Within Santal religious life, the resolution of conflict is inseparable from the maintenance of harmony between humans, ancestors, and village deities. Disputes are not treated as merely social disruptions but as signs that the moral and spiritual order has been disturbed. Village leadership, especially the headman and elders, presides over formal gatherings in which both sides are heard, often in or near sacred spaces such as the village meeting place or the sacred grove. Their task is to discern what kind of settlement will restore balance in a way that is acceptable not only to the community but also to the spirits who are believed to watch over village life.

A central method of spiritual mediation is the consultation of ritual specialists—priests and spirit-healers—who act as intermediaries between humans and the unseen world. Through divination, they seek to uncover hidden causes of the conflict, identify any broken taboos, and determine which spirits may be offended. This divinatory work can involve interpreting the behavior of sacrificial animals, reading patterns formed by grains or other small objects, or attending to signs revealed through trance and spirit communication. The guidance thus received shapes both the judgment in the dispute and the form of ritual restitution required.

Oath-taking before deities and ancestral spirits is another powerful instrument of truth-seeking and reconciliation. Disputing parties may be required to swear sacred oaths at shrines or in the sacred grove, sometimes in contact with consecrated objects or places. Because false oaths are believed to invite spiritual punishment and misfortune, this practice exerts strong moral pressure toward honesty and faithful adherence to any agreed settlement. In this way, the word given in the presence of the spirits becomes a binding spiritual contract, not merely a social promise.

Once responsibility is acknowledged and the spiritual diagnosis is clear, sacrificial and propitiatory rites are performed to mend the damaged relationships. Offerings of animals, grains, and rice beer are made to deities and ancestors to appease their displeasure and to mark the end of hostility. In more serious cases, purification rituals address the sense of pollution or disorder that has arisen, using water, symbolic cleansing, and other rites to restore the individual’s and the community’s ritual integrity. These acts are not viewed as empty ceremonies but as concrete steps in reweaving the torn fabric of the moral universe.

Finally, the settlement of a dispute is often sealed through communal sharing of food and drink that have been ritually blessed. Such collective meals, held under the gaze of the spirits, signify that enmity has been set aside and that social bonds are renewed. Material compensation, when required, is integrated into this sacred context so that restitution is both legal and liturgical. Through this intricate weaving of council, divination, oath, sacrifice, purification, and shared feasting, conflict is transformed into an occasion for reaffirming the community’s covenant with its spirits and with itself.