometimes poses a difficulty in reading.

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Introduction

In India, we have vast fields for historical research regions and sunny valleys of Northern India. as yet lying unexplored or but partially explored. Hounded down by successive bands of alien The early history of the so-called aborigines of enemies, the Mundas moved from country to country India is one of those obscure tracts that have hardly till at last they reached present day Jharkhand state of yet been rescued from the darkness of oblivion. A India. Here , in the primeval forests of ‘Jharkhand’ thick curtain of mystery hangs over the antiquities or literally ‘the forest country’, the first Munda of these prehistoric tribes. Of their real origin and immigrants made clearances in the jungles and Baskerville: their primitive abode, we are in utter darkness ofin size and form established their own villages , just as we see their It has greater consistency compared to the other four typefaces. It is legible at small point their successive migrations in ancient times through latter day descendants doing even now in the southsizes and is very economical in printing due to its larger different parts of India. We have x-height. no written eastern parts of the Ranchi District. It also hasrecords the required seriousness. to enlighten us and our present knowledge is next to nothing. Andand yetBaskerville these are were the people remote Goudy Old Face in thewhose given page size. Franklin Gothic Demi was a natural ancestors were masters of Indian soil, whose doings very close contestants and another for titles and chapter headings Story Ofchoice Creation round tests and refinement The typefaces were compared at after the finalization of Baskerville. andofsufferings, whose joyswas and sorrows once made up required for theofselection of thePeninsula. body 8.5pt, 9pt and 10pt to decide upon the history the Indian A total absence text. the superiority in legibility, readability I simply followed the golden rule of of historical traditions regarding the antiquities of The various endeavours of the human mind to and economy. font combinations, which is simply these tribes is tacitly assumed travel back to ‘Sources Time’, The two typefaces were printed out to exist by writers on to the combine a serifofand a sansand serifsolve the Indian History. Not even a chapter of decent length eternal mystery of creation, have originated at the tentative paper sizes in three Baskerville was selected because to give “contrast” and not “conflict”. the many different pointto sizes. The intention of its upperwork handon in legibility and cosmogonic The farther apart is allotted these people in any standard crude myths of the thetypeface earlieststyles tribes of was to history find out of which looked better are, as a guideline, the more the India. And thus thereadability. story of their past India, Australia, Africa, America and better other countries has hitherto remained practically untold. It has also given birth to the sublime metaphysical The Kolarian aborigines of India are said to be conceptions of the Greek and the Hindu philosopher the earliest dwellers of this subcontinent, and the of the old and the more matter-of-facbt scientific Munda tribe a typical representative of them; who theory of evolution of modern times. All cosmogonic now inhabit the highlands of Chotanagpur. The legends are the outcome of man’s ambitious attempts Mundas and other Kolarian tribes originally lived at a solution of the insoluble mystery of creation.

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Baskerville (BOLD) Introduction Univers (LIGHT) Sed ut perspeciatis unde omnis iste natus error accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem In India, we have vast fields for historical research as yet lying unexplored or but partially explored. The early history of the so-called aborigines of India is eaque ipsa one of those obscure tracts that have hardly yet been rescued fromquae the darknessab illo inventore veritatis et qua of oblivion. A thick curtain of mystery hangs over the antiquities of these prehistoric tribes. Of their real origin and their primitivevitae abode, we are in utter sunt explicabo. beatae dicta

Introduction

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darkness of their successive migrations in ancient times through different parts of India. We have no written records to enlighten us and our present knowledge is next to nothing. And yet these are the people whose remote ancestors were masters of Indian soil, whose doings and sufferings, whose joys and sorrows once made up the history of the Indian Peninsula. A total absence of historical traditions regarding the antiquities of these tribes is tacitly assumed to exist by writers on Indian History. Not even a chapter of decent length is allotted to these people in any standard work on the history of India. And thus the story of BOLD their past has hitherto remained practically untold. The Kolarian aborigines of India are said to be the earliest dwellers of this subcontinent, and the Munda tribe a typical representative of them; who now inhabit the highlands of Chotanagpur. The Mundas and other Kolarian tribes originally lived in the hilly regions along the Aravalli and Vindhyan ranges and gradually spread further to the North and occupied the valleys of the mighty rivers of Northern India. Legends also suggest that these earliest people, the Mundas, immigrated into India from the now submerged hypothetical continent of Lemuria which has been supposed to have once connected India with Madagascar and Africa. Even the dialects spoken across these continents point to an intimate racial contact in the past, if not to a common origin. The earliest glimpses we catch of the ancient Mundas in the light of tradition reveal them as leading a pastoral existence in the mountainous regions and sunny valleys of Northern India. Hounded down by successive bands of alien enemies, the Mundas moved from country to country till at last they reached present day Jharkhand state of India. Here , in the primeval forests of ‘Jharkhand’ or literally ‘the forest country’, the first Munda immigrants made clearances in the jungles and BOLD established their own villages , just as we see their latter day descendants doing even now in the south-eastern parts of the Ranchi District.

of India. We have no written records to enlighten us and our present knowledge is next to nothing. And yet these are the people whose remote ancestors were masters of Indian soil, whose doings and sufferings, whose joys and sorrows once made up the history of the Indian Peninsula. A total absence of historical traditions regarding the antiquities of these tribes is tacitly assumed to exist by writers on Indian History. Not even a chapter of decent length is allotted to these people in any standard work on the history of India. And thus the story of their past has hitherto remained practically untold. The Kolarian aborigines of India are said to be the earliest dwellers of this subcontinent, and the Munda tribe a typical representative of them; who now inhabit the highlands of Chotanagpur. The Mundas and other Kolarian tribes originally lived in the hilly regions along the Aravalli and Vindhyan ranges and gradually spread further to the North and occupied the valleys of the mighty rivers of Northern India. Legends also suggest that these earliest people, the Mundas, immigrated into India from the now submerged hypothetical continent of Lemuria which has been supposed to have once connected India with Madagascar and Africa. Even the dialects spoken across these continents point to an intimate racial contact in the past, if not to a common origin. The earliest glimpses we catch of the ancient Mundas in the light of tradition reveal them as leading a pastoral existence in the mountainous regions and sunny valleys of Northern India. Hounded down by successive bands of alien enemies, the Mundas moved from country to country till at last they reached present day Jharkhand state of India. Here , in the primeval forests of ‘Jharkhand’ or literally ‘the forest country’, the first Munda immigrants made clearances in the jungles and established their own villages , just as we see their latter day descendants doing even now in the south-eastern parts of the Ranchi District.

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they appear. They are more easy on the eyes. Fonts that are too similar creates confusion and looks disturbing and wrong.

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Dolar

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Lorem Ipsum Dolar

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accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et qua beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo.

Clarendon (

Goudy Old Face Regular 10 pt.

)

Lorem Ipsum Dolar

Trade Gothic (LIGHT) Sed ut perspeciatis unde omnis iste natus error si accusantium Baskerville doloremque laudantium, totam rem Regular 10 pt. ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi archite dicta sunt explicabo.

Franklin Gothic (DEMI)

Lorem Ipsum Dolar

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voluptatem accusantium doloremque laud rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inven et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt e

Warnock (BOLD)

Lorem Ipsum Dolar

Univers (LIGHT) Sed ut perspeciatis unde omnis iste natus error

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Layout

From the beginning, I wanted the booklet to be such that it could be published. After some research on standard book sizes, I selected the trade paperback size. The trade paperback format, 5 1/2â&#x20AC;? x 8 1/2â&#x20AC;?, is the only size that can be printed in quantities under 1000 books without costing a huge amount of investment. As I had already decided upon the small size of the publication, I had fewer layouts to work upon. The book width being five and a quarter inches, there was no possibility to break the text into two equal columns. The text was at last decided to be set in a five column grid. The opening chapter had a column left out so that there is a breathing space at the beginning of the chapter. It would also indicate a new chapter where the heading and the body text remained in harmony.

The length of the chapter heading varied a lot and made the top of the page inconsistent.

Setting the text in a two-column grid reduced the word count in each line considerably and made the text to appear inconsistent and disturbing.

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

A five column grid was finalised. The beginning of a chapter had the chapter heading in bold and an orange line beneath it. Also, the first column was left blank so as to provide a breathing space everytime a chapter began. It provided a break from the single coulmn set text on the other remaining pages.

Text set in the above shown layout.

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Colour

The colour selection also had some criteria. It should evoke a feeling of: • Festivity • Energy • Fun • New • Warm

could cause unnecessary stress while fun times, happy and energetic days reading. and warmth. Orange stimulates enthusiasm and creativity. While red is associated with fiery Yellow: heat, orange is associated with the benign warmth of the sun. A dynamic Cheerful yellow is the color of the color to be sure, orange offers a more sun, associated with laughter, thoughtful control than explosive red. happiness and good times. The warm colours Red, Orange and Curiosity is a driving characteristic of This light shade of yellow is also an Yellow fit the bill and orange was integral part of the Munda dress and orange, and with it comes exploration selected after careful consideration. of new things. cries of festivity and cheerfulness. It It is more relaxing to the eyes is also the colour of the Sal flower. compared to the tension and fatigue Red: Yellow colour when printed, is very caused by the red and yellow. This difficult to make out. And the yellow colour, as most of the warm colours, It draws attention instantly. Red is the being discussed here is a light one. color of energy. It’s associated with It is less visible on white background. also finds place in the Munda culture. Therefore, orange was a movement and excitement. People Yellow is also the most fatiguing to good option to choose from the warm surrounded by red find their heart the eye due to the high amount of colours—red, yellow and orange, for beating a little faster. light that is reflected. the publication. Red could be found in the Munda attire. Saris with a red border are very Orange: common among the women. Using red all over the publication It is the color that associated with would be distracting to the eye and

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Illustration Styles

Illustration with a croquill pen

Illustration with a brush

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Various mediums of drawing were tried out for the illustrations. Pencil drawing, croquill pen, brush, sketch pen, etc. After looking and comparing the illustrations, the ones with sketch pen were finalized. It gave a sketchy and ethnic look after scanning which would suit the content. In the earlier sketches characters looked static and devoid of energy. To bring a sense of energy and movement, these women characters were shown doing daily chores; while the men characters had a flute and a bow. The emphasis was on the clothes, therefore only the clothes have been coloured to bring out the vibrancy and texture of the clothes. Other illustrations were left colourless so that the images do not take the focus from the text.

Illustration with a sketch pen

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Final illustrations

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Final Typical Spreads SARHUL: The Festival of Nature

Baha/baa in the Munda language family and khaddi in Kurukh or Malto, both Dravidian languages, all mean 'flower', and as the representative of all flowers it means the Sal flower. The etymology of Sarhul, as this festival is called in Nagpuri and other Aryan languages, is sarai- hul. sarai is Sal and hul means "collectively", and also "grove". By extension, Sarhul is the welcoming of nature in its new form through honouring the Sal flowers. Combined with the all Indian tradition of celebrating the spring festival Holi, it is an announcement of the arrival of the new year. No tribesman would bring home any new leaves or flowers or use them in any way before the village priest or Pahan has formally welcomed it. The tribesman welcomes the nature by renewing himself along with his surroundings. He repairs his home, puts a new cowdung plaster, buys new clothes, and renews his relations by visiting relatives on this very special occasion.

Mother nature with her daughter Bindi after she returns back from the underworld. An artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interpretation of the Sarhul story.

The Sarhul Story in Brief Bindi, the only daughter of Mother Earth, one day did not return from bathing in the pond. Mother Earth sent messengers all around to look for her, but she could not be found anywhere. Distressed and in grief, Mother Earth started crying. She was gravely saddened. Leaves started falling in empathy. Everything became gloomy. After a long search news came that Bindi was with the God of Death in his underworld. The messengers told the God of Death that Bindi was the only daughter of Mother Earth

and they appealed that Bindi be returned. But the God of Death was not ready to listen. He argued that no one returns once having come to his place. However, when the messengers lamented that Mother Earth would die in that case and the whole creation would come to an end, the God of Death in such a difficult situation - agreed that in order to save Mother Earth, Bindi would spend the first half of her time on the earth and the other half in the underworld. Ever since then, whenever Bindi comes back, Mother Earth is full of happiness and there is greenery everywhere. And when she is gone, sadness befalls Mother Earth. Sarhul is the time of Bindiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s return. It is the season of Mother Earth beautifying herself.

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Procedure: In the entire Jharkhand area the festival starts on the full moon of Phagun (the second lunar month) in Bengal and lasts till the full moon of Vaishakh (the fourth lunar month) in Madhya Pradesh. Each sub-region has developed its own tradition of celebrating it: beginning on the third, fifth or the full moon day of the month with minor differences - the festival is celebrated in the following manner. The first day of the festival is the day of "the fish and the crab". Fish and crab, according to one story of creation, are the earth's ancestors. The earth was created after having been brought to the surface from underneath the ocean. The fish and the crab made the first attempts. The first day is dedicated to them. They are caught with respect and are included in the evening meal. The head of the house offers a portion to the ancestors before serving to the family members. The same day in the afternoon, the village Pahan, along with his assistants, goes to the village's sacred grove and sweeps the place of worship, which is normally next to a big Sal tree or a big rock. He smears it with the cow-dung mixed water and places two earthen pots full of water on that ground. He measures the depth of the water with a Sal twig. Then the necks of the pots are connected with a new thread. The Pahan covers the pots with an earthen cover and returns to the village with his assistants. They are welcomed at the entrance of the village with music and dance. Water is sprinkled on them with mango leaves. Their feet are washed, and the villagers escort the priest to his house, and then the people are given rice beer to drink. From there the young people go to the village dance ground and a programme of song and dance ensues lasting from a few hours to the whole night. The second day by noon people go for bathing and they clean and sharpen their weapons. They go to the Pahan's house and from there they all together leave for the sarna/jaher, the "sacred grove" along with the materials required for the ceremony - a new winnowing fan, unboiled rice, grains of urad pulse, incenses, vermilion, thread, chickens, etc. The village women with water pots on their heads follow the priest to the sacred grove. Having arrived at the place of worship in procession and with music, people place their weapons at the place of worship. Also the musical instruments are placed nearby. Having placed the articles of worship at their respective places, the Pahan instructs his assistants to respectfully bring a few branches of Sal flower. In the meantime he also examines the level of water in the pots placed there the previous day. In consultation with the other elders of the village, the Pahan announces their assessment of the rains in the coming

Pahan offering prayers at the sarna. year. There upon the priest welcomes the Sal flower and the attending people by sprinkling them with the same water, after which he asks them to take their seats. Then he wraps the flowers with the new thread as symbol of new earth. He offers the incense. He draws with vermilion three lines for the Great Spirit, Mother Earth and the water spirits, and five lines for the ancestors. Then the Pahan addresses the Great Spirit, Mother Earth, the house spirits, water spirits, village spirits and the ancestors, and he sacrifices the chickens meant for them and offers the rice beer. All rituals have the earth as their focus as she is the primary source of survival and security for the tribesmen, whether it is the seed sowing occasion of hope or the bringing in of the new harvest.The content of the prayer words used by the Pahan and his associates is approximately as follows*: Oh Great Spirit of high heavens. Mother Earth down below. You rise like milk, you set like curd. Four corners, ten directions, East, west, north, south. The earth extending far, *This is applicable to most occasions with slight differences.

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Traditional Dresses Attire worn during social functions and festivals (relatively modern dress).

The traditional dress of the Mundas, before the days of modern dhoti.

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Costing

Cost of the booklet if a 1000 copies are printed in offset printing technique. Cost of paper, printing and binding have been taken maximum, therefore the cost that we will arrive at will be an approximate one. Paper for inside pages- Bilt art paper (MATT) 90gsm Paper for the title (cover)- Bilt card paper 250gsm Number of pages Inside pages= 11 (four colour printing) Title= 1(two colour printing) Cost of paper Number of sheets required for inside pages= 3 reams(1 ream contains 500 sheets each of 23”x 36” paper) Cost of 1 ream= Rs 1800.00

Therefore cost of 3 reams= Rs. 5400.00

Number of sheets required for title pages= 2 packects(1 packet contains 144 sheets each of 22”x 28” paper) Cost of 1 packet= Rs. 1500.00

Cost of 2 packets= Rs. 3000.00

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Cost of Printing Inside pages Cost of printing one colour in offset= Rs. 4200.00

Cost of printing four colours in offset= 16800.00 Title Page Cost of printing single colour card paper in offset= Rs. 1200.00

Cost of printing two colours= Rs. 2400.00 Cost of Binding Cost of creasing, folding, gathering and finishing 1 booklet= Rs. 10.00

Cost of binding for 1000 booklets= Rs. 10000.00 Adding up all the numbers in bold= Grand total= Rs. 37600.00= Cost of 1000 booklets Cost of 1 booklet= Rs. 376000/1000= Rs 37.60= Rs. 38.00(approx.)

Cost of 1 booklet is Rs. 38.00

Anupam Purty | Sarhul Document 2012

Learning

I have learnt a lot from this project. This project gave me an opportunity There has been a growth in some key to take a topic and exhaust it. Though areas. the topic was such that a large chunk of it is still left to touch upon, it has Working on this projest for over a year given me a fair idea about how to go now, I have developed an aptitude about a research without getting lost in research work. I had to travel a lot in details. It has taught me to look at and read, and follow up and confirm things in a perspective. facts and figures. A lot of study was also done during After the research, I found that I had the selection of the typeface and a lot of material with me. Not that it was really enlightening. Reading it was useless, my project required up on typefaces and their mutual only some part of it. The research relations was a discovery. made my understanding of the topic thorough, after which it was easier I also got to know about the to edit my content according to the technical and commercial aspect requirement of the topic. of book publishing and the printing techiniques. Visualization skills were improved during the illustration phase. Overall, I got to handle a project; a Many of the scenarios had to be project in publication; where I was conceptualized before being drawn responsible for every little thing. Right on paper. from the beginning, when I had to

generate the content to the finished bound bookletâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; I was incharge. It taught me working on self made deadlines and adhering to them. I can say that I have learnt and grown in a signifiant manner through this project.

THE END