Bagdi a cultivating, fishing and menial caste of Dravidian descent and akin to the aboriginal tribes of the subcontinent. There are different sub-castes of bagdis living in different regions. A bagdi was traditionally restricted from marrying outside the sub-caste. Social and economic factors, especially the intent of not allowing their property to be enjoyed by people outside their community, produced strict endogamy among them. Currently, however, they are flexible in MARRIAGE customs. Bagdis practise both infant and adult marriages, though cases of infant marriage are not common today. Polygamy is permitted, depending on a man's material condition. A bagdi can marry two sisters at a time. Bagdis have borrowed many rituals from the Brahminical system. But they have also preserved some interesting rituals, which belong to different and perhaps more primitive societies. Before formal marriage, the bridegroom goes through a mock marriage to a Mahua tree. The bagdi allow widows to marry again by the ceremony known as sanga marriage rite, in which a Brahmin officiates, but no mantras are recited. As for divorce, the general opinion seems to be that a wife might be divorced for barrenness, unchastity, and disobedience, when those are duly proved to the satisfaction of the council of the caste elders. A divorced wife was entitled to claim maintenance from her previous husband for a period of six months after divorce.
All sub-castes of bagdis admit into their circle members of any other caste higher than themselves in social standing. The religious practices of bagdis combine orthodox HINDUISM and nature worship of their ancestors. They worship the snake goddess MANASA Devi. Legal transactions of Bagdis in the past were of a very simple nature and were supervised by some elder caste members. Currently, they have been absorbed into formal institutions. The occupation of bagdis differs from region to region and from sub-caste to sub-caste. Some bagdis still work in fishing, some as PALANQUIN bearers, lime producers, gunny bag makers and COTTON weavers. Some bagdis are also engaged in AGRICULTURE, usually as under-RAIYATs, and a few of them have attained the position of occupancy tenants. From the olden times, a large number of bagdis in Bengal worked as day labourers and were paid in cash or kind. Many worked as nomadic cultivators, tilling other men's land on the bhag-jot system, under which they were remunerated by one half or less the share of produce.
Bagdis are socially ranked very low and are treated by others as dwellers on the outskirts of Hinduism. Many of them eat beef or pork, though according to the prevailing Hindu custom, some of them abstain from all sorts of flesh. With the dispersion of modern amenities, customs and values amidst all strata of society, bagdis are currently able to change their social standing along with their life style and are able to engage in several occupations.
Showing posts with label Manasa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manasa. Show all posts
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Rituals And Festivals Of The Ho Tribe
(Last Part)
In some cases it is also observed that some of the educated/retired (from service) Hos, who are living in their native village, worship their traditional Bongas like, Singhbonga, Marangbonga and Dessauli etc. during their festive occasions and simultaneously they also worship the Hindu deities both in their family and village levels. Example may be cited of Mr. Satrughan Bari (M/42) of village Sunamara of Jamda block of Mayurbhanj district, who is a retired army person believes and worships his traditional deities at his village but when he purchased a bajaj kawasaki motorcycle in 1999 he bought it to his nearest Hindu temple to take blessings of deity. Besides, before he starts his motorcycle he utters the name of a deity, who is from Hindu religion. Similarly, lord Ganesh and Devi Saraswati are being worshipped each year regularly in their village school officiated by a Hindu priest. Another example may be cited here, that of Miss Subasini Singh (F/37), who is working as a nurse at village Kulgi, is highly qualified and she is living with the adherents of wider Hindu pantheon. She speaks and writes Oriya for communication and worships Hindu deities like lord Ganash, devi Saraswati and devi Laxmi etc. each day in her house. Her villagers celebrate Saraswati puja in their village. They also perform Soni-mela in their houses. Once she was also worshipping Sontoshimata continuously for fourteen Fridays for fulfilling some of her desires. We may also summarize that women folk in simple tribal societies are more prone to adoption of multifarious religious traditions seeking fulfillment of their desires. Duary has studied the Hos of Chaibasa area where also we noticed element of synthesis of dual religious beliefs. He has obversed that " many Ho people go to the local temple twice or thrice a week to make offerings of fruit, flower and incense like their Hindu brethren. Like wise whenever they purchase a new vehicle they visit a Hindu temple preferably the Kali temple to seek her blessings" (2000: 187).
Tusu vasani is the main attraction of the Makar Sakranti or Makar parab which is celebrated, basically by the Hindu caste people, in almost all part of south Jharkhand and north Orissa in the month of January. This festival is also popularly known as Tusu parab. During this festival the villagers prepare an image of Tusu devi and worship her. On the fixed date the villagers from all neighbouring villages gather their Tusus in a common place nearer to any water source, where they sing Tusu songs and dance. Finally they immerse their images. The Hos of Mayurbhanj district in general and the Hos of Bahalda, Tiring, Jharadihi, Jamda, Gorumahisani, Rairangpur and Badampahar area in particular also participate in this Tusu parab directly or indirectly. They go to their nearer Tusu vasani centres like Ranibandh, Satikudar (Rairangpur), Ghumal, Gambharia, Kulgi, Bahalda, Basingi, Mahulpani and Paharpur etc. on different fixed date and enjoy the festival with great joy.
The use of different types of colour papers, ribbons, flags, plastic flowers, colour powders is also evident during their different puja and festivals. "In some cases the Ho people also use the mango leaves, tulsi sakam (basil leaves) and da (water). It is probably borrowed from the neighboring Hindu society" (Duary 2000:187).
According to Majumdar most of the malevolent Bongas of the Hos are not their own and seems to have come from some Hindu equivalent deities found among the neighbouring Oriyas. As per him the Gara Satamai of Ho is not other than the Devi Nai Bhagawati of the Oriya, which is perhaps a name for that spirit that presides over the tanks and ponds. Satamai is the impure word of Sat-ma, the stepmother, and the actual mother being Nage- bonga or the river goddess. At the time of analysing the Kar-bongako like, Suni kar, Rahu kar, Dinda kar and Chuhar kar he argued that "Kar is not a Ho word, it is the same word as Kal, the destroyer, and is associated with ‘time’. The word Kali that signifies the goddess of that name in popular Hinduism is derived from the same word Kal. Suni kar, Rahu kar are none other than the planets Sani (saturn) and Rahu, known to the Hindus as Kal…….The word Chandi (Another name for Kali) is taken from the Hindus, particularly from the Oriyas. For example, Bisai Chandi (poisonous), Ranga Chandi (blood thirty or red), Chinta Dain and Kaltud (a corruption of Kalketu), Jugini-bonga is none other than Jugini, who with her counter part Dakini is said to accompany Kali or Chandi" (Majumdar 1950 :255-256). From this statement of Majumdar it is clear that most of the deities worshipped by the Hos during the different festivals are not of their own, but are borrowed from their neighbouring Hindus. We see here a long process of adoption of several deities from the dominant Hindu neighbours and moulding the original names to tribal pattern of vocabulary.
The popularity of Manasa Devi (A Hindu goddess, believed as a daughter of Lord Shiva who presides over snakes) is not only limited among the Hindus it is equally popular among the tribes (particularly of the Hos) of the region. The entire Kolhan area as well as its neighbouring areas are covered with hills and forests and the people of the region are very much dependent on their local ecology. Everyday they move in and around the dense jungle in search of games and other forest products. As different types of poisonous snakes are abundant in this forest ecology, there is much possibility of snakebites. Therefore, the Hindus of the region worship Devi Manasa for protection. In the earlier days, the Hos were trying to cure the victims of such accident by their own traditional methods. However, sometimes they were unable to protect the lives of the victims. Because of the insufficiency in their own method it encouraged a number of Hos to force to worship this Hindu goddess. Therefore, the Hos of the region adopted this alien goddess and started worshipping, which gradually got assimilated in their culture. According to Chatterjee and Das (1927:59) the people of Purti khili (of Ho tribe) of village Nohadi, which is situated near to the town of Saraikella, worship goddess Manasa to whom they offer sweets and flowers and before whom they sacrifice fowls and goats.
The religious syncretism is again noticed in the Ho, which is adopted. There are many Akharas (training centres) functioning in different parts of the region where a number of tribal and non-tribal people are learning incantations (mantras) from their Gurus or teachers. According to Majumdar "a number of young men have learnt the spells and prayers to this goddess as a protection against snake-bite, and as a method of driving the poison from the system. The Guru or teacher is usually an Oriya Ojha, who teaches spectacular methods of invoking the goddess. Mantras which are nothing but names of Hindu gods and goddess with their modes of worship, the details of the offerings of which they are fond, and stories of the assistance they have rendered to this or that individual in times of calamity. They are muttered and sung in such a sing-song tune that very few could understand them. They were mostly in Bengali spoken in Oriya style"(1950: 360-361). According to Majumdar in every fortnight, two days before the Amabashya or the new moon the Guru set in meditation under a tamarind tree. He decorates his forerhead with vermilion and place plates of Arua rice and banana cut into small pieces on his either side. Besides these offerings he (Guru) also keeps a few leaf cups of illi (rice bear). If we analyse these offerings it will be evident that though the tribals adopted their alien deities, they worship them in their own methods which includes both the Hinduised methods of worship along with their tribal method of worship.
All the tribal communities of the studied region have a very strong belief in witchcraft. Continuation of any kind of disease for a long time is regarded as the action of Dian (witch) or evil Bongas. These Dians are generally elderly women members of their society. Though some of the aged women are generally treated as Dian, irrespective of all age group they can learn the Dian bidya (the technique of witch craft). In the night of Amabashya the Dians go to their nearby Smashan (burial place) where they change their cloths and wear broom sticks at their waist and dance around the tree. Some times they supposed to have intercourse with the malevolent Bongas or spirits so as to acquire power to bring any type of natural calamity in their region or to harm their enemies or to kill. Ojha or Deonwa is the traditional medicine man among the tribes who tries to find out the causes of disease of the people and their solutions.
According to Das Gupta, the belief in Dian among the Ho is due to culture contact of Hindu where they belief in their Bongas (both benevolent and malevolent) as well as sacrifice to them their indigenous procedure through Dehuri to get rid of the problems. He further stated that the Deonwas cult is not originally of the Ho and is borrowed from the neighbouring ‘low’ Hindu caste people. Most of these Deonwas belong to Gouda (milkman) caste of Hindu. The Guru of these Deonwas is again from the Hindu community, who trains the Deonwas in their Akhara. As mentioned above the Mantras are nothing but the names of different Hindu god and goddess, and which are rearranged with some Hindi words. It shows a clear-cut influence of Hindu cultural elements in the Ho community (1978:86-90).
Whenever a Ho suffers from the severe disease they, usually, take the help of a Deonwa, who tries to detect the causes, whether it is happened due to some evil Bongas or Dian or some other causes. Some times, he first gives some herbal medicines and if he was unsuccessful, he tries to detect its actual cause. He usually follows two types of methods for identifying the causes. First of all, he checks the pulse rate at the hand where high pulse rate signifies about the influence of unnatural causes. Secondly, he grinds some Arua rice along with sindur either in a sarjom sakam or on a hata. Failure in traditional methods of treatment forced them to bring the patient to their nearby hospital. However, some times it is also noticed that they yet continue their traditional method of treatment simultaneously with the modern medicines.
Conclusion
Most of the rituals and festivals of the present studied tribe are associated with their agricultural activities, which is celebrated during their different stages of agricultural session. Due to the regular contact with the wider Hindu pantheon, spread of education, popularity of printed and electronic medias, availability of easy communication facility they gradually have started to adopt some rituals and festivals of their neighboring people. They celebrate their traditional rituals and festivals at their village and house levels side by side participate in various religious activities of their neighbors. Finally, it may conclude that though some aspects of rituals and festivals of the Ho are highly influenced by the Hindu religion and practices their traditional rituals and festivals are still not much changed. Source: http://www.thetribaltribune.com
(...Concluded)
In some cases it is also observed that some of the educated/retired (from service) Hos, who are living in their native village, worship their traditional Bongas like, Singhbonga, Marangbonga and Dessauli etc. during their festive occasions and simultaneously they also worship the Hindu deities both in their family and village levels. Example may be cited of Mr. Satrughan Bari (M/42) of village Sunamara of Jamda block of Mayurbhanj district, who is a retired army person believes and worships his traditional deities at his village but when he purchased a bajaj kawasaki motorcycle in 1999 he bought it to his nearest Hindu temple to take blessings of deity. Besides, before he starts his motorcycle he utters the name of a deity, who is from Hindu religion. Similarly, lord Ganesh and Devi Saraswati are being worshipped each year regularly in their village school officiated by a Hindu priest. Another example may be cited here, that of Miss Subasini Singh (F/37), who is working as a nurse at village Kulgi, is highly qualified and she is living with the adherents of wider Hindu pantheon. She speaks and writes Oriya for communication and worships Hindu deities like lord Ganash, devi Saraswati and devi Laxmi etc. each day in her house. Her villagers celebrate Saraswati puja in their village. They also perform Soni-mela in their houses. Once she was also worshipping Sontoshimata continuously for fourteen Fridays for fulfilling some of her desires. We may also summarize that women folk in simple tribal societies are more prone to adoption of multifarious religious traditions seeking fulfillment of their desires. Duary has studied the Hos of Chaibasa area where also we noticed element of synthesis of dual religious beliefs. He has obversed that " many Ho people go to the local temple twice or thrice a week to make offerings of fruit, flower and incense like their Hindu brethren. Like wise whenever they purchase a new vehicle they visit a Hindu temple preferably the Kali temple to seek her blessings" (2000: 187).
Tusu vasani is the main attraction of the Makar Sakranti or Makar parab which is celebrated, basically by the Hindu caste people, in almost all part of south Jharkhand and north Orissa in the month of January. This festival is also popularly known as Tusu parab. During this festival the villagers prepare an image of Tusu devi and worship her. On the fixed date the villagers from all neighbouring villages gather their Tusus in a common place nearer to any water source, where they sing Tusu songs and dance. Finally they immerse their images. The Hos of Mayurbhanj district in general and the Hos of Bahalda, Tiring, Jharadihi, Jamda, Gorumahisani, Rairangpur and Badampahar area in particular also participate in this Tusu parab directly or indirectly. They go to their nearer Tusu vasani centres like Ranibandh, Satikudar (Rairangpur), Ghumal, Gambharia, Kulgi, Bahalda, Basingi, Mahulpani and Paharpur etc. on different fixed date and enjoy the festival with great joy.
The use of different types of colour papers, ribbons, flags, plastic flowers, colour powders is also evident during their different puja and festivals. "In some cases the Ho people also use the mango leaves, tulsi sakam (basil leaves) and da (water). It is probably borrowed from the neighboring Hindu society" (Duary 2000:187).
According to Majumdar most of the malevolent Bongas of the Hos are not their own and seems to have come from some Hindu equivalent deities found among the neighbouring Oriyas. As per him the Gara Satamai of Ho is not other than the Devi Nai Bhagawati of the Oriya, which is perhaps a name for that spirit that presides over the tanks and ponds. Satamai is the impure word of Sat-ma, the stepmother, and the actual mother being Nage- bonga or the river goddess. At the time of analysing the Kar-bongako like, Suni kar, Rahu kar, Dinda kar and Chuhar kar he argued that "Kar is not a Ho word, it is the same word as Kal, the destroyer, and is associated with ‘time’. The word Kali that signifies the goddess of that name in popular Hinduism is derived from the same word Kal. Suni kar, Rahu kar are none other than the planets Sani (saturn) and Rahu, known to the Hindus as Kal…….The word Chandi (Another name for Kali) is taken from the Hindus, particularly from the Oriyas. For example, Bisai Chandi (poisonous), Ranga Chandi (blood thirty or red), Chinta Dain and Kaltud (a corruption of Kalketu), Jugini-bonga is none other than Jugini, who with her counter part Dakini is said to accompany Kali or Chandi" (Majumdar 1950 :255-256). From this statement of Majumdar it is clear that most of the deities worshipped by the Hos during the different festivals are not of their own, but are borrowed from their neighbouring Hindus. We see here a long process of adoption of several deities from the dominant Hindu neighbours and moulding the original names to tribal pattern of vocabulary.
The popularity of Manasa Devi (A Hindu goddess, believed as a daughter of Lord Shiva who presides over snakes) is not only limited among the Hindus it is equally popular among the tribes (particularly of the Hos) of the region. The entire Kolhan area as well as its neighbouring areas are covered with hills and forests and the people of the region are very much dependent on their local ecology. Everyday they move in and around the dense jungle in search of games and other forest products. As different types of poisonous snakes are abundant in this forest ecology, there is much possibility of snakebites. Therefore, the Hindus of the region worship Devi Manasa for protection. In the earlier days, the Hos were trying to cure the victims of such accident by their own traditional methods. However, sometimes they were unable to protect the lives of the victims. Because of the insufficiency in their own method it encouraged a number of Hos to force to worship this Hindu goddess. Therefore, the Hos of the region adopted this alien goddess and started worshipping, which gradually got assimilated in their culture. According to Chatterjee and Das (1927:59) the people of Purti khili (of Ho tribe) of village Nohadi, which is situated near to the town of Saraikella, worship goddess Manasa to whom they offer sweets and flowers and before whom they sacrifice fowls and goats.
The religious syncretism is again noticed in the Ho, which is adopted. There are many Akharas (training centres) functioning in different parts of the region where a number of tribal and non-tribal people are learning incantations (mantras) from their Gurus or teachers. According to Majumdar "a number of young men have learnt the spells and prayers to this goddess as a protection against snake-bite, and as a method of driving the poison from the system. The Guru or teacher is usually an Oriya Ojha, who teaches spectacular methods of invoking the goddess. Mantras which are nothing but names of Hindu gods and goddess with their modes of worship, the details of the offerings of which they are fond, and stories of the assistance they have rendered to this or that individual in times of calamity. They are muttered and sung in such a sing-song tune that very few could understand them. They were mostly in Bengali spoken in Oriya style"(1950: 360-361). According to Majumdar in every fortnight, two days before the Amabashya or the new moon the Guru set in meditation under a tamarind tree. He decorates his forerhead with vermilion and place plates of Arua rice and banana cut into small pieces on his either side. Besides these offerings he (Guru) also keeps a few leaf cups of illi (rice bear). If we analyse these offerings it will be evident that though the tribals adopted their alien deities, they worship them in their own methods which includes both the Hinduised methods of worship along with their tribal method of worship.
All the tribal communities of the studied region have a very strong belief in witchcraft. Continuation of any kind of disease for a long time is regarded as the action of Dian (witch) or evil Bongas. These Dians are generally elderly women members of their society. Though some of the aged women are generally treated as Dian, irrespective of all age group they can learn the Dian bidya (the technique of witch craft). In the night of Amabashya the Dians go to their nearby Smashan (burial place) where they change their cloths and wear broom sticks at their waist and dance around the tree. Some times they supposed to have intercourse with the malevolent Bongas or spirits so as to acquire power to bring any type of natural calamity in their region or to harm their enemies or to kill. Ojha or Deonwa is the traditional medicine man among the tribes who tries to find out the causes of disease of the people and their solutions.
According to Das Gupta, the belief in Dian among the Ho is due to culture contact of Hindu where they belief in their Bongas (both benevolent and malevolent) as well as sacrifice to them their indigenous procedure through Dehuri to get rid of the problems. He further stated that the Deonwas cult is not originally of the Ho and is borrowed from the neighbouring ‘low’ Hindu caste people. Most of these Deonwas belong to Gouda (milkman) caste of Hindu. The Guru of these Deonwas is again from the Hindu community, who trains the Deonwas in their Akhara. As mentioned above the Mantras are nothing but the names of different Hindu god and goddess, and which are rearranged with some Hindi words. It shows a clear-cut influence of Hindu cultural elements in the Ho community (1978:86-90).
Whenever a Ho suffers from the severe disease they, usually, take the help of a Deonwa, who tries to detect the causes, whether it is happened due to some evil Bongas or Dian or some other causes. Some times, he first gives some herbal medicines and if he was unsuccessful, he tries to detect its actual cause. He usually follows two types of methods for identifying the causes. First of all, he checks the pulse rate at the hand where high pulse rate signifies about the influence of unnatural causes. Secondly, he grinds some Arua rice along with sindur either in a sarjom sakam or on a hata. Failure in traditional methods of treatment forced them to bring the patient to their nearby hospital. However, some times it is also noticed that they yet continue their traditional method of treatment simultaneously with the modern medicines.
Conclusion
Most of the rituals and festivals of the present studied tribe are associated with their agricultural activities, which is celebrated during their different stages of agricultural session. Due to the regular contact with the wider Hindu pantheon, spread of education, popularity of printed and electronic medias, availability of easy communication facility they gradually have started to adopt some rituals and festivals of their neighboring people. They celebrate their traditional rituals and festivals at their village and house levels side by side participate in various religious activities of their neighbors. Finally, it may conclude that though some aspects of rituals and festivals of the Ho are highly influenced by the Hindu religion and practices their traditional rituals and festivals are still not much changed. Source: http://www.thetribaltribune.com
(...Concluded)
Friday, March 5, 2010
THE TEMPLES IN BURDWAN: Manasa deity
The Nagpanchami day is set apart for special worship of Manasa deity. Songs about the goddess recounting the story of Chand Saudagar, a merchant and a worshipper of Lord Siva are sung. It is said that this area and spotted Chand Saudagar for introducing it. At first the Saudagar, a great devotee of Lord Siva refused to
recognize Manasa as a deity but later he was forced to do so when he lost his only child Lakhindar through snake bite and he was revived by the mercy of Manasa. It is said that the semi-Hinduised aborigines have added Manasa as godhead to the Hindu pantheon.
The Bagdis and Bauris also worship Dharmaraj whose shrines are scattered all over Bengal. A low caste priest, even a Dom or a Bagdi usually worships Dharma- raj and as a rule a shapeless stone painted with vermilion and placed under a tree represents Dharmaraj. Dharmaraj is also worshipped very often in the form of a tortoise. It has been mentioned elsewhere that temples containing the emblem of tortoise are not uncommon.
What is important is that pigs, fowls and ducks are sacrificed for Dharmaraj and offerings are made of rice, flowers, milk and even the home brewn intoxicant pachwai. The worship takes place in the months of Baisakh Jaistha and Ashar, on the day of the full moon and all castes even Brahmins make offerings to Dharma- raj through the officiating low-caste priest. Dharma worship has been taken to be a corrupt form of Buddhism by the great scholar Mahamahopadhyaya HaraPrasad Shastri. "The writers of Tantrik complications among the Hindus,"
recognize Manasa as a deity but later he was forced to do so when he lost his only child Lakhindar through snake bite and he was revived by the mercy of Manasa. It is said that the semi-Hinduised aborigines have added Manasa as godhead to the Hindu pantheon.
The Bagdis and Bauris also worship Dharmaraj whose shrines are scattered all over Bengal. A low caste priest, even a Dom or a Bagdi usually worships Dharma- raj and as a rule a shapeless stone painted with vermilion and placed under a tree represents Dharmaraj. Dharmaraj is also worshipped very often in the form of a tortoise. It has been mentioned elsewhere that temples containing the emblem of tortoise are not uncommon.
What is important is that pigs, fowls and ducks are sacrificed for Dharmaraj and offerings are made of rice, flowers, milk and even the home brewn intoxicant pachwai. The worship takes place in the months of Baisakh Jaistha and Ashar, on the day of the full moon and all castes even Brahmins make offerings to Dharma- raj through the officiating low-caste priest. Dharma worship has been taken to be a corrupt form of Buddhism by the great scholar Mahamahopadhyaya HaraPrasad Shastri. "The writers of Tantrik complications among the Hindus,"
The Story of Behula & Chand Saudagar
The Story of Behula
Manasa Debi was a mind-born daughter31 of Siva. She was born of Siva's semen left on a chikanipata32. She is known as Bisahari33 and said to have extraordinary supernatural power to bless her devotees. She can also ruin and kill those who do not believe in her existence and offer their prayer to her. There was a very rich ship merchant, named Chanrakar. He was also known to the people as Chand Saudagar34. He was a great devotee of Siva. He had six sons and a happy family. He did not consider Manasa as a Goddess. Manasa Debi did not like this attitude of Chand Saudagar and killed all his six sons by sending black snakes. However Chand Saudagar did not relent. One day pleased with the devotion of Chand Siva appeared in his dream and expressed his willingness to bless him with some great things as per the desire of Chand. Chand Saudagar asked him for a son. Siva agreed to bless him with a son but put a condition before him. " If you want to have a son who will have long life, he would be a fool, lethargic and an idiot. Instead if you want to have an ideal, intelligent and handsome son he will die at the early age of 20", said Siva, "now you tell me what exactly you want." After a serious thought Chand Saudagar opted for an intelligent son who would have a short life. Later, Chand's wife gave birth to a male child whose name was Bala Lakshendra or Lakhinder. Lakhinder was bright, intelligent and a very cultured child. Everybody was happy with his behaviour. When he reached the marriageable age his father wanted to solemnise his marriage ceremony with an equally qualified and highly cultured girl. After a great search, Chand Saudagar saw Behula. She was very beautiful, meritorious, highly cultured and a homely girl. Chand also came to know that according to her family tradition every woman dies as a sumangali and none of them would become a widow at any point of time. In this family tradition of Behula, Chand Saudagar saw a ray of hope for his dear and affectionate son Lakhinder and as a result he immediately decided to choose her as his daughter-in-law.
The marriage was solemnised in a happy atmosphere. Lakhinder was bitten by a dangerous cobra at the behest of Manasa Debi on his first night of the bridal-bed in the bridal chamber itself. Lakhinder cried in helplessness and breathed his last. The innocent but firm Behula decided to remain with his dead body on a raft in the river Ganges. Chand and neighbouring people made futile attempts to dissuade her. But she was determined. Finding no other alternative, Chand gave permission to Behula. She started her voyage on a raft along with her husband's dead body. The current slowly carried the raft. She had to face various difficulties in her journey, but she overcame them all. Ultimately she found a washerwoman washing the clothes by the side of the river Ganges. Her small child was disturbing her. Getting irritated with the behaviour of her girl child, the washerwoman killed her baby and started washing her clothes. Once she had washed all her clothes, she sprinkled some drops of water on the face of her baby and the dead baby became alive. Behula took no time to understand the supernatural power of this lady and took shelter at her feet and narrated her the sad story.
In accordance with the advice of washerwoman, Behula reached the Mahadeoloka35 with her. On the instruction of the washerwoman, Behula performed a wonderful dance to please the Lord. The Lord was very impressed by her graceful performance and was moved by the story of her tragic life on earth and heaven. He called Manasa and asked her to give the reasons of her tragedy. Manasa vehemently denied that she was responsible for the tragedy of Behula. However, Behula succeeded in producing definite evidence. But Manasa insisted that she was not responsible for the sad plight of Behula, and it was Chand Saudagar, her father-in-law, who was solely responsible, because he always abused and disrespected Manasa Debi and did not consider her to be a goddess worthy of worship. Manasa then told Behula that if Chand Saudagar were to worship her, she would bring Lakhinder back to life. Behula felt the hope of restoration of life for the corpse of her husband in the statement of Manasa and agreed to her proposal. Manasa then brought Lakhinder and other six sons of Chand Saudagar back to life by chanting spells. At the humble request of Behula, Manasa recovered all the boats of Chand Saudagar along with the cargo and crew that had been submerged by the wrath of Mansa Debi. She thus fulfilled the desire of Behula. With all the seven sons and lost property of Chand Saudagar, Behula came down to the city in the earth where the old eyes of Chand Saudagar and his wife were counting the days to breathe their last. All of a sudden they received all their lost sons along with the cargo and crew.
Now Chand Saudagar realized the power of Behula and gave his consent to worship the deity - Manasa Debi. The goddess blessed him. He realized that there was none except Manasa Debi in these three worlds. Finally, he worshipped Manasa with offerings of various fruits and animals.
Thus, Chand Saudagar, a devout follower of Siva, changed his religious ideas and became one of the staunch followers of the Manasa-cult, which was originally a tantric-cum-folk cult.
Manasa Debi was a mind-born daughter31 of Siva. She was born of Siva's semen left on a chikanipata32. She is known as Bisahari33 and said to have extraordinary supernatural power to bless her devotees. She can also ruin and kill those who do not believe in her existence and offer their prayer to her. There was a very rich ship merchant, named Chanrakar. He was also known to the people as Chand Saudagar34. He was a great devotee of Siva. He had six sons and a happy family. He did not consider Manasa as a Goddess. Manasa Debi did not like this attitude of Chand Saudagar and killed all his six sons by sending black snakes. However Chand Saudagar did not relent. One day pleased with the devotion of Chand Siva appeared in his dream and expressed his willingness to bless him with some great things as per the desire of Chand. Chand Saudagar asked him for a son. Siva agreed to bless him with a son but put a condition before him. " If you want to have a son who will have long life, he would be a fool, lethargic and an idiot. Instead if you want to have an ideal, intelligent and handsome son he will die at the early age of 20", said Siva, "now you tell me what exactly you want." After a serious thought Chand Saudagar opted for an intelligent son who would have a short life. Later, Chand's wife gave birth to a male child whose name was Bala Lakshendra or Lakhinder. Lakhinder was bright, intelligent and a very cultured child. Everybody was happy with his behaviour. When he reached the marriageable age his father wanted to solemnise his marriage ceremony with an equally qualified and highly cultured girl. After a great search, Chand Saudagar saw Behula. She was very beautiful, meritorious, highly cultured and a homely girl. Chand also came to know that according to her family tradition every woman dies as a sumangali and none of them would become a widow at any point of time. In this family tradition of Behula, Chand Saudagar saw a ray of hope for his dear and affectionate son Lakhinder and as a result he immediately decided to choose her as his daughter-in-law.
The marriage was solemnised in a happy atmosphere. Lakhinder was bitten by a dangerous cobra at the behest of Manasa Debi on his first night of the bridal-bed in the bridal chamber itself. Lakhinder cried in helplessness and breathed his last. The innocent but firm Behula decided to remain with his dead body on a raft in the river Ganges. Chand and neighbouring people made futile attempts to dissuade her. But she was determined. Finding no other alternative, Chand gave permission to Behula. She started her voyage on a raft along with her husband's dead body. The current slowly carried the raft. She had to face various difficulties in her journey, but she overcame them all. Ultimately she found a washerwoman washing the clothes by the side of the river Ganges. Her small child was disturbing her. Getting irritated with the behaviour of her girl child, the washerwoman killed her baby and started washing her clothes. Once she had washed all her clothes, she sprinkled some drops of water on the face of her baby and the dead baby became alive. Behula took no time to understand the supernatural power of this lady and took shelter at her feet and narrated her the sad story.
In accordance with the advice of washerwoman, Behula reached the Mahadeoloka35 with her. On the instruction of the washerwoman, Behula performed a wonderful dance to please the Lord. The Lord was very impressed by her graceful performance and was moved by the story of her tragic life on earth and heaven. He called Manasa and asked her to give the reasons of her tragedy. Manasa vehemently denied that she was responsible for the tragedy of Behula. However, Behula succeeded in producing definite evidence. But Manasa insisted that she was not responsible for the sad plight of Behula, and it was Chand Saudagar, her father-in-law, who was solely responsible, because he always abused and disrespected Manasa Debi and did not consider her to be a goddess worthy of worship. Manasa then told Behula that if Chand Saudagar were to worship her, she would bring Lakhinder back to life. Behula felt the hope of restoration of life for the corpse of her husband in the statement of Manasa and agreed to her proposal. Manasa then brought Lakhinder and other six sons of Chand Saudagar back to life by chanting spells. At the humble request of Behula, Manasa recovered all the boats of Chand Saudagar along with the cargo and crew that had been submerged by the wrath of Mansa Debi. She thus fulfilled the desire of Behula. With all the seven sons and lost property of Chand Saudagar, Behula came down to the city in the earth where the old eyes of Chand Saudagar and his wife were counting the days to breathe their last. All of a sudden they received all their lost sons along with the cargo and crew.
Now Chand Saudagar realized the power of Behula and gave his consent to worship the deity - Manasa Debi. The goddess blessed him. He realized that there was none except Manasa Debi in these three worlds. Finally, he worshipped Manasa with offerings of various fruits and animals.
Thus, Chand Saudagar, a devout follower of Siva, changed his religious ideas and became one of the staunch followers of the Manasa-cult, which was originally a tantric-cum-folk cult.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Manasa
Before getting on with this very interesting tale of religion and romance it is necessary to say a few words about Manasa, the Hindu goddess who plays a major role in it.
In most ancient Hindu religious texts Manasa is said to be the daughter of Kasyapa, a famous sage, and Kadru, the sister of the serpent-king Sesha. Unlike her uncle Manasa is still actively worshipped as a goddess who protects and saves humans from snake-bites. Her cult is most prevalent in Bengal where she is ceremoniously worshipped in temples. She is also attributed with the powers of curing infectious diseases like small-pox and of bringing wealth and prosperity. At the onset of the rainy season, when the snakes are most active, she is ritually invoked with sacrifices and offerings. She is probably a pre-Aryan goddess but this tale is of more recent vintage and comes from Bengal where she is most revered and tells how she gained recognition for herself as a potent member of the Hindu pantheon.
Not too long ago, in the fair and lovely land of Bengal, there lived a rich merchant named Chand. He was blessed with six sons but was, unfortunately a widower. Nevertheless he was always attentive to his sons' needs and they never felt the absence of a mother in their lives. They all lived in a beautiful mansion surrounded by colorful gardens nestling by the curvaceous banks of the Ganges. Chand was a devout worshipper of Shiva. He was so ardent in his devotions that he refused to acknowledge any other god or goddess. Manasa heard of this. At that time she had no devotees on earth and she became determined to force Chand to offer worship to her and become her first follower. Since Chand was well-known and widely respected she was sure that if she could get him to worship her other people would follow and she would soon have a large number of devotees. So Manasa approached Chand and ordered him to offer worship to her. Chand was not impressed with the goddess's demand. He ignored her and insulted her, calling her an ugly, black, one-eyed witch who ate frogs. He absolutely refused to give up worship of such a sweet lord as Shiva for a miserable creature like her.
Manasa was furious and, in retribution, dsestroyed Chand's beautiful gardens but Chand had been granted magical powers by Shiva and, with these, rebuilt his gardens instantly. So Manasa devised a new plan to ensnare Chand. She transformed herself into a beautiful maiden and appeared before Chand. Chand was a widower and was enchanted by the beauty of the maiden. He resolved to make her his bride and, without delay, approached her with his marriage proposal. The disguised Manasa was overjoyed with her success and very shrewdly told Chand that she would agree to become his wife if only he conceded his magical powers to her. Chand was so charmed by Manasa's outward appearance that he readily agreed and they were married with great pomp and glory. As soon as this was done, on their wedding night, when Chand approached his new bride, Manasa revealed her true self. She demanded, as before, that Chand forsake Shiva and take up worshipping her. Though greatly shocked Chand was adamant and absolutely refused to worship someone he thought of as the ugly snake woman. This angered Manasa even further and she destroyed Chand's gardens again. This time, as Chand had bequeathed his magical powers to Manasa, he could not rebuild them again. Yet he would not give in to the goddess's demand.
The infuriated goddess now resolved to torment Chand till he would agree to succumb to her wishes. First she had each of Chand's sons, one by one, to get bitten by poisonous snakes. They all died. When Chand still did not submit to her she had his cargo-laden ships capsized. He himself was cast away on a solitary island and he had to overcome a great number of hardships before he could get back home. Still he refused to become his devotee. He started his life all over again. Of all his near and dear ones there was no-one left. This caused him great sorrow but, with great perseverance and industry, Chand rebuild his fortunes and regained his former eminence in the community. He remarried and, soon, a son was born to him. With immense love and affection Chand named him Lakhinder.
The years passed gently and Lakhinder grew up to be a handsome young lad. Everyone loved him for his sweet nature. Chand began to look around for a suitable bride for him. Ultimately he chose Beulah, a lovely girl who he thought would make the perfect match for his son. The couple was betrothed and the wedding date was fixed. Manasa, who had not yet given up her resolve to subdue Chand, heard of this and approached him and again demanded that he give up worship of Shiva and become her follower. As usual Chand refused and Manasa grew furious at his insolence. She threatened him that if he did not do she wanted she would have his son Lakhinder bitten by a poisonous snake on his wedding night but Chand was not one to be easily intimidated. He began building a room made entirely of metal in which he resolved that Lakhinder would spend his wedding night with his bride Beulah.
No snake would ever be able to get into the thoroughly sealed metal cabin. Manasa heard of his plan and appeared before the architect who was to build the metal bridal chamber. She was terrible to look at and was known to be vengeful and bad-tempered. The architect was easily intimidated by her reputation and when she told him that she wanted him to leave a small hole in the door of the metal chamber he fearfully agreed. So Lakhinder's bridal chamber was built. From the outside it look invulnerable but the architect had, in mortal fear of Manasa, left a small hole at the bottom of the only door.
The wedding of Lakhinder and Beulah took place as scheduled with appropriate ceremony. Chand did not spare any effort or money to make the wedding of his only son and heir a memorable event in that part of the country. After the ceremonies and celebrations were over and it was night the bridegroom and bride were led into the metal chamber and Chand himself locked the door from outside. Night fell and the couple, thinking that they were safely ensconced in that impregnable room, observed their first rites of love. Soon after, Lakhinder fell asleep but Beulah lay awake for some time. She was nervous and alert despite the reported security of the room and her fears soon proved to be true. A snake came slithering into the room through the hole in the door. She offered it a dish of milk and it was so grateful for this favor that it left the room without harming her husband.
After this snake after snake slipped into the room through the small aperture the architect had left but Beulah offered each a dish of milk and each went away without harming Lakhinder. At last, however, Beulah could stay awake no more. She was too tired after the day's festivities. Soon after she fell asleep another snake slipped into the room and bit Lakhinder and went away. His cries of pain wakened the entire house but no-one could help. He died, as Manasa had threatened he would if Chand did not obey her command.
It was the custom in the Bengal of that time to set afloat on the river the bodies of persons who had died from snake-bites. Though the custom may seem strange there was logic in it. It was the general belief that a person who had died from snake-bite still had life within his or her body and it needed only an expert snake-charmer to bring such a person back to life.
Thus the dead body was not cremated. It was set afloat on the river in the hope that a snake-charmer may see it and help bring it back to life. So a raft was built and the grief-stricken father arranged for his son's last rites. When the body was ready to be placed on the raft and set afloat Beulah expressed the wish that she too would accompany her husband's dead body on its last voyage. She said that she had come to love him too much to be separated from him even by death. So she too was placed on the raft with Lakhinder's dead body and the raft was set afloat on the surging waters of the broad Ganges.
The raft, with Beulah and the dead body of Lakhinder, drifted down the river for many days and many miles till it reached the estuary where the river met with the sea. This place, The Sunderbans (Beautiful Forests), was a network of distributaries that spread like an intricate cobweb through dense mangrove forests. Very few people lived here as fresh water was scarce. Here, at a bathing place, Beulah saw a washerwoman washing clothes. Her little child was there on the bank and he was crying bitterly, probably demanding something or other. He kept crying till, at length, she became incensed with his tantrums gave him such a hard slap that he died on the spot. Beulah was amazed at this but said nothing. The raft had got struck in a maze of mangrove roots and Beulah could do nothing but sit and watch the woman perform her daily chore. When the woman had finished washing all the clothes she got onto the bank and spread them on the grass to dry. Then she went over to the dead body of her son and sprinkled some water on his face. Beulah was amazed to see that the boy got up and, smiling, took his mother's hand and they both started to walk away.
Beulah realized that the woman was no ordinary mortal and had magical powers and she saw an opportunity in this of reviving her dead husband and called after the washerwoman. She got out of the raft and went up to the woman and told her what had happened to her husband. She pleaded with her asking her to revive her husband as she had done her own child. Actually, the woman had been sent by Manasa to work her miracle with the child before Beulah so that she would be induced to seek her help. Manasa's plan worked and when Beulah asked the woman to help her she immediately led her to the goddess.
When Beulah reached Manasa's abode and asked for her blessing in bringing back her husband to life the goddess told her what she had done. She told Beulah that she was willing to bring Lakhinder back to life only on one condition. That was, that Beulah went back and converted Chand, her father-in-law, to her worship. Beulah readily agreed and, accordingly, Manasa revived Lakhinder. Beulah was overjoyed and, together, husband and wife asked for Manasa's blessings and set off for their home on the same raft that had been used for the terrible journey with Lakhinder's lifeless body.
When they reached home Beulah told her father-in-law about Manasa's condition and that the goddess had threatened to have Lakhinder bitten by a snake if Chand did not obey her. Faced by the pleading eyes of his beautiful daughter-in-law Chand's resolve broke at last. He agreed to offer worship to Manasa but he compromised and, during the rites of worship, used only his left hand to perform the ceremonies.
Nevertheless Manasa was pleased and she blessed Chand and his family with peace and prosperity. Her fame on earth was also established after this story spread and many devotees thronged to her altar. Manasa became a goddess to be feared and revered.
In most ancient Hindu religious texts Manasa is said to be the daughter of Kasyapa, a famous sage, and Kadru, the sister of the serpent-king Sesha. Unlike her uncle Manasa is still actively worshipped as a goddess who protects and saves humans from snake-bites. Her cult is most prevalent in Bengal where she is ceremoniously worshipped in temples. She is also attributed with the powers of curing infectious diseases like small-pox and of bringing wealth and prosperity. At the onset of the rainy season, when the snakes are most active, she is ritually invoked with sacrifices and offerings. She is probably a pre-Aryan goddess but this tale is of more recent vintage and comes from Bengal where she is most revered and tells how she gained recognition for herself as a potent member of the Hindu pantheon.
Not too long ago, in the fair and lovely land of Bengal, there lived a rich merchant named Chand. He was blessed with six sons but was, unfortunately a widower. Nevertheless he was always attentive to his sons' needs and they never felt the absence of a mother in their lives. They all lived in a beautiful mansion surrounded by colorful gardens nestling by the curvaceous banks of the Ganges. Chand was a devout worshipper of Shiva. He was so ardent in his devotions that he refused to acknowledge any other god or goddess. Manasa heard of this. At that time she had no devotees on earth and she became determined to force Chand to offer worship to her and become her first follower. Since Chand was well-known and widely respected she was sure that if she could get him to worship her other people would follow and she would soon have a large number of devotees. So Manasa approached Chand and ordered him to offer worship to her. Chand was not impressed with the goddess's demand. He ignored her and insulted her, calling her an ugly, black, one-eyed witch who ate frogs. He absolutely refused to give up worship of such a sweet lord as Shiva for a miserable creature like her.
Manasa was furious and, in retribution, dsestroyed Chand's beautiful gardens but Chand had been granted magical powers by Shiva and, with these, rebuilt his gardens instantly. So Manasa devised a new plan to ensnare Chand. She transformed herself into a beautiful maiden and appeared before Chand. Chand was a widower and was enchanted by the beauty of the maiden. He resolved to make her his bride and, without delay, approached her with his marriage proposal. The disguised Manasa was overjoyed with her success and very shrewdly told Chand that she would agree to become his wife if only he conceded his magical powers to her. Chand was so charmed by Manasa's outward appearance that he readily agreed and they were married with great pomp and glory. As soon as this was done, on their wedding night, when Chand approached his new bride, Manasa revealed her true self. She demanded, as before, that Chand forsake Shiva and take up worshipping her. Though greatly shocked Chand was adamant and absolutely refused to worship someone he thought of as the ugly snake woman. This angered Manasa even further and she destroyed Chand's gardens again. This time, as Chand had bequeathed his magical powers to Manasa, he could not rebuild them again. Yet he would not give in to the goddess's demand.
The infuriated goddess now resolved to torment Chand till he would agree to succumb to her wishes. First she had each of Chand's sons, one by one, to get bitten by poisonous snakes. They all died. When Chand still did not submit to her she had his cargo-laden ships capsized. He himself was cast away on a solitary island and he had to overcome a great number of hardships before he could get back home. Still he refused to become his devotee. He started his life all over again. Of all his near and dear ones there was no-one left. This caused him great sorrow but, with great perseverance and industry, Chand rebuild his fortunes and regained his former eminence in the community. He remarried and, soon, a son was born to him. With immense love and affection Chand named him Lakhinder.
The years passed gently and Lakhinder grew up to be a handsome young lad. Everyone loved him for his sweet nature. Chand began to look around for a suitable bride for him. Ultimately he chose Beulah, a lovely girl who he thought would make the perfect match for his son. The couple was betrothed and the wedding date was fixed. Manasa, who had not yet given up her resolve to subdue Chand, heard of this and approached him and again demanded that he give up worship of Shiva and become her follower. As usual Chand refused and Manasa grew furious at his insolence. She threatened him that if he did not do she wanted she would have his son Lakhinder bitten by a poisonous snake on his wedding night but Chand was not one to be easily intimidated. He began building a room made entirely of metal in which he resolved that Lakhinder would spend his wedding night with his bride Beulah.
No snake would ever be able to get into the thoroughly sealed metal cabin. Manasa heard of his plan and appeared before the architect who was to build the metal bridal chamber. She was terrible to look at and was known to be vengeful and bad-tempered. The architect was easily intimidated by her reputation and when she told him that she wanted him to leave a small hole in the door of the metal chamber he fearfully agreed. So Lakhinder's bridal chamber was built. From the outside it look invulnerable but the architect had, in mortal fear of Manasa, left a small hole at the bottom of the only door.
The wedding of Lakhinder and Beulah took place as scheduled with appropriate ceremony. Chand did not spare any effort or money to make the wedding of his only son and heir a memorable event in that part of the country. After the ceremonies and celebrations were over and it was night the bridegroom and bride were led into the metal chamber and Chand himself locked the door from outside. Night fell and the couple, thinking that they were safely ensconced in that impregnable room, observed their first rites of love. Soon after, Lakhinder fell asleep but Beulah lay awake for some time. She was nervous and alert despite the reported security of the room and her fears soon proved to be true. A snake came slithering into the room through the hole in the door. She offered it a dish of milk and it was so grateful for this favor that it left the room without harming her husband.
After this snake after snake slipped into the room through the small aperture the architect had left but Beulah offered each a dish of milk and each went away without harming Lakhinder. At last, however, Beulah could stay awake no more. She was too tired after the day's festivities. Soon after she fell asleep another snake slipped into the room and bit Lakhinder and went away. His cries of pain wakened the entire house but no-one could help. He died, as Manasa had threatened he would if Chand did not obey her command.
It was the custom in the Bengal of that time to set afloat on the river the bodies of persons who had died from snake-bites. Though the custom may seem strange there was logic in it. It was the general belief that a person who had died from snake-bite still had life within his or her body and it needed only an expert snake-charmer to bring such a person back to life.
Thus the dead body was not cremated. It was set afloat on the river in the hope that a snake-charmer may see it and help bring it back to life. So a raft was built and the grief-stricken father arranged for his son's last rites. When the body was ready to be placed on the raft and set afloat Beulah expressed the wish that she too would accompany her husband's dead body on its last voyage. She said that she had come to love him too much to be separated from him even by death. So she too was placed on the raft with Lakhinder's dead body and the raft was set afloat on the surging waters of the broad Ganges.
The raft, with Beulah and the dead body of Lakhinder, drifted down the river for many days and many miles till it reached the estuary where the river met with the sea. This place, The Sunderbans (Beautiful Forests), was a network of distributaries that spread like an intricate cobweb through dense mangrove forests. Very few people lived here as fresh water was scarce. Here, at a bathing place, Beulah saw a washerwoman washing clothes. Her little child was there on the bank and he was crying bitterly, probably demanding something or other. He kept crying till, at length, she became incensed with his tantrums gave him such a hard slap that he died on the spot. Beulah was amazed at this but said nothing. The raft had got struck in a maze of mangrove roots and Beulah could do nothing but sit and watch the woman perform her daily chore. When the woman had finished washing all the clothes she got onto the bank and spread them on the grass to dry. Then she went over to the dead body of her son and sprinkled some water on his face. Beulah was amazed to see that the boy got up and, smiling, took his mother's hand and they both started to walk away.
Beulah realized that the woman was no ordinary mortal and had magical powers and she saw an opportunity in this of reviving her dead husband and called after the washerwoman. She got out of the raft and went up to the woman and told her what had happened to her husband. She pleaded with her asking her to revive her husband as she had done her own child. Actually, the woman had been sent by Manasa to work her miracle with the child before Beulah so that she would be induced to seek her help. Manasa's plan worked and when Beulah asked the woman to help her she immediately led her to the goddess.
When Beulah reached Manasa's abode and asked for her blessing in bringing back her husband to life the goddess told her what she had done. She told Beulah that she was willing to bring Lakhinder back to life only on one condition. That was, that Beulah went back and converted Chand, her father-in-law, to her worship. Beulah readily agreed and, accordingly, Manasa revived Lakhinder. Beulah was overjoyed and, together, husband and wife asked for Manasa's blessings and set off for their home on the same raft that had been used for the terrible journey with Lakhinder's lifeless body.
When they reached home Beulah told her father-in-law about Manasa's condition and that the goddess had threatened to have Lakhinder bitten by a snake if Chand did not obey her. Faced by the pleading eyes of his beautiful daughter-in-law Chand's resolve broke at last. He agreed to offer worship to Manasa but he compromised and, during the rites of worship, used only his left hand to perform the ceremonies.
Nevertheless Manasa was pleased and she blessed Chand and his family with peace and prosperity. Her fame on earth was also established after this story spread and many devotees thronged to her altar. Manasa became a goddess to be feared and revered.
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