Sarna sthal

Sarna sthals are sacred groves in the religious traditions of the Chota Nagpur Plateau region in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and Chhattisgarh. Followers of these rituals primarily belong to the Baiga, Ho, Kurukh, Munda and Santal. According to local belief, a "Gram deoti" or village deity resides in the sarna, where sacrifice is offered twice a year. In recent years many tribal and Kudumi Mahato organization have demanded a religious code for Sarna, separate from Hinduism, as they believe that they are nature worshippers.
Etymology.
"Sarna" means "grove" and is etymologically related to the name of the sal tree. For Santali mythological belief 'Sarna' means 'it is arrow'[Sar- arrow, Na- it is (in feminine gender of Santali grammar)
Theology.
Adherents of Sarnaism believe in, worship, and revere a village deity as protector of village, who is called as "Gaon khunt", "Gram deoti", "Dharmes", "Marang Buru", "Singbonga", or by other names by different tribes. Adherents also believe in, worship, and revere "Dharti ayo" or "Chalapachho Devi", the mother goddess identified as the earth or nature.
Worship places and rites.
Sarna is place of worship which is sacred grove. It is also called "gram than", "Jaher than "or "Jaher gar", and can be found in villages. Sal trees are in the sacred grove. The ceremonies are performed by the whole village community at a public gathering with the active participation of village priests, "pahan". The chief assistant of village priest is called "Naike".
The sthal typically has multiple trees like sal, mahua, neem, and banyan.
The main festival of Sarnaism is Sarhul, a festival in which devotees worship their ancestors. A legend among the Munda says a lion once ran after a man, who escaped by hiding in a bush. After the incident, he promised he would offer "sakua" flowers and leaves as well as a living animal. During the festival, the "pahan" brings three water pots to the "sarna". If the water pots reduce in level, they believe the monsoon will fail, but if it stays the same the monsoon will come as normal. Men then offer "sakua" flowers and leaves.
Demographics.
Overall population: c. 4,957,000
Demand for a Sarna census code.
Several organisations of tribal and Kudumi Mahato are demanding a distinct census code for the Sarna religion.
Recently Jharkhand assembly unanimously passed a resolution on 'Sarna Code' for the inclusion of Sarna as separate religion in 2021 census, and sent to central government for approval.