Witnesses of Mercy for Peace and Reconciliation

33 preference for the sal tree ( Shorea Robusta ). Where there are large numbers of these trees, we mark the place as sacred, designated as a Jaher or, if within a small forest, a Sarna . Here, only the male priest and other males from the community are allowed to worship. It is forbidden for branches to be cut from the sal trees and this is how we preserve the environment. Females pray to Singh Bungha at home in a space we call Adin Bungha which is usually a small dark room separated from the rest of the house. If the house lacks adequate space, the Adin Bungha would be found in the kitchen as this is a very sacred place. Our land tenure system enables the land to be kept for common use. We have chiefs who sit together and discuss, for instance, what to do with a family from outside of the community that wants to settle in the village. The chiefs will typically assent to allowing the family to settle and cultivate the land as tenants without taking ownership of it. So, in this way we are merciful to all people outside of the community as well as to those within. Some other rituals we have are for the purpose of business. After a barter exchange we have a habit of giving a little extra and this is a gift of love. We also believe in reincarnation, that is the rebirth of the soul. For that reason, after the death of a person we have a ritual of calling the deceased soul back to the family. Through this we believe that these souls will help us when there is a problem or calamity within the family. Part of the ritual is to pray to Singh Bungha that the family should not face any kind of future problem. Our religion has great belief in the act of speech, with an oral tradition in which rituals have been handed down from generation to generation. We have now begun to make written records so that our religion is available to everyone, especially to the next generation, although nothing has yet been recorded as to what prayers are said by the priest. We believe in one saying: “ Sen gay shushun, kazi gay durung. ” This means that walking is dancing and talk- ing is singing. In these lines the whole concept of mercy ( mossi ) revolves. The words are the fruit of love, and actions are demonstrated as a mercy in my religion and community. Thank you very much. Perhaps next time I will have all of the written manuscripts for my religion through which I could help you navigate it better. Kaushalya Munda KaushalyaMunda, mother of one boy child, is a freelance social worker from Steel City, Jamshedpur, in the State of Jharkhand, India. She belongs to the Munda people, the third largest indigenous community in India. She is a master trainer for women’s empowerment; adolescent reproductive and sexual health education; customary indigenous laws; human rights of indigenous peoples; and advocacy for acknowledgement of Sarnaism as a code in all government forms. She has personally sponsored two students from the primitive and vulnerable Birhor tribe in Jharkhand, to achieve a technical education. These students were then employed by the government in permanent service. Kau- shalya Munda’s passion is to help indigenous men and women, both professionals and involuntarily displaced peoples. She is committed to saving the land title of the Munda community which is enshrined in the Chotan- agpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act. Her association with the organization, Adibasi Bud- hijivi Manch, is part of an endeavour to obligate the state government to implement the customary system of administration (PESA) in indigenous habitation areas. THE FOUNDAT IONS OF MERCY