Performing Indigeneity on a Sacred Hill, Logo Buru

Abstract

For most Santals, the pilgrimage to Logo Buru in Jharkhand means to revive the sense of belonging to a sacred landscape, seen as a “pristine place” untouched by development. This is particularly important for those who work in mines or in the steel plants. Most of the Santal writers, active in Logo Buru, claim to be the disciples of Ragunath Murmu, the playwright and social reformer who invented a Santali script in the Thirties. For Adivasis coming from other states, the performance gives them the opportunity to share the revival of a tradition which is strong in Jharkhand, since it is linked to the politics of that State, created in 2000. The article shows that the pilgrimage to Logo Buru, organized by Santal writers and activists and patronized by politicians, can be viewed as a critical archive generating different interpretations, to produce a way of sharing which makes sense for all, bestowing the participants with a new ‘authenticity’.