Santhals are the third largest tribe in India. They are mostly found in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand and Assam. Santhals belong to the Pre Aryan period. They were the great fighters during the British regime in India.

They wagged war against the Permanent Settlement Act enforced by Lord Cornwallis in 1855. During the late 1850s, Santhals hero Sidhu had accumulated around 10 thousand Santhals to run a parallel government against the British government.

Santhals speak Santhali language, which belongs to the Austro- Asiatic language family. The livelihood of the Santhals revolves around the forests they live in. They fulfil their basic needs from the trees and plants of the forests. The also cultivated silk warms.

An animal sacrifice to the Gods was a common practice among the Santhals to appease the Gods and Goddess.

Santhals mainly celebrate the Karam festival which falls in the month of September and October. It is the tradition among the Santhals to grow the Karam tree outside their house after the purification process.