Post News Network
Gopbandhunagar: Sal patra (leaf) is an integral part of life and culture of tribal population in this part of Mayurbhanj district. It is not only one of the most important items for marriages but also a sole source of livelihood for scores of tribals here.
Considering the importance of sal leaves in their lives, tribal people have taken it upon themselves to protect the forest.
Bipin Singh, president of Bagha Jatin Yubak Sangh, said the tribals guard forests in turns. Dukura forest ranger Batakrushna Padhi said that people have become more conscious about the need of forest protection and its sustainable growth.
“Our department has been trying to raise sal saplings to generate sal forest. And, awareness is needed for this mission,” Padhi added
Elaborating on the utility of sal trees, Makar Marandi of Talaghati village said, “We worship sal trees on Sareli puja with fervour.”
As soon as new green shoots appear on sal trees during Bahabanga Parab(a tribal festival), tribals offer these leaves to their god Marangburu.
Almost all parts of a sal tree including leaves, skin and trunk are used on different occasions, he said.
While the leaves are used to make plates (called khalli) and cups, twigs of the tree as tooth brushes and its wood for yajna. Moreover, jhuna’ (resins) produced by a sal tree is essential for many religious rituals and worship.
Thousands of tribal people here eke out their living by selling these items in markets, though they do not get any government patronage for this income-generating activity. Earlier, many of them used to work in stone quarries or excavate earth from farmlands for livelihood. However, increasing use of machines in recent times has left many of them redundant.
This has led the tribal people to turn their focus on sal leaves to keep their pot boiling. Paddy harvesting usually ends by Makar festival. When winter season ends and sal trees shed their dried leaves, tribals collect these leaves for fuel in forests. They also store these leaves for fuel and selling to others. A sackful of dried leaves fetches around Rs 50 to 80. On an average, a person can earn between Rs 480 to Rs 640 a day by selling dried leaves.
The practice of collecting dried leaves, however, has deprived the tribal people of mushrooms. Recalling the days of yore, Sukuru Soren and Samai Majhi said sal leaves used to rot on the ground and this is where tribals used to find mushrooms. “However, dried leaves are now collected and not allowed to rot in the forest,” he rued. By the time new leaves emerge on sal trees during early summer, tribal men and women troop to forests to collect matured leaves.
They usually assemble under shades or banyan trees to stitch dwipatris (two leaves) with neem stems. One can stitch at least 2,000 dwipatris in a day and earn at least Rs 60 for a 1000 dwipatris. These days machines are used to press stitched leaves to give different shapes like plates and cups (danas). These are sold to traders in Baripada, Betanati and Udala. The pressed khalis and danas are also transported to different parts of the state and outside.