The Luguburu Ghantabari has been the Santhals’ greatest pilgrimage since an era they call Sosnok Jug.
Today, it attracts followers of all faiths for wish fulfilment. It is also fast turning into a tourist attraction due to its proximity to the picturesque Tenughat dam.
Such is the popularity of the place that Kartik Purnima festivities have been enjoying the status of a state function for the past decade and a half. In fact, a great many devotees visit every month — during Purnima and Amavasya — and fairs are organised with the consent of traditional tribal heads or gram sabhas.
The Dharamghar is located about 16 km from Gomia block headquarter in Bokaro district. It is a centre of the Sarna faith — a ritualistic nature worship practised by Santhals and some other tribes such as the Munda, Kharia, Baiga, Ho and Kurukh.
Sarna are sacred groves in the forests and Sarnaism is also known as the Religion of the Holy Woods. Recently, there has been a call by some tribes to recognise the Sarna Code as a religion
An International Sarna Dharma Conference gets held here for the last 20 years or so. There are discussions on ways to preserve and enrich their customs, traditional values, literature and indigenous art and culture, apart from spiritual exercises.
The main reason for visiting the Dharamghar, however, is to pay obeisance at Lugu Baba’s cave — a 7-km trek to the top of a rocky hill. Local youth Saket Kumar says, “It is said that Lord Shiva had given his blessing to Lugu Baba here.”
There are also tales of secret tunnels connecting two caves here — atop the hillock and near the waterfall — to Maa Chhinnamastika Temple, Rajrappa, in Ramgarh district. “But these routes haven’t been explored,” says Kumar. “I once tried to but was foiled by cave-dwelling bats after walking only a few meters.”
Despite Luguburu Ghantabari being so popular, only a few new temples and a meditation centre have come up in the name of development. The state government has promised better infrastructure, including a ropeway, to make it an attractive tourist spot but the groundwork is yet to begin.
The location was in the spotlight in November last year when Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren joined the festivities with his family.
