Tribal Religion
Religion of Santhal | Religion of Oraons | Religion of Mundas | Religion of Hos
Religion plays an important part in the life of tribals. Their belief in gods and goddesses, in bhuts and spirits is engrained in them from their childhood. The worship of these supernatural beings is supposed to protect them from all evils and calamities, both natural and supernatural enhance the fertility of their community, domestic animals and agricultural fields. Religion also serves to engender and strengthen group consciousness and solidarity among them.
Every tribal village has in one of its corners a sacred grove called Jaher or sarma. The village has a priest, he is known variously as the pathan, the deuri, the naik, the kelo and so on. It is he who performs all worship on behalf of the whole village. He is chosen from among the most ancient families of the village for a term which varied from tribe to tribe and place to place. He is held in high esteem by the villagers and enjoys manifold privileges.
People living in tribal villages have a deep-rooted faith in evil spirits, demons and witches. This accounts for the prestigious position held by spirit doctors in tribal villages. They are popularly known as Mati or Ohja. These spirit doctors are believed to cure people of the diseases and miseries caused by malevolent spirits. They are also regarded as physicians possessing knowledge of medicinal herbs and capable of curing the diseased by means of herbs as well as magical incantations.
Religion is in extricably woven into the social life of the Santhals. It has strengthened the social unity of these tribal people, inspired in them a sense of social responsibility and endowed them with a strong consciousness of the righteousness. They have no temples or idols for purposes of worship. They look up on natural objects like hills and dales, trees and groves with great reverential awe. The Santhal Pantheon is essentially hierarchical in character. Singbonga is the Supreme Being and the omnipotent deity who ranks highest in this hierarchy. He is believed to be the creator and destroyer of all creatures inhabiting both the visible and invisible world. There is no idol to represent him nor any temple or shrine for his worship. Inferior in status to Singbonga is the deity called Marang-Baru, the guardian of the Santhal village who is invoked on all ceremonial occasions. Other deities are Jaher-Buri and deities known as 'five and six'. All the deities are worshipped by the Naik, village priest. He is held in high esteem by the villagers and enjoys a number of privileges denied to common folk. The Santhals have an extra priest called Kadam Naik who performs such functions as are entrusted to him by the chief priest. The mati or Ojha is a spirit doctor possessing knowledge of the herbs as well as other malevolent spirits.
The Oraons believe in hosts of Gods, goddesses and the spirits of their ancestors. Dharmes is the omnipotent deity to them who creates and destroys the world whenever he likes, he is not worshipped in any shrine or temple. The Oraons have a sacred grove for the worship of numerous other deities who are said to belong to ten different grades. They are worshipped offerings and sacrifices by the village priest popularly known as the Pahan on behalf of the entire village.
In olden days the Pahan used to be the sacerdotal as well as the secular headman of the village. Later the office of the secular headman grew very important and was entrusted to another member of the same class to which the Pahan belonged. Sometimes the Pahan has to perform so many varied functions that he is given an assistant called the Pujar. A large number of the Oraons believe in witchcraft and worship Hindu gods. The worship of the Devi Mai seems to be greatly in vogue in most of the Oraon settlement. The Oraons have borrowed this practice from Hindus. They have assimilated it so fully in their religion that one is apt to mistake it for an indigenous custom. They worship goddess collectively on behalf of the entire village. In many Oraon villages a small mud-built house roofed with tiles for the worship of this Hindu deity.
The Mundas are polytheists and worship numerous deities and spirits. Singbonga is their Supreme Being, he is not merely a spectator of their deeds but possess the authority to punish evil-doers, he ranks highest in their Pantheon. The spirits of their ancestors are called Orabongako-the house hold gods.Hatubongako or the village gods occupy the most significant place, they are regarded as the guardians of the village and their help is invoked in agricultural and other economic operations. All the deities are worshipped by the village priest known as the Pahan on behalf of the entire community.
The presence of the spirits of the ancestors is very real to the Mundas. The Mundas really feel that they are constantly with them in the house. A few days after a man dies, his spirits is brought from the grave by an elaborate ceremony to live in the house which was his during his life time. To the Mundas, there are gods or spirits in many natural objects such as mountain-peaks, waterfalls and trees.
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account for peculiarities of certain animals. Bonga, the chief god, cast certain people out or heaven; they fell to earth, found iron ore, and began smelting it. The black smoke displeased Sing Bonga, who sent two king crows and an owl to bid people A cease to pollute the atmosphere. But the iron smelt ers spoiled these birds’ tails, and blackened the previously white crow, scorched its beak red, and flattened its
head. Sing Bonga burned man, and turned woman
into hills and waterspouts.1 Examples of this class of myth in Indo-Aryan litera- ture are not hard to find. Why is dawn red? Why are donkeys slow P Why have mules no young ones ? Mules have no foals because they were severely burned when Agni (fire) drove them in a chariot race. Dawn
is red, not because (as in Australia) she wears a red
kangaroo cloak, but because she competed in this race
with red cows for her coursers. Donkeys are slow because they never recovered from their exertions in the same race, when the Asvins called on their asses and landed themselves the winners.2 And cows are accommodated with horns for a reason no less probable and satisfactory. Though in the legends of the less developed peoples men and women are more frequently metamorphosed into birds and beasts than into stones and plants, yet
such changes of form are by no means unknown. To
the north-east of 'Western Point there lies a range of
hills, inhabited, according to the natives of Victoria, by I Dalton, pp. 186-187. ye yi 2 Aitareya Bmhmema, ii. 272, iv. 9. 3 iv. 17. Y
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Myth,_Ritual,_and_Religion_(Volume_1).djvu/172Since the sacred groves are not disturbed and are the surviving pieces of natural climax vegetation, they are the priceless treasure houses of certain rare and important flora and fauna. Be it a patch, a single or cluster of sacred trees, a lot of conservation concern has been imbibed in to the concept of sacred groves. People exhibit several strong emotional bonds attached to the grove. The area is always treated as a sanctum sanctorum.
Maximum 322 sacred groves are recorded from Semiliguda block of Koraput district and from 192 groves, dead wood and several non-timber forest produces are gathered (Malhotra et al. 2000).
The sacred groves have multifarious values for more than one reason. People strongly believed that the grove is the abode of deities who looks after the welfare and well being of the local people. The utility and importance of sacred groves can broadly be summarized and grouped in the following two headings:
i) Ecological and environmental importance,
ii) Socio-cultural importance
Ecological and Environmental Importance: Groves protected through religious beliefs play catalytic role in ecological and environmental management tuned to the region. Ecologists and environmentalists believe that groves are repository of gene pools and act as reservoir of biological diversity because these are protected since olden days and act as 'climax forest', which harbour variety of flora. Such island of climax vegetation amidst a degraded landscape can be seen in many parts of Koraput and Kalahandi districts.
Groves harbour variety of wild animals. Poachers do not dare to enter in these protected areas, therefore, it acts as a reservoir of wild life. These relict forests are paradigm of repository of wild germ plasm of the area, which could be exported to and used in afforestation programmes of damaged sites.
Socio-cultural importance: The groves play a number of socio-cultural functions, which are not easily discernible. Villagers feel that village would be protected by the deity against famine and epidemic diseases. The ritual significance helps in curbing mental agonies and anxieties and gives a moral confidence to the people. It psychologically prepares them to encounter the nature and natural calamities and disasters with a greater confidence and courage. The rituals connected with the groves also provide chance to the people to spare few moments from their busy daily routine to be devoted to religious purposes. The groves also play a catalytic role in the social dynamics at both intra and inter village level stability.
Some tribes who have beliefs on scared groves : The tribal people of Orissa worship nature and believe that nature is to be kept satisfied if it is to provides all their needs. The sun, the earth, hills, rivers, streams, rain, forests and trees etc are objects of common worship.
Pauri- Bhuyan , Kandhs Santals, Oraons and Mundas and sarna dharma (sacred groves)
The concept of Sarna dharma originates from the common traditional religious institution of"sacred grove" found in the tribal village, which is regarded as the seat of one or more than one important village level deities including the village tutelary designated differently among various Mundari and Dravidian speaking tribes of Chhotanagpur and surrounding regions, comprising a large contiguous tribal belt covering parts of the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh . Literally, the term Sarna is a Mundari word meaning the "Sacred grove" and he term Dharma is an Indo-Aryan linguistic term, ordinarily meaning "religion". A tree in a Sarna may not be damaged or felled without the leave of the Pahan (Village Priest) who however, would first offer a sacrifice in the Sarna where the trees stand.
Noted ethnographer Dr. S.C Roy observed that every Oraon (one of the tribes) village has the super natural institution of Sarna of grove of sal trees dedicated to their mighty tutelary deity "Chhala Pacchho"(or the old lady of the grove) who is also known by other names such as Sarna burhia and Jhakra burhia. "Chala Panchho" the chief deity of Sarna ordinarily resides in the sacred Chala-Kuti the holy compartment inside the house of the village Pahan. During the annual Sarhul festival she represented by the Sarna-sup is led in a procession by the Pahan accompanied by the villager to the Sarna.
The Munda, an important Kolarian speaking one of the major tribes of Orissa who are also the immediate neighbours of Oraons, share the common holy institution of Sarna with the latter, though there are difference in their nature of religious beliefs, rituals as well as orientations. The Munda pantheon is composed of their supreme deity, Sing Bonga (The Sun god) at the apex, the nature gods, ancestral sprits, village deities. These deities or gods save the village from diseases and calamities and bring prosperity. In a Munda village, according to Dr. Sachidananda "Sarna" and "Jayar" is a protected place I situated between thickly grown trees, which are forbidden to be cut.
The concept and practice of Sarna extends to another major and important Mundari speaking tribe the Santal, living in the same habitat and eco-cultural region as those of the Oraon and Munda. This holy institution in a Santal village is called Jaherthan in shortcut Jahera (Holy grove). The Santals believe that deities residing in the Holy grove do welfare for the Santal villages.
Most tribes believe that the sun god is the creator and master of the universe and call it by many names. The Juangs and Bhuyans call it "Dharam Devta", the Kohla and Santals " Sing Bonga'. Other tribes worship other deities from nature as the creators of the Universe. The worships of the earth is common. Called the "Basumata" by Santals, Bhuyans and Juangs "Dharani" by Kandhs : "Basuki thakurani" by Kolhas, the worship of the earth goddess acquires special significance, since rituals of worship, for a good harvest starts every cultivation.
Food for the tribals consist of roots, leaves, flowers and fruits that they get from the forests. They therefore, not only worship the forests, but also revel in religious ceremonies and festivals connected with it. Bhinjals and Parajas call their forest god "Danger Devta" Bandas, 'Uga" and "Remngbori", Kolhas "Bura Bonga" Khandhs "Laipenu" and soon. Considering nature as their creator, sustainer and provider, the tribals have imbibed a deep love for nature that is primeval and instinctive.
The months of March-April and May-June provide occasions for festivities as fruits and flowers are harvested. Bhattaras and Koyas celebrate the first eating of mangoes after offering them to deities in the "Chaita-Parab" and "Bijja Podu' festivals respectively. Binjhals and Santals observe the first eating of Mohua flowers during the "Makulbhaja Parab" and "Baha Parab". Sal, Neem and Asan trees are considered sacred, "Zahira" by both Santals and Kolhas, because their village deities dwell in it. Rivers, streams and hills are also the objects of tribal worship. Bandas call their stream deities' "Kapur chuan" and "Doliang" and Kandhs "Gungipenu". The deity is variously called " Buru Borga" by Santals "Vinding" by the Bandas and "Bhinapenu" by the Kandhs.
Karma is a beautiful example of tree worship among the tribal people in central and eastern India. Karma festivals though it is more a tribal festival it is well within the fold of the Sambalpur folk tradition. The numerous tribes of the states namely, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal celebrate the festival. The adorable deity of Karma festival is Karamsani who is represented by a twig branch called Karma dal. This type of personification of a branch as devi is not surprising as trees have held a special place in the spiritual tradition of Ancient India. Karam Sani has been regarded as the goddess of vegetation, fertility and destiny. It may be noted here that Karam Sani can be identified with a twig branch of different trees in the same of different places. For example, in Sambalpur, a branch of Sal tree represents the deity. The Nagesia from Chhatishgarh and the Oraons, Mundas and Santals of various places worship Adina cordifolia (Kurum).
3.7.7.8 Forest dependence : Tribal dependence on forest is symbiotic. The relation between the tribals and forest is like that of fish and water says Prof. Radha Mohan. Forests are not only one of the major sources of their subsistence, but are also significantly related to their religion and mythology. The Kandhs of Ganjam claim descent from a woman, whose body parts are supposed to be made of Bel fruit, Sandalwood and Kawal mushrooms. Tribals of Kalahandi believe that their ancestors survived by drinking the juice of "Salap" tree after a catastrophe of "Ban Devta" the forest as a god to be appeased ensures the renewal of the species while working as a self-imposed law against the destruction of forest.
Tribal Culture and Biodiversity
Tribes in tribal habitats live in harmony with nature. There seems to have very positive links between tribal culture and biodiversity. Tree worship is part and parcel of tribal culture and some major tribes call their religion Saran Dharam, meaning worship of trees. Sal tree is often worshipped by the ‘Santhals’ and its leaves are must for any kind of worship. Tribal grow trees all around ‘jahira’ – their place of worship. Tribal are well acquainted with medicinal plants in forests and till today they mostly depend on these herbal medicines for treatment of any kind of ailments. All such positive links of tribal culture with biodiversity can be used as positive resources to conserve biodiversity in tribal areas ( for forest cover in tribal districts of Orissa – see Table 3.16). But there are also some aspects of tribal culture which adversely impact biodiversity – tribal annual hunt ( Sandrakarka) and podu cultivation. In the past when there was immense forest coverage and unlimited wild forest animals, these did little harm. But in the present context these aspects of tribal culture are to be restrained, may be through persuasion and awareness raising.
The symbiotic relation between the tribals and natural environment is disappearing fast due to the loss of beliefs, change in crop as well as fooding patterns. Tribals were well acquainted with medicinal plants in forests and were depending on these herbal medicines for treatment of all kind of ailments. But with rapid change in their behaviour and attitude they moved form indigenous herbal practices to modern day medicines, hence those indigenous practices as well as the list of priceless ethnomedicinal plants have lost. In addition to that, weakening of religious beliefs and the changing attitude of the communities are adversely affecting the traditional ways and means of effective conservation practices. That leads to extinction of more rare and endangered flora and fauna.
In overall, the tribal cultural traits go well with conservation of biodiversity. In fact they are the right people to work for it. The tribal love for tree and religious association with tree can positively be used for plantation and protection of forests. They can also be trained to grow medicinal herbs. Tribals do have the age old practices of water harvesting and management, which can be taken into watershed activities. Now the time has come to think over the betterment of the original inhabitants of the land, water and forests as it indirectly serve the concept of sustainable development. A special pro-tribal policy is necessary to protect and promote their livelihood system, relationship with nature, autonomy equity and culture.
http://cciori.org/scared_gro1.htm
Religious faith in Tribal community
The majority of Tribal population belongs to Ho community. Basically dependent on cultivation Ho communities believe in nature. They believe in Sarna religion .The village has its sacred grove Sarna place or Jahira where the village God Desauli resides with his consort Jahira Buri. Naser Bonga residing in water is the presiding deity of water. The main God and Goddesses in Ho community are: -
1.Sing Bonga –The sole creator of the nature and the principal deity.
2.Marang Bonga – Next to Sing Bonga Marang Bonga is worshipped at the times of great difficulties.
3.Deshauli – The God of village who nourishes all the human beings, animals, birds & trees and gives relief from disease, trouble and natural calamity.
4.Pawnee – Associate of Deshauli who lives in hills.
5.Nage Era and Bindi Era – water Goddesses who lives in lakes and ponds.
6.Others – In Ho community there is a separate kitchen cum worship room known as Andi. After the death of a family member they establish the soul in Andi where the soul is being worshipped regularly. At the time of difficulties they worship them to keep their family in good health and peace. They use to address these holy souls as “Hadanko-Tudanko” which means such elders who are in sleeping stage.
The priest or Deuri worships the Bongas on the occasion of every important festival. He offers prayer along with offerings of Illi or Rice-bear and fowl. To the Hos, diseases are usually caused through the interference of a evil spirit. To counteract these evils there are many Hindu deities such as Dehima, Durgama, Kalima, and HanmanBir etc. are involved along with the typical tribal deities.
There is no place for idolatry in traditional Ho religion. The religion is entirely practical concerned with happiness in this world. Hos believe that death is caused by the escape of the soul through mouth, nostrils or the eyes. The soul is ordinarily invisible, but may appear at will in any form. There is no concept of good or evil and corresponding belief in heaven or hell associated with soul.
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Emergence of TARINI-CULT:
Process of Sanskritization of a Tribal Deity in Orissa
- S. Swayam
©
Introduction:
It is said that the kingdom of God is within the individual, and this is not a mere cliché. The
individual personality is endowed with a laboratory within itself, which is of infinite
potential. Individual as a part of a cultural continuum not only subscribe to his cultural
inheritance, as well subsumes ongoing cultural dynamism during his lifetime. Hence the
attributes of ‘kingdom of God’ change in accordance to the level of the subjugation of the self
within a particular context. The self here can be circumscribed as the scheme that shapes the
identity, and the discourse that determines one’s position in the society and nature. In other
words, the self is a mental state created by external forces, natural, social, and economic. It is
often observed that society is relieved of its mental conflicts and tensions through the creation
of folktales, myths or legends. Folklore in such a case becomes the external manifestation of
a specific mental state (Raghavan 1999: 32-33). The expression of this mental state varies in
different communities and has variants. It is encountered both in the oral and written forms,
depending on the mode of communication that suits its participants. Ritual attached to these
legends or myths not only assures a greater degree of participation, its performance as well
endows a scope for a social and spiritual recreation.
In this brief paper I will discuss summarily the conception of Tarini cult, connecting the
legends, rituals and dogmas that plays an important role in configurating the mental state of
its constituency of participants. The key catchment of this cult is around a fast growing
township at Ghatgaon, in Kendujhar district, Orissa. A large majority of the population of the
district comprises of several schedule castes and schedule tribes. There are 46 Schedule tribes
in the district of which the principal tribes are: Bathudi, Bhuiyan, Bhumij, Gond, Ho, Juang,
Kharwar, Kisan, Kolha, Kora, Munda, Oraon, Santal, Saora, Shabar, and Sounti. (Census
1971). According to the 1971 census, 98.83 percent of the people are Hindus. Such a
statistical projection of the religious composition of the population accrues to an
inappropriate classification. The description of the Hindu population of the district in the
Kendujhar District Gazetteer may expose the actual religious composition of the district
threadbare. "Among the Hindus, most of the people are semi-Hinduized aboriginals. They
have adopted Hindu customs and they worship Hindu gods. They claim to be orthodox
Hindus, but side by side worship their own tribal gods and sylvan deities." (Orissa District
Gazetteer, Kendujhar 1986: 65). The lofty hills and dense forest in the northern part of the
district nestles the majority of the tribal population of the district. The hill ranges gradually
descends to the south with gentle slopes and then spread out to the coastal plain. The cult
centre of Tarini at Ghatgaon is located at the frontier of the north south divide, hence a
natural spot for the interface of the coastal Hindu population and the forest communities.
The extension of this cult to the southern coastal tract is a recent phenomenon and the
popularity of its new incarnation in the northern part of the district owes to the external
factors such as industrialisation, mining, forest conservation and modern democratic
institutions. A well-developed communication network Commensurate its growth as a
modern centre for pilgrimage. The tribal weekly market now has been replaced by a semiurban
tourist market flooded with different decorative items, plaques, lockets, and posters all
addressing both the local theme of the cult of Tarini and its wider allies of other minor and
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major Hindu cults. New restaurants and hotels are coming up to cater to the growing needs of
a vast number of pilgrims in this small township. The shrine of the Tarini has also undergone
major modifications to suit the emerging need of the commercial pilgrimage.
Though a section of the local population express satisfaction over this prosperity, a few of
them contemplate over a calm, quiet and tranquil atmosphere at the shrine of Tarini. The
oldest witness to the Tarini shrine recalls a time when the Dehuri from the nearby village
walked up to the shrine in the morning amidst occasional encounters with wild animals
enroute to perform one time daily ritual at the shrine. There was nothing substantial in terms
of cement and bricks in the
Shala, as the shrine is referred in local language. A nonanthropomorphic
icon, a non-descript and non-distinguished piece of stone to an outsider
resting under a tree, for the local tribal population bequeathed supernatural power and was
worshipped as their great mother goddess. Besides the festive occasions, in ordinary days the
Dehuri was the only visitor to the shrine. The non-local visitors, who happen to pass by,
made their offerings without any mediation. The Tarini
shala in those days was in no way
different than its hundred other counterparts still existing in isolated tribal pockets of this
region. The
shala in its original context is a sacred groove where the mother goddess of a
particular village or a group of villages lived under the shade of trees. The believers in her
offered her food and animal sacrifice and donated terracotta horses to appease her. The
situation started changing in the 1960s, when a small concrete shrine was erected over the
deity keeping her natural abode, the tree under which she lived, intact. Since then generous
donors have been making additions to the architecture and decorum of the shrine.
At present, a fenced premise of slightly above five acres of land is referred as the
shala of
Tarini. Though, the tree cover has thinned down, yet the presence of an adequate number of
trees within the premise keeps the place cool and shady. While the earlier concrete shed over
the deity is renovated to give it a look of a modern temple, a wide corridor encircles the
shrine to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims. A huge façade with its monumental
splendour is no less a match to the magnitude of the divinity of the deity. The recent
architectural renovation has taken due care of the diverse necessity of space for various
religious activities added to the daily and yearly calendar of events at the shrine. On the other
hand, a well-planned parking space, drinking water facilities, and other civic amenities make
it a modern planned pilgrimage centre. A government nominated trusty with the help of a
board of management is entrusted to supervise the daily affairs of the temple. Though the
place is still referred as Tarini
shala by the local people it has assumed all necessary
structural and functional attribute of a temple. The proposed development plan of the board
of trusties seems to lead it further to make it as an ideal place for religious tourism. Their
future development plans include a swimming pool, landscaping and gardening in the temple
premise. The perceptive board of trusties thus have taken due leadership to transform the
ordinary sacred groove to a well equipped elaborate landscape for spiritual and social
recreation!!!
Their worldview: A forthright attitude to life
These forest communities lived a hard life deriving all the necessities of the life from the
nature. Their cultural milieu is interlaced with shifting cultivation and hunting gathering.
Their interaction with the nature and the fellow men shapes their aspiration and apprehension
about the supernatural forces. For instance, they believe in the supernatural power of the
Earth in the matters of reproduction, just as the natural capability of their women in
reproduction. Consequently, the Earth in their spiritual world becomes the great mother
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goddess
Basu Mata. They propitiate her for success in agriculture, for a progeny, and all
other similar matters related to reproduction. Following a similar scheme of reasoning, the
Sun is the supreme God, who controls the activities in the male domain. In addition to this
major recognition of the male and female domains in their belief system, there are other
minor spirits holding their own specific field of influence. Let us take an account of the major
deities of some of the communities in this region.
The Bathudis worship village deities like Basuki, Budhipata, Sarapata, Badaon, Hatiani,
Baunaberi, and Kendu Basuki. All these deities are worshipped in the shape of blocks of
stone. The chief deities of Bhuiyans are the Sun god and Earth goddesses. They believe in the
existence of village and forest deities along with a number of spirits who bring disease and
trouble to the society. The supreme deity of Ho’s is Sing Bonga. Like other tribes they spend
their whole life in fear and dread of evil spirits.
For Juangas Dharam Devta and Basumata are the two supreme deities. The former is
identified with the Sun god and the latter with Earth goddesses. There are also a number of
hill forest and river deities in the Juanga pantheon. They also believe on ghosts and spirits,
and offer food to their ancestors on the festive occasions. The supreme deity of Santals is
called
Thakur Jiu or Sing Bonga, meaning Sun god. There are several village deities among
whom
Maran Buru is the chief and is worshipped in the Jaherthan (holy grove) of the village.
Besides the aforementioned deities, there are numerous deities and spirits commonly known
as
pats presiding over the local hills and forests. Goddess Earth is known as Basuki or
Basumata among them and is worshipped for the welfare of agriculture. Sountis though
revere Sun god (Dharam Devata) and goddess Earth (Basuki Mata).
The common tradition of propitiation of natural elements such as sun and earth suggests the
contextual suitability of animistic belief system among these communities. In every village
there is almost invariably a village priest who is known as Dehuri. They appease the evil
spirits and the sylvan deities of their community with sacrifices of buffaloes, goats and fowls.
Even within this common matrix of a belief system that includes the sun and the earth as two
common supernatural powers, each of them had a fixed territory. The territorial limit often
followed the territorial marking of the group that propitiated them. Hence, in a true sense all
of them were local deities attached to a particular group and to a particular village. These
village gods/goddesses are purely local deities, inflicting or warding off diseases and other
calamities. They seem never to be regarded as having any relation to the world as a whole,
and their worship is the religion of localised groups whose thoughts do not travel beyond
their own surroundings and personal needs.
The belief system that covers the natural elements such as Sun and Earth, forest deities and
other spirits is prompted by fear and suspicion. They inspire fear because of their power to do
grievous harm by inflicting diseases and injuries on man and beast when they are offended.
They are the product of fear untouched by philosophic reflection. The moral depth in this
form of spirituality seems to primarily emanate from the verdict of the spirit. The
construction of the supernatural power is perceived as specific feelings of anger, desire, and
favour of the particular spirit. The stone or any other representation is not considered as the
deity; rather it is just treated as their abode. The sole object then, of the worship of these
village deities is to propitiate them and to avert their wrath, to fulfil their desire, or to ask her
favour for success in a particular venture. There is no idea of praise and thanksgiving, no
expression of gratitude, no desire for any spiritual and moral blessings. Worship therefore in
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most of the cases takes place occasionally, as and when the occasion emerges. The term
worship here is a misnomer. The purpose of various rites and ceremonies is not to worship
the deity in any true sense of the word, but simply to propitiate or placate it for a specific
worldly purpose.
The Tarini Legend:
The man creates gods for his own desires, and the legends articulate their formation. Several
concurrent legends on Tarini are found among her followers. Though most of the short stories
are still in the oral medium, some of them are also now available in print. The version of the
legend published in 1997 by the ‘Ma Tarini Temple Trust’ is highly structured and enclose all
aspects of the newly emerging cult centre. In addition this help us to reveal the institutional
milieu that has provided leadership in the making of this popular cult. We will also
incorporate a few auxiliary mystic tales more frequently articulated in the public space.
In this brief discussion our focus will set on the version of a legend published in a booklet
titled ‘The Great Mother Tarini’. The booklet release the discourse with a declaration by the
author G. N. Singh that his book is the only book to provide complete and authentic
information on the cult of Tarini. He emphasizes that the anthropomorphic description of Ma
Tarini in his book is accurate as the description is based on a divine experience with Ma
Tarini herself. The same point gets further reinforcement by a successive section that brings
in the complacent personal spiritual life of the author. He elaborates here the context in which
he received the order from ‘the universal Mother’ to engrave the anthropomorphic description
of the Tarini. Though this is not the solitary attempt to envisage her in human form, but, this
makes a significant departure from the several local oral sources that describe her as ‘a black
lady riding a black horse dressed in a black sari’. In this printed version, the author seeks to
correct the popular folk belief by his claim through a divine experience. He describes goddess
Tarini as ‘a divine female with a golden colour skin riding a red horse and dressed in a red
sari’. Such an attempt to transform the popular perception becomes more interesting and
ordains a more critical examination as the text is published and distributed by the apex
institutional body that holds the crucial power of decision making.
An additional section of this booklet provides a short prelude to Ma Tarini as a deity. Here
the author introduces her as an incarnation of mother Durga and discusses about several other
manifestation of the goddess as is described in sacred texts. Though Tarini and Durga are the
different manifestation of the same ‘
shakti’, the author sponsors a distinct iconographic
identity for Tarini. According to him, Tarini has four hands instead of ten hands as in the case
of Durga. She bears Chakra in the upper left arm and Trisul in the lower left arm. In the right
hand side she holds a sword in the upper arm and bestows blessing in the lower arm. It seems
to be an initial attempt to portray the deity in this iconographic form, although at present the
deity is still portrayed in her original non-anthropomorphic form.
A section of panegyric poetry in vernacular then follows a short compilation of Sanskrit
verses to lift the reader from the localised spiritual experience to the universal and principal
religion. The eulogy is presented as an inventory of different manifestation of the
Shakti at
different locations along with both malevolent and benevolent attitudes to her devotees. The
description includes all the important
Shakti Pithas in Orissa, both ancient and modern. It
also includes few famous places of
Shakti worship from the rest of the country. The structure
of the eulogy thus strongly propagates a religious sense of geography, which contravenes the
confines of secular geography of the region. The preaching of this concocted ‘sacred
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geography’ through the medium of belief system to illiterate and semiliterate members of
surrounding communities hence do not qualify as innocent eulogy. It is definitely a small
prank in a larger hoax.
The reader is then finally introduced to the version of the legend with claims of adequate
support of ‘historical facts’. The legend begins with a section on the historical background of
erstwhile feudatory state of Kendujhar.
"Five hundred years ago, the Kendujhar state was different than what we see it today.
Kendujhar state was then an important feudatory state under the Gajapati king who ruled
from his capital city Puri. At that time mostly Kondh, Bhuiyan, and other Sabara
communities inhabited this princely state. The region was deeply forested and was devoid of
any convenient and safe communication route… Trilochan Bhanja was the then king of the
Keonjhar. Govind Bhanja, the son of Trilochan Bhanja was born in the year 1450 AD. He
grew into a courageous and intelligent prince in due time. For some petty differences with his
father, Govind Bhanja left his parental state in his youth and went to Puri. Since his
childhood he was a devotee of Mata, hence lived a quiet life in Puri devoting all his time in
the propitiation of his beloved Mother."
(Singh 1997: 16-17)
One of the significant aspects of this version of the legend is that it not only integrates
different mystic tales concerned with Tarini, it also knits other popular historical tales popular
among coastal Hindu population to strengthen the authenticity of the composite formation of
the legend. There is an insertion on the historical proceedings that led to the coronation of
Purushottam Deva, the
dasiputra, who later was known as the most illustrious king of Puri
and an ardent devotee of Lord Jagganath.
"
Purushottam Deva was born from an royal attendant of the then king Kapilendra Deva.
Kapilendra Deva had eighteen sons from his duly married queens. It was hard for the king to
decide his successor to his throne. Hence he requested Lord Jagganath to guide him on this
matter. Lord Jagganath instructed Kapilendra to visit his temple with all his offsprings. The
Lord said that while all of them approach the temple, the upper cloth of the king would fall
down. The one among the offsprings who collects the cloth shall be your successor. The king
followed the instruction of the lord the very next day. The shoulder cloth of the king was
blown away on the steps approaching the temple. It was Puria (Purushottam Deva was
known by this name at that time) picked up the cloth while others remained silent observers.
The king himself was surprised over the turn of the event, but he respected the wish of the
Lord Jagganath and declared Purushottam as his successor. After the death of kapilendra
Deva, Purushottam Deva was coroneted as the king in 1467 AD."
(Ibid: 18-22)
This piece of the popular tale seems to provide here the crucial link of the royal patronage to
the religion. The moral penetration of this historical tale craftily juxtaposes a good ruler with
a good patron of the religion. Another moral premise that receives an implicit significance in
the public domain is the claim to the equality before the divine power. One of the well-known
aspects of the cult of Jagganath, the most popular cult in Orissa, is the ritual significance
granted to the lower castes, in the temple rituals. It is important to remind you here that the
Jagannath cult had emerged from a similar tribal context, which had received the royal
patronage in the early medieval time. Again, there is a great deal of controversy about the
historicity of this popular belief on the relationship of Purushottam Deva with Kapilendra
Deva. Though the historical records are silent on this issue, this narration is found in the
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Madala Panji, the chronicle of the Jagganath Temple. In retrospect, thus, this popular belief
validated through the medium of writing in the temple source proclaims the equation of
power between the state and religion. The present analysis seems to unfold a similar chapter
where we find the temple source fiddles with the historical information to assimilate power
through religious campaigns.
Whether it is the ignorance emanating from the blind
devotion that instigate a learned devotee or a group of followers to misrepresent the
religious hallucination as historical information, or a conscious drive to incorporate the
mystical oral traditions into the design that fits best for a religious campaign however
remains a moot point.
After carefully outlining the politico-religious background of the Purushottam Deva, who is
believed to be the contemporary of the Govind Bhanja, the most important royal character in
the legend of Tarini, the legend shifts to the Puranic realm. Author indulges in a synoptic
presentation of the Ramayana and takes the narration quickly to the
Vanavasa episode. When
the search for Sita ends in vain, Rama finally decides to appease Durga. Durga conciliates to
the devotion of Rama and manifests herself before rama, however with the clause that Rama
will not try to see him. But Rama unconsciously takes a glance at her. According to the prior
understanding Durga turns into a stone at the spot.
"
This unexpected turn of the event tormented Rama for a moment, but he soon collected
himself. Then he rummaged around the forest for somebody to hand over the responsibility
of daily worship of this new manifestation of Durga at the place. Kondhs were the only
community living in that forest. Hence, Rama narrated the whole story to a Kondh, and
entrusted him the duty of daily worship to him. Rama introduced Durga to them as the deity
who will save them from all kinds of misery and ill-luck. Consequently, Durga was refered as
Tarini (the etymological meaing of the term is the saviour) by the Kondhs. Kondhs offered
regular worship to the deity. They offered her meat along with fruits from the forest
." (Ibid:
22-24)
This may be taken as a classic example how a source in dominant tradition would represent
the transition. The source though recognizes the involvement of the Kondhs in the worship of
Tarini, it essentially portrays the deity as a circumstantial relinquish to them. It also defines a
comfortable space to explain the contingency in the non-conforming ritual practices of the
past. After dissolving two of the most important issues in the submergence of this essentially
tribal deity by this anecdote from the great epic Ramayana, now the legend shifts to the
historical domain. This is a shift from the epical time- the bottomless non-segmented
temporal sphere- to the humdrum of the synthetic confines of the historical time. We find
here an obscure merger of the typical Hindu cyclical conception of time with the western
linear notion of time. Perhaps Van Der Veer is right when he treats the cyclical treatment of
time as "not an example of lack of historical awareness of Hindu tradition, but it does in deed
entails a clear devaluation of history" (Van Der Veer 1996: 140). The selective use of the
cyclic notion of time in the part of the legend where definitive historical information is
lacking is an apparent demonstration of this fact. The discourse changes the mode of its
argument once it finds some useful information in the historical time to serve the purpose.
"
The place where Durga took the popular manifestation in the name of Tarini in the
historical time fell within the confines of the kingdom of Kanchi and was known by the name
Pahadapuram. The attention of the then king of Kanchi, Salva Narasimha was drawn to the
Tarini in Pahadpuram. After he learnt the circumstance in which Durga manifested herself in
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the non-iconic form he extended his patronage to the deity and supported Kondh priests. He
made arrangements to teach them verses and allowed them to wear a sacred thread. He
awarded them the title of Dehuri, a name by which they are still recognised. The king of
Kanchi also introduced the offering of cooked foods through Brahmins, though the offerings
of the raw items such as fruits and meat continued by the Dehuris. Thus, Salva Narasimha
was an dedicated devotee of Tarini.
"
Here an attempt is made to shift the venue of the Brahminic interference in the ritual of
worship of Tarini from the present location to the Pahadapuram. The conceit in the shifting of
this venue is to tumble down the charges on temple management of interference in the ritual
practices of the deity. This as well defines the distinct role of the tribal priests and the
Brahmins in the rituals of the deity. Thus it carefully secludes the tribal priests to a limited
involvement in the temple affairs. This interface of the recognition and reclusion leaves an
adequate negotiating space between the dominant and submerged communities. This is a
wonderful provisioning to subside the communal tensions in the future. The next episode in
the Tarini legend integrates a popular feature from another legend known as Kanchi-Kaveri
legend.
"
Purushottam Deva wanted to marry the daughter of king Salva Narashimha, who was
famous for her beauty and intelligence. But the later refused to hand over his daughter as the
king of Orissa performed Chera-Pahamra, the duty of sweeper before Lord Jagganath in the
time of annual car festival. Purushottam felt insulted and invaded Kanchi for taking revenge.
But he was defeated by the king of Kanchi.
"
According to the popular legend in the coastal Orissa, Purushottam Deva led a second
invasion and this time he was assisted by Balabhadra and Jagganatha who took part in the
battle in the disguise of two ordinary soldiers. In this second battle, the king of Kanchi was
defeated and his daughter Padmavati was carried back. To complete his vengeance
Purushottam ordered his minister to arrange the marriage of Padmavati with a sweeper. In the
time of next car festival, when Purushottam was performing Chhera-Pahmra, the minister
requested him to marry Padmavati. Though the last part of this legend appear here without
much change in the content, the character of Govind Bhanja, the young prince of Kendujhar
who was living a quiet life in Puri during those days, is integrated in the second Kanchi
invasion.
"
After the defeat in the first expedition to Kanchi, Purushottam Deva took the recluse with
Lord Jagganath. The Lord instructed him to arrange for a second expedition to Kanchi. He
assured the king that this time he along with his brother Balabhadra would join the
expedition. He also instructed the king to assign the role of commander-in-chief to the man,
in front of whose house the garland of the Lord will be found in the next morning. The
garland of the Lord Jagganath was noticed in front of the house where the young prince
Govind Bhanja was living. According to the wish of the Lord, he was appointed as the
commander-in-chief in the second Kanchi expedition."
(Ibid: 29-32)
The legend then discusses another popular story about the Manika Gauduni, a milkmaid.
Though the episode seems to be disjointed to the rest of the story, nonetheless, it emphasizes
the cordial relationship between the god and the devotee. It can be identified as one of the
most important aspect of the Bhakti movement in the Hinduism. The reiteration of the
Manika Gauduni story here implants the pro-devotion sentiment in this newly formulated
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cult. The next episode of the legend describes the first encounter of Govind Bhanja with the
goddess Tarini.
"
Govind Bhanja after being appointed as the commander-in-chief in the second Kanchi
expedition led the Orissan army and entered the territory of Kanchi kingdom. His horse
miraculously stopped at a place and refused to proceed. Govind Bhanja got down from the
horseback and looked around. He noticed a small shrine of a goddess nearby. He inquired
about the presiding deity of this small shrine from the local people. He learned the story of
the manifestation of Durga in the present form of Tarini from the local people at
Pahadapuram. He worshiped the deity with his purity of mind and unstained devotion, and
succeeded in appeasing her. He took the blessing of Tarini who assured him a victory over
the king of Kanchi this time. Then he advanced confidently towards the battle ground with his
army
." (Ibid: 35-36)
One of the most interesting annotations in this episode of the legend is the shifting allegiance
of the deity from Salva Narasimha, the king of Kanchi to Govind Bhanja, the prince of
Kendujhar. It is mentioned in the previous episode that the king of Kanchi with the blessing
of Tarini had attained fame and prosperity. But gradually he became tyrannical and selfish.
This prompted Tarini to withdraw her support from him. Tarini, thus readily extended her
support to this sanctimonious young prince. This is yet another passage which delineate the
relationship between the state and the religion. The subsequent episode then provides a vivid
description of the battle between two armies. Even though both sides had matching warriors,
the divine presence in the side of Purushottam made him the victor.
"
The second battle of Kanchi took place in the year 1475 AD. Govind Bhanja put up a gallant
fight leading the army of Purushottam Deva. The valiant display of this young prince and in
his able leadership combined with the participation of Lord Jagganath and Balabhadra and
blessing from Ma Tarini, at the end of the fifth day of the battle Kanchi king Salva
Narasimham was overpowered. This restored the reputation of Purushottam, the great
devotee of Lord Jagganath. After the success in this expedition, Purushottam prepared to
return back to Puri carrying princess Padmavati with him. Govind Bhanja asked permission
from the king to carry some idols from Kanchi to Puri. He specifically expressed his wish to
carry Tarini, whose blessings made him victorious. Purushottam approved the idea, but
insisted that it will be better if the deity agrees to accompany them of her own. Govind
Bhanja assured the king that he would try to convince the revered deities for their consent to
come with them. He succeeded in winning the trust of Ganapati and Raghunath Jiu to become
a part of the royal convoy. Then he came to propitiate Tarini to allow him to carry her to
Puri where she would receive regular worship. Tarini also agreed to follow him on a horse
back all the way from Pahadapuram to Puri. However, she put up a condition that Govind
Bhanja should never try to look at her. He would know from the sound of her trinkets that she
is following her. If he looks at her then she will again turn into a stone. Govind Bhanja
agreed to this clause. Purushottam Deva marched back to Puri with his army and Padmavati.
Govind Bhanja followed Purushottam carrying the Ganapati, Madan Mohan, Raghunath Jiu,
and Ma Tarini followed him riding her horse
." (Ibid: 36-41)
The haulage of the deities at the end of a successful military expedition is masked here with a
convenient explanation in changing commitment of the deities from an egoistic sacrilegious
ruler to a pious devoted yet courageous ruler. In such a conflicting situation, as it is described
in this episode, deities with their personal consent adhere to the dutiful. It thus exposes both
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the malevolent and benevolent aspect of the same deity. It as well, stresses the threshold of a
good demeanour as a precondition to enjoy the generosity of the deity. In addition, from a
political point of view, this issues a warning to the state not to disagree with the customary
religious domain a prescribed code of conduct. The Kanchi-Kaveri legend finally ends with a
happy marriage of Purushottam and Padmavati. The legend on Tarini then takes a front stage
and narrates further journey of the goddess Tarini from Puri to the present location at
Ghatgaon.
It may be noted here that the kanchi-Kaveri legend hinges upon the institution of Chhera-
Pahamra that was introduced by Purushottam Deva in order to demonstrate his boundless
devotion for Jagganath before the pilgrims during the Car-festival. This provided an
additional incentive to the power and prestige of the priests. The legend seems to have been
twisted to venerate the Chhera-Pahamra institution. "It is referred to for the first time in a
verse of "Bedhaparikrama", which describe the paintings of Jagganath and Balabhadra on
horse-back and the milk-maid Maniki standing with a pot on her hand in the Jagamohana of
Jagganath temple. The authorship of the poem is ascribed to Balaramdas of the Panchasakha
group. In that case, it may be said that the legend had developed at least in the time of
Prataprudra Deva during whose reign the Panchasakha flourished. This is however doubtful.
It appears that the author of Bedhaparikrama and the paintings of Jagamohana of Jagganath
temple belong to a later time." (Sahu et al 1979: 202) Further, Salva Narasimham crowned
himself as the ‘Raja of Karnata’ with Hampi-Vijaynagar as his capital in 1486 AD. In fact a
direct clash between Purushottam and Salva Narashimha took place only in 1489-90 AD, and
it do resulted in the disastrous defeat of the later. The sole object of this expedition of
Purushottam was the occupation of Udayagiri Rajya. With an open mind for the future debate
on the historical authenticity of the kanch-Kaveri legend let us shift our focus to the Tarini
legend.
"
Trilochan Bhanja, the father of Govind Bhanja passed away in 1480 AD. Govind Bhanja
after receiving the news wanted to come back to his native place Kendujhar. Govind Bhanja
rushed back to Kendujhar. After his coronation, he duly completed the rituals of death of his
father. His role in the Kanchi-Kaveri battle had established his royal qualities, and the
people of Kendujhar welcomed him to the throne without any hesitation. He proved himself to
be a popular king within no time.
Purushottam Deva sent a messenger to invite Govind Bhanja to visit him. Govind Bhanja
accepted the invitation and arranged for a trip to Puri. Purushottam wanted to express his
gratitude for his help in the Kanchi-Kaveri expedition and wished to reward him.
Purushottam Deva awarded him in the title of Jai Govind Maharaj and in addition gave the
Athgarh region (present Anadaput sub-division) as a reward. But, Govind Bhanja expressed
his wish to carry the deities he had brought along with him from the Kanchi-Kaveri
expedition. He explained to Purushottam that his kingdom does not have enough religious
places and the people of his kingdom are mostly forest dwellers. Hence, he asked for
permission to carry Madan Mohan, Raghunath Jiu, Tarini along with idols of Jagganath,
Balbhadra and Subhadra to his state. Besides the idols he also wanted to bring few upper
caste Hindu population to his kingdom. Purushottam Deva happily gave consent to all his
demands. Thus, Govind Bhanja brought all the above-mentioned idols along with a few
families of Rout clan, some families of Mahapatra clan from Bedhajal and the Kondh priests
brought from Pahadapuram.
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After receiving the royal consent to his requests, he came to Tarini and expressed his wish to
carry her with him to Kendujhar so that he can worship her daily. Tarini though expressed
his readiness to accompany him; but articulated her aspiration to move towards Kendujhar
in the same manner in which she had come from Pahadapuram to Puri. Govind Bhanja also
agreed to her proposal and made the requisite arrangement to facilitate the journey of Tarini
from Puri to Kendujhar. Govind Bhanja took the leave from Purushottam Deva and started
his journey. On his way to Kendujhar while passing through the deep forest goddess Tarini
performed a miracle. The horse of Govind Bhanja for no apparent reason stopped at place
and refused to proceed. Consequently, the horse carrying the deity also halted. As the horse
stood still, the sound of the trinkets of the goddess also stopped. In a sudden spur of
apprehension Govind Bhanja looked back and took a glance at the deity. This violated the
agreement, and accordingly Tarini turned into a stone. Her horse also got transformed to a
clay horse alongside the stone idol of Tarini.
Govind Bhanja got dissatisfied in this unexpected turn of the events. Ma Tarini tried to
passify him and expressed her eagerness to stay within this natural surrounding rather than
being installed in a closed premise of a temple in his fort. She assured him to extend her
blessings and promised him to help him in his bad times. Govind Bhanja accepted the
supreme wish of the goddess made all the required arrangement for the Kondh priests to
settle there. After arranging all the provisions for her daily worship by the Dehuris, he left
for his capital Kendujhar that was 45 kilometres from there. Since then Tarini remained at
this place and Dehuris worshiped her with fruits and animal offerings.
Though Dehuris were regularly offering worship to Tarini, yet in the days of impurities
(especially after the birth and death of a family member in the Dehuri families) it was
difficult for them to search for a Brahmin in this heavily forested land to purify them.
Consequently, the regular worship is such a situation was not possible for several days. This
became a point of worry for Govind Bhanja. Ma Tarini suggested a solution to this, and
accordingly the suggestion was implemented. According to the instructions of Tarini, the king
made provision for a pot full of ghee to be hung in the branch of the kusum tree under which
Tarini was worshipped through the Dehuris. Then everyday after the daily worship, the
Dehuri sprinkled the holy water on the pot. This purified the pot containing the ghee
everyday. And during the days of impurity, the Dehuri took a sip of that ghee and sprinkled a
little on his body to purify him. Others to purify them may follow the same method. The place
then derived its current name of Ghatagaon from this practice of hanging a pot (Ghata) of
ghee in the shrine of Tarini
." (Ibid: 43-53)
Even today, Tarini’s figure of stone placed under a tree lacks anthropomorphism. Near her
are preserved three other stone images, one big and a few small ones, representing an Adibasi
and his kids, who were once upon a time killed a gigantic snake and recovered his two sons
from the stomach of the monster who had devoured them. Local tribal communities pay
respect to this hero for his unusual prowess, a clear evidence of hero-worship. There is an
ancillary myth, which explains the presence of these stones with the Tarini. It narrates the
encounter of the deified Shabara along with his sons with Tarini. (The details to be inserted)
The concocted hoax in the form of this legend can further be exposed by a careful
examination of the historical records. The claim of authenticate historicity of the legend, as is
claimed by the author of the legend, further stands jeopardised. The early history of the
region can only be reconstructed in disparate patches. The discovery of Asanpat inscription
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throws fresh light on the history of Kendujhar in the 5
th-6th century AD. It is known from this
inscription that the territory during that time was known as Vindhyatavi and it was under the
rule of a branch of Naga dynasty. Different branches of this dynasty ruled over Ahichhatra,
Kausambi and Padmavati. The Nagas jointly against Kushana rulers and defeated and ousted
from power in northern India. Their war against those foreign rulers have been refered to by
the Asanpat inscription where it is mentioned that Maharaja Mana Bhanja, father of
Satrubhanja, defeated the Devaputras "Kusana Murundas’ in hundred battles. Samudragupta
who succeeded in building the Gupta Empire in northern India however, crushingly defeated
the Naga confederacy. Some Naga chiefs like those of Vindhyatavi continued to rule under
Gupta suzerainty. In course of time friendly relations developed between Guptas and the
Nagas and Chandragupta II, the son of Samudragupta, is known to have married Kuberanaga,
a Naga princes.
Maharaja Satru Bhanja, the ruler of vindyatavi, was very likely a contemporary and a
subordinate ruler of Chandragupta-II. The Asanpat inscription reveals that Satru Bhanja, the
ruler of Vindhytavi travelled various parts of the Gupta Empire and made rich donations to
some Saiva Mathas and Saiva Acharyas. The modern Sitabinji, which is just 15 kilometres
away from Ghatgaon, was a famous centre for Saivism in this region. A magnificient Siva
temple was built there, the remains of which are still extant. A finely carved Chaturmukha
Siva linga is found there and a large number of votive inscriptions inscribed on the boulders
indicate that pilgrims mostly form the South India visited that place of Siva pilgrimage.
After Satru Bhanja, the next ruler of this dynasty was maharaja Disa Bhanja, whose name
appears in the fresco painting of Ravanachhaya cave shelter in Sitabinji. This king is depicted
in paintings as marching in a procession on the occasion of a religious function. Nothing
more, however, is known about this dynasty after Disa Bhanja. The history of this region
remains obscure till the time of Adi Bhanja of Khijjinga Kota, who flourished in the early
10
th century AD.
The Bhanjas of Khijjinga Kota ruled over an extensive territory comprising the modern
district of Mayurbhanja and parts of Kendujhar and Singbhum districts. This territory is
known as Khijjinga Mandala. The records of the Bhanja rulers indicate that their territory was
divided into two parts - Uttar Khanda and Dakshina Khanda; and probably the Kendujhar
region formed the southern part of the kingdom. In 1361 AD Sultan Firoz Shah invaded
Orissa through Khijinga Kota, which was apparently destroyed by him. This apparently led
the Bhanjas to transfer their political headquarters from Khijjinga Kota to Hariharpur and it
was probably by that time that the Kendujhar region became separate dominion under a chief
named Jyoti Bhanja who was a scion of the Bhanja ruling family of Khijinga Mandala.
A local tradition of Kendujhar reveals that the Bhuyans of Kendujhar not able to keep contact
with the raja ruling over them from Khijjinga Kota desired to keep a ruler close to them at
Kendujhar and stole away a boy named Jyoti Bhanja from the ruling family whom they
installed as king. It appears that the Bhuyans have played some important part in the early
history of Bhanja dynasty of Kendujhar, as even up to the time of the present chief, the
Bhuyans were considered indispensable at the time of coronation of a king who was to be
installed on the
gadi being ceremoniously carried on the back of a Bhuyan.
The successor of the Jyoti Bhanja till the time of Govind Bhanja, who flourished in the early
part of 17
th century AD, are known to us only by their names (Bhanja Mahodayam written in
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19
th century. Therefore, the time of Govinda Bhanja cannot be as early as that of the Gajapati
Purushottam Deva (1467-1497 AD), the victor of the battle of Kanchi Kaveri. His date can
more correctly be ascertained from the drama "Bhanja Mahodayam" written by Narasingh
Mishra, the court poet of the king Sibanarayan Bhanja, the son of Govind Bhanja. It is known
from this work that the drama was staged at Puri and was witnessed by the Gajapati King
Balabhadra Deva and king Sibanarayan Bhanja of kendujhar. Thus, Balabhadra Deva who
ruled from 1648 to 1659 AD was a contemporary of Sibanarayan Bhanja. It may be said that
the father of these two rulers- Purushottam Deva and Govinda Bhanja- were also
contemporary rulers. Very likely, Purushottam Deva (1600-1621 AD), the ruler of Khurda
kingdom, has been confounded with the Gajapati Purushottam Deva (1467-1497 AD) who
fought the so-called battle of Kanchi Kaveri (1489-90 AD) and became victorious against the
king of Vijayanagar. The date of Govind Bhanja may, tentatively, be assigned to the first
quarter of 17
th century AD. It was during the time of this ruler that the territory now
comprising the Anandpur subdivision was conquered and incorporated with the kingdom of
Kendujhar. Thus neither the interpolation of the Kanchi-Kavari legend, nor the grant of
Athgad (present Anandpur subdivision) by Purushottam Deva to Govind Bhanja in the Tarini
legend is authentic historical fact.
The Rituals
The prescribed rituals for veneration of Tarini are attempts to fabricate consent to the legend
through a carefully constructed symbolic communication. The observation of this symbolic
action fits Tambiah’s descriptive definition of ritual: "It is constituted of patterned and
ordered sequences of words and acts, often expressed in multiple media, whose content and
arrangement are characterised in varying degree by formality (conventionality), stereotypy
(rigidity), condensation (fusion), and redundancy (repetition)".
As it is mentioned earlier, the special priests of the Kondh community initially worshipped
Tarini. These priests followed a non-Brahmanic method to worship her, which is popularly
known among them as the ‘
Maha Sabari vidya’. This was primarily a shamanic idiom, which
passed on from one generation to the other within a tribal milieu. According to the Tarini
legend, Salva Narashimha, the king of Kanchi made the first attempt to Brahminize the
Kondh priests. He trained them in the Brahmanic way of worshiping and allowed them to
wear a sacred thread like caste Brahmins as a mark of special status to them. These Kondh
priests or Dehuris do not accept food from any other community to preserve their sanctity and
identity. They only consume the food and other items offered to Tarini. Even though they are
meat eaters, they are forbidden to eat meat from the external source. Dehuris had started
animal sacrifice to eat meat, however at present the animal sacrifice is completely banned. As
the deity entered the Brahmanic arena, one observes a gradual marginalization of the original
Kondh priests in the rites and rituals at the shrine of Tarini. Let us have a look at the present
ritual schedule at the temple to gauge the magnitude of change.
A typical day at the temple of Tarini starts with recitation from Veda at 4.30 AM in the
morning. The deity does her routine ablution and takes bath. She is then dressed in sari and
other ornaments. The deity is greeted by waving lights before her, a typical Brahmanic
method of initiating propitiation. The morning ritual culminates with offer of food to her.
This early morning food offering is strictly monitored by the temple trust. No individual
offering is allowed before this early morning ritual. Another routine ritual is conducted at
10.00 AM, but this time cooked food is offered. The last formal offering to the deity is made
at 7.30 PM with conventional rice cakes. After this last evening ritual, the temple is closed
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and the deity takes rest. Throughout the day, except these special offerings, individual
devotees are allowed to make offerings. The devotees are allowed to offer fruits and sweets.
Though the devotees are allowed to carry any fruits with them, only those sweets are allowed
that are made available to them by the temple trust. The involvement of the Dehuris in these
rituals is minimal. Though they carry out the morning chores of the deity, the accompanying
recitation of Veda and other Sanskrit verses are done by regular caste Brahmins.
Tarini is propitiated through special rites in festive occasions. During Dushera, Ma Tarini is
dressed in special attire, and recitation of Sanskrit verses continues all through the four days.
Apart from this the temple Trust arranges for a Durga Pendel in the premise of the Temple,
where the festival is observed in full confirmation to the mainstream tradition. Another
important festive moment in Tarini Temple is a weeklong celebration ‘Satyanarayan
Mahotsava’. The prolonged applause to the Vishnu in his various incarnations in the premise
of Tarini temple in this weeklong celebration articulates the mainstream claim in her jittery
link with the Hindu pantheon. Alongside the narration of Vaishnavite texts, Tarini again is
propitiated by ritual recitation of Chandi Purana.
Tarini Vrata is celebrated every year on the Tuesday that falls in between the Ratha Yatra and
Bahuda Yatra. The specific day is chosen to venerate the devotion of Padamavati, the
daughter of Kanchi king Salva Narashimha, towards Tarini that had rewarded her
Purushottam Deva as her husband in a dramatic situation. The word Vrata seems to be used
as synonym for the word path. In Rig Veda it is used especially for the eternal circular path
followed by the luminaries (Karve 1961: 93). A critical reading of the prescribed Tarini Vrata
manuals suggests this term is used both in its naturalistic and normative connotations. In its
naturalistic connotation, the word Vrata delineates the attributes of the prescribed ritual path
to get the blessing of the deity. On the other hand its normative use connects the ritual
elements as commitments for demonstration of devotion to the deity.
Tarini Vrata thus is the ritual intermediary between the suffering devotee and the saviour
Mother. A large number of female devotees gather here for this occasion. Intense
participation of women in this ritual suggests the growing popularity of this religious
movement. Apart from the celebration of this ritual in the temple premise of Tarini, a large
number of women celebrate this occasion in their individual houses. The growing popularity
of this ritual owes to a decade long chain-letter campaign among the semi-literate rural
women. The catastrophic spread of the institution of dowry among the submerged
communities in this region has created a crisis for timely marriage of women. In such a
situation it is not unexpected to find such a large number of women turning to the observance
of this Vrata as a spiritual recluse to an otherwise social malice.
The accomplishment of the institution of Tarini Vrata further takes the opportunity to loft this
specific spiritual corridor to address nuisance of agricultural volatility as well. Devotees
irrespective of sex observe this Vrata on the last Tuesday of the month of Asad. An exception
is noticed in the temple rituals on this occasion. The temple remains closed in the daytime
and remains open through out the night. The representatives from the surrounding villages
gather here in the night to perform a secrete session of propitiation. Through this secrete
propitiation ritual Ma Tarini is evoked to bless the farmers for a good agricultural season.
This religious practice is rapidly replacing other similar agricultural rituals practiced by
different tribal communities in the district. I wish to remind you the traditional belief of these
communities in the Earth goddess (Basumata) who influences the soil fertility and thus
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governs the agricultural production. The tribal communities placated Basumata before
monsoon to ward off the evil spirits from their agricultural field to assure an unhindered
growth of crops. They observed this occasion in a typical tribal manner. While the tribal
priest held his placating ritual and made animal sacrifice, the whole village participated in a
communal feast and danced all through the night. The exception in the ritual schedule in
Tarini temple is nothing but to integrate the deity into the prevalent tribal milieu. The
participation of the representatives of the surrounding villages in the special secrete ritual in
Tarini temple disseminates a special status to the village headman. Consequently, this
pacification of the tribal elites eludes an expected confrontation and fetches the commoners
closer to this cult. This in turn provides a golden opportunity to diffuse the mainstream ritual
practices into the margins of an otherwise plausible tribal way of life.
The attempt to diffuse the mainstream religious ideology and practice can be envisaged here
in two folds. The proclaimed munificence to recognise the marginal communities as a part
and parcel of the cult can be juxtaposed to the prescribed religious rites to worship Tarini.
The justification to the synchronized Sanskritic ritual practice with the non-Brahmanic
practice, sermonizing the ‘true’ idolatry image of Tarini, and dissemination of an extended
sacred geography may suffice to unveil the dormant intentions. The prescription that is
retailed with the Tarini Vrata manual urges to conduct the ritual proceedings through the
mediation of a Brahmin. Though the mediation of a Brahmin here is not held as absolute
necessity, the addition of the ‘else’ clause permeates a sense of compromise to observe the
Vrata without him. The manual takes due care to be ritually perfect in the propitiation, hence
includes detail instructions on how to conduct the ritual proceedings in the absence of a
Brahmin. Thus, both in the situation of the presence or absence of a Brahmin, the prescribed
ritual path cling primarily to the Brahmanic mediation.
The designed modules used in the spread of this cult take into account the folk sensitivity as a
necessary component in the campaign. Most of these manuals use the vernacular language to
make an easy understanding of the ideology by the common people. There are few
occurrences of Sanskrit verses wherever higher degree of validation is essential. These
interpolations of the verses facilitate a deception to elevate the lay devotees beyond his
worldview to be able to perceive the ultimate genuineness. This is what is mused as the
‘vivacity’ or the ‘immensity’ of the Mother. The campaign mostly uses the poetry as its
literary style to carry across the message. The poetic composition inundates the spiritual
requirements through its rhythmic narration, hence is a better medium than the tiresome
prose. Such an attempt effectively addresses the need of the spiritual recreation of the
followers. Through this performative media the constituency of the participants provides the
crucial attestation to the ritual enactment of the ‘legendary truth’. This in turn inculcate a
sense of belongingness to the common past, and without much effort the legendary truth
commands legitimacy to form a citadel of oral history.
The Dogmas
The present managing trusty of the Tarini Temple Trust forewords a book on philosophy of
Tarini with an opening paragraph: "There is no definite answer to the theosophy of Ma
Tarini, neither there is a limit to her affection. She is non-characteristic, and the symbol of the
primeval Goddess. India is a land of many religions and sects. One finds a continuum of
several sects at different times. For a mortal human being the idol worship is more
convincing. Idol is an easy source of inspiration; the inspiration leads to thought; and the
thought ultimately transcends the idolatry form to experience the incorporeal Supreme
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Being." He tenders his justification for adorning the non-anthropomorphic icon of Tarini with
dress and ornaments.
It is well said that an ounce of practice is worth more than tons of precepts. It is precisely the
reason why rehearsing of the mystic events has received so much importance in the public
perception of the supernatural calibre of any deity. While some of the past events are
reiterated, new mystic tales rejuvenate the discourse on the divinity in the public sphere. In
the public sphere, thus, the mystic events serve as a more powerful tool than the
philosophical precepts. Both the mystic events and the philosophical tales are often found in
close collaboration to each other, delineating the discourse on divinity in two corroborative
premises. Let us first consider here a couple of examples, which restate the malevolent divine
influence of Tarini.
"
Once McMillan, the firangi superintendent, of the then Kendujhar princely state was in a
official tour from Kendujhar to Anandpur. He passed by the Tarini shrine on his way to
Anandpur without paying due respect to her. When he was on his way back to Kendujhar he
had a flat tyre, which forced him to walk up to Ghatagaon with his followers. He met a huge
tiger obstructing on the road. He tried to shoot at the tiger, but the gun did not work. He
quickly changed the cell and tried again to shoot the tiger. All his efforts went in vain. When
the tiger started approaching him, McMillan in panic uttered the name of the Tarini and
urged her to save him from the situation. Miraculously, the tiger made a retreat into the
forest leaving McMillan and his followers untouched. Then McMillan walked up to the
Ghatagaon police station and asked a policeman to check his gun. McMillan watched in
astonishment as the gun fired without any problem. The local policemen explained him that
the tiger must be the vehicle of Tarini and its act of trepidation must be a response to some
injustice. McMillan then immediately called on the Dehuri to placate the deity and corrected
his mistake with due reverence to her.
"
This story thus subdues onetime supreme political authority of British. This miraculous act of
disciplining the obdurate British official is an extension of the contestation of the divinity and
political authority that we observe in the Tarini legend. Such stories provide a sense of
continuation of the power of divinity from a time without end. Curiously, one finds a similar
overthrow of a recognised religious authority in another story.
"
Once Swami Shibananda Saraswati, the founder of the Rishikesh Ashrama, was travelling to
Puri through Ghatgaon by his personal jeep. Just before the dawn after a few kilometres from
Ghatgaon he met a tiger sitting in the middle of the road obstructing him. His people tried to
shoot at the tiger, but the gun did not work. All their effort to repair the gun and to change
the cell went in vain. They had no other way than to drive back the jeep to save their lives.
The driver drove back the vehicle to the police station at Ghatgaon. There they checked the
gun again to find out the problem. But this time the gun fired in a normal way. Swami
Shibananda Saraswati and his followers were stunned in this event. Then he realised his
mistake and offered worship at the Tarini shrine by the Dehuris
."
This story exposes another sphere of contestation of the divinity. It renders reification of this
particular discourse on the divinity of Tarini. The spheres of contestation not only includes
the external sensitivities and the political authority, it as well confronts the other sectarian
and institutional opponents. Different levels in this reified structure of the mystical discourse
through which the divinity of Tarini can be envisaged are a large number of mystic tales.
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Some of the classified heads of the mysticism are: influencing nature, curing diseases, raising
the dead, protection from drowning, appearing in different forms, accidents, and riddance of
an addiction. In a nutshell, divinity of Tarini in the public realm is metamorphosed out of
mystic tribal and folk medium and enters into the mainstream within a wrap of philosophical
discourse.
It is often believed that Hinduism received a new lease of life in the medieval time when saint
poets in different parts of the country articulated dissents and initiated moves to remove
intermediaries between the worshipper and the God. These reform movements are often
admired for it gave an access to the spirituality to the lower rung of the society through
simplified rituals. Consequently, the unmediated participation in the spiritual quest bestowed
on them dignity that the social order had denied to them so far. Some of the contemporary
cult-centres proclaim to imbibe that populist version of Hinduism. For example, the Tarini
cult sells a cleansed portrait by accepting the Dehuris, the Kondh priests at par with
Brahmins; and by its believe in the path of devotion (Bhakti) to get the divine blessings. Such
a pompous self-accreditation in retrospect admits the formation of a ‘new-dignity’ among the
tribal communities. In their pretentious campaign of the objectified liberal values, we often
fail to locate the vulnerability of the subjects in this so-called transformation process.
Amidst an over-indulgence in self-applause for extending the ‘virtues’ to all sections of
people in the society, the mainstream often ventures out of its legitimate frontier. Indulgence
in such adventures cannot be a naïve transgression. As we have discussed in the previous
section, the growth of Tarini cult has undermined the cultural milieu of surrounding tribal
communities. Moreover, it is clear that strategic steps are being taken to overwrite the
mainstream notion of the mother goddess on the supposed savage equivalent. The ploy to
refute such a criticism is advanced through the philosophic discourse leading to the attributeless
Shakti
, the primeval Mother Goddess. Thus, such an explanation does not even recognise
the evident contradiction between the animistic representation of the mother Earth (Basu
Mata), and the mainstream goddess Durga. This great philosophic flexibility, though
undoubtedly a commendable philosophic position, however in the mundane world such
attempts denigrate the dignity of the marginal communities before they are bestowed a newdignity.
Though the philosophical position on several spiritual cognitions often merges with
the so-called savage beliefs, perhaps what segregates the civil from the savage is the
complication in the ritual practices. Correspondingly, when a ‘liberal cult’ confers a new
dignity to the marginal mass, it defines the ‘civil-dignity’ through ritual complexities and
more or less remains oblivious to the professed ‘savage-dignity’. Thus, the philosophical
transition from the savage to the civil is primarily rooted in the structured rituals, rather than
in lofty philosophic discourses or in any form of divine experience.
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