Museum of Santal Culture

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Coordinates: 23°42′11″N 87°38′53″E / 23.703°N 87.648°E / 23.703; 87.648
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Museum of Santal Culture
Map
Established2007; 17 years ago (2007)
LocationBishnubati, Birbhum, West Bengal
Coordinates23°42′11″N 87°38′53″E / 23.703°N 87.648°E / 23.703; 87.648
TypeCommunity museum
Collection size150
FounderBoro Baski
CuratorBimal Baski
OwnerBishnubati Adibasi Marshal Sangha (BAMS)

The Museum of Santal Culture is a private community museum located in the village of Bishnubati, West Bengal.[1][2] The community-led museum documents the history of the Santal community largely prevalent in the region, which includes their past, their memories, and traditional ways of being. The museum was co-founded by educator Dr. Boro Baski[3] alongside other members of the village of Bishnubati, a Santali village of "less than 700 hundred people" in the Birbhum district of West Bengal.[4]

Background[edit]

Founded in 2007 with help from the Indian Museum, the Museum of Santal Culture is a museum that is completely run by the members of the Santal community for its people. According to one of the co-founders of the museum, Dr. Boro Baski, "the Santali name of the museum is Santal Arichalidoho-jogao Bakhol, which translates as the house for taking care of Santal culture and heritage."[5] The architecture of the one-level house is similar to a traditional Santali residence with traditional murals on the walls. It is dedicated solely to exhibit the diverse materials which depict the Santali past. Most of the collections were donated by the local residents, some rare items bought, and others sourced from other Santali regions in the Bankura district and parts of Santal Pargana in Jharkhand.[4]

The Museum of Santal Culture in Bishnubati, West Bengal

Other museums which document the Santali history, heritage, and culture include, the Jhargram Tribal Museum in Jhargram, Bidisa Anthropology Museum in Western Medinipur, the Museum of Sidho Kanho Birsha University in Purulia and Johar Human Resources Development Centre in Jharkhand.[4][6] The Museum of Santal Culture differs from these museums in its approach towards the process of preserving and presenting the Santali worldview. The museum was a result of the contributions of various individuals and families of the Bishnubati village, but it was also born out of an organic need to voice the Santali past for the younger generation to know who they are and where they come from.[7] Initially, many members of the community were sceptical about the initiative and questioned the need to highlight their culture. However, the museum is now completely run on the generosity of the local individuals of the community. Raising awareness regarding the museum was a task that took some time and effort.[8][5]

Historical and socio-cultural context[edit]

Curator Mr Bimal Baski
Inside the museum (second-storey)
The traditional roof inside the museum

Alongside the Rolf Schoembs Vidyashram (RSV), a school run by individuals of the Santali community for their children in the neighbouring Ghoshaldanga village under the initiative of the Ghosaldanga Adibasi Seva Sangha (GASS),[9] the museum acts as a space for the students of the school and their parents to learn about their cultural legacy.[10][11][12] According to Baski, historically, there has been no history written by the Santalis for themselves and most of the memories of the past are passed orally because there has been no written script of the Santali language.[13][14] Therefore, he asserts that the "written history of tribal people tends to be the work of the dominant groups in society."[8] Very little awareness about the Santals exists amongst the diverse other communities which live in the larger Birbhum district.[4][7] Furthermore, the Christian missionaries in the nineteenth century did not appreciate the Santali culture and traditions and ever since there have been negative conceptions about the Santals and their past, even within the community itself.[6][8]

Collections[edit]

The museum houses 150 materials pertaining to the Santal culture presented in six distinct categories – hunting materials, musical instruments, dresses and ornaments, household materials, old photographs of Santals, and Santal sculptures made of stone.[5][15] Some of the rare materials include a banam (a lute), one of the ancient musical instruments of the Santals.[16]

Sculptures exhibited at the Museum of Santal Culture

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Dorfentwicklung Indien: Santal Museum". www.dorfentwicklung-indien.de. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Visiting the Museum of Santal Culture,West Bengal". indiantribalheritage.org. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Meet Boro Baski: The Educator Who Set Up a School for Indigenous Children in West Bengal". The New Leam. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d "In West Bengal's Birbhum, a unique community museum that archives Santal history and culture". The Indian Express. 10 April 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Baski, Boro (19 February 2021). "The Museum of Santal Culture in Bishnubati". Articulate. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b Baski, Boro (12 July 2016). "Lost in translation | D+C - Development + Cooperation". www.dandc.eu. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b Dasgupta, Sneharshi (2022). "Preserving the Santali Self: History, Memory, and Culture". www.travellersuniversity.org. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Baski, Boro (10 July 2016). "Saving our heritage | D+C - Development + Cooperation". www.dandc.eu. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Ghosaldanga Adibasi Seva Sangha – Did it make a difference? (Lecture) | Martin Kämpchen". Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  10. ^ Marandi, Rosemary. "The Indian school where Indigenous children are 'never outsiders'". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  11. ^ Dasgupta, Sneharshi (12 December 2022). "The Ghosaldanga Model of Indigenous Development". TravellersUniversity. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  12. ^ "In their own language: a school in West Bengal's Birbhum for Santal children". The Indian Express. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  13. ^ Baski, Boro (4 May 2021). "The pros and cons of the Ol-chiki script | D+C - Development + Cooperation". www.dandc.eu. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  14. ^ Baski, Boro (4 May 2021). "An Indian Adivasi community is divided by scripts | D+C - Development + Cooperation". www.dandc.eu. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  15. ^ Boro Baski (20 November 2017). Museum of Santal Culture: A Catalogue on Santal Cultural Items.
  16. ^ "eBook | Free catalogue: Banam: One of the ancient musical instruments of the Santals – West Bengal – Tribal Cultural Heritage in India". indiantribalheritage.org. Retrieved 27 June 2023.

Further reading[edit]

  1. Hembrom, Ruby. (n.d.). "Bodding and the Santal people: entwined in timelessness." Published: Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo. Accessed here.
  2. Hembrom, Ruby. (n.d.). "My Life. My telling. In my voice." Accessed here.
  3. Kämpchen, Martin. (2006). "Santals reach out to the World." India International Centre Quarterly, 32(4), 100–109. JSTOR 23005898

External links[edit]

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