Volume-XI, Issue-VI, November 2025 |
Sustainable Development and Climate Change Adaptation through Santal Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Traditional Practices Asim Kisku, Research Scholar, Dept. of Geography, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India |
Received: 18.10.2025 | Accepted: 07.11.2025 | Published Online: 30.11.2025 | Page No: 141-155 | ||||
DOI: 10.29032/ijhsss.vol.11.issue.06W.167 | |||||||
ABSTRACT | ||
This paper explores the role of the Santal Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and traditional practices in promoting sustainable development and climate change adaptation. The Santals are third of largest in number among the Indigenous communities who live mainly in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Assam in India. They also live in neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal (known as Satar in Nepal) etc. This community are coming from Munda linguistic group and they are speaking the Santali language. Its language is under the Munda language group. Everywhere they introduce themselves as ‘Hor’ which means ‘man’. In the opinion of Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, the linguist, the word ‘Santal’ probably originated from Sanskrit word ‘Samantapal’ or the border Security. In the Mediaeval ages this ‘Samantapal` broke into ‘Samanta –Al’ and later ‘Sawantal` and ultimately became ‘Santal’. According to Santals heritage, they originated from the ‘Kherwar’ stream. Santals also introduce themselves as ‘Kherwal’. The Santals possess traditional ecological knowledge that contributes to environmental sustainability, agricultural practices, seed preservation, food security, water resource conservation, forest management, soil conservation, conservation of animals and birds, biodiversity conservation, Disaster management and community based decision-making processes etc. Data collection methods are applied ethnographic involving interview, questionnaires Survey, Focus Group Discussions and analysis of Oral History in this study. Data derived from field have been analysed in qualitative methods. This study highlights how integrating their Indigenous Knowledge Systems and traditional practices with modern policy frameworks can enhance climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods in vulnerable regions. | ||
Keywords: Sustainable Development, Climate Change Adaptation, Santal IKS, Traditional Practices |