Santhal Creation Myth — The World Born from Water
The Santhal tribe, one of India's largest Adivasi communities, tells that in the beginning, the world was covered entirely with water. The supreme being Thakur Jiu (or Singbonga) sent the divine crow Marangbonga to find earth. The crow tried but found only water. Next, a tortoise and a crab attempted but failed. Finally, an earthworm brought up mud from the bottom of the primordial ocean. Thakur Jiu molded this mud into the first land. He then created the first human couple, Pilcu Haram and Pilcu Budhi, from clay. But they were imperfect, so he tried seven more times. The eighth attempt succee