Sitakant Mahapatra, the author of this work on Santal society, is a member of the Indian Administrative Service and at present Commissioner, Department of Tribal Development, of the Government of Orissa. As a former Deputy Commissioner of the predominantly tribal district of Mayurbhanj, bordering West Bengal, he had become interested in the tribal peoples of the area—the Mundas, the Hos, and especially the Santals—and learnt the Santali language. Subsequently a Homi Bhabha Fellowship enabled him to undertake fieldwork in three selected Santal villages in the northern part of Mayurbhanj district, and to supplement this with library research in the India Office Library, London. The book is based on a doctoral dissertation presented to the Utkal University.
May-June 1987, volume 11, No 3