Within Santal religious life, ancestors are regarded as continuing members of the clan whose presence permeates both household and village ritual. They are remembered as hapram or hapramko bongas—forebears who remain actively concerned with the well-being of their descendants. Rather than being distant or abstract, these ancestral spirits are approached much like respected elders, with a blend of reverence, familiarity, and expectation of guidance. This sense of ongoing kinship shapes how Santals structure their ritual spaces, their festivals, and the rhythm of daily devotion.

Communication with these ancestral spirits unfolds through spoken invocation, ritual offerings, and the mediation of specialists. Elders and priests, especially the village naeke, address the ancestors directly in formalized speech, recalling lineage and past benefactions before presenting requests for protection, health, or prosperity. Offerings of food, water, and rice beer (handia or handi) are made at household shrines or recognized sacred spots, with a portion symbolically set aside for the spirits. In some contexts, ojha mediums enter trance states so that ancestors may speak through them, while dreams are also understood as a channel through which ancestral messages and warnings may be conveyed.

The honoring of ancestors is woven into the major communal festivals and agricultural rites. During celebrations such as Sohrai, the harvest festival, and Baha, the flower or spring festival, ancestral spirits are invoked alongside other bongas, receiving sacrifices of animals and libations of rice beer. These occasions reaffirm the belief that ancestors remain intimately involved in the fertility of the fields, the health of cattle, and the general fortune of the village. Seasonal and post-harvest rites often include specific acts of remembrance and feeding of the dead, acknowledging that the land itself bears the imprint of ancestral labor and blessing.

Life-cycle rituals further deepen this relationship with the ancestral realm. At naming ceremonies, ancestors are invoked to extend their protection and to welcome the newborn into the lineage. Death rituals and subsequent ceremonies are carefully performed so that the deceased may be properly integrated among the ancestral spirits rather than lingering as a restless presence. Over time, the dead are thus incorporated into the broader community of hapram, honored along with earlier forebears at household shrines, sacred groves, and village ritual centers. Through this continuous cycle of address, offering, and remembrance, the boundary between living and dead remains permeable, sustaining a moral and spiritual order grounded in kinship across generations.