Folk Tales from Himachal (original) (raw)

Folk Deities as the Alternative Myths in India

Creative Saplings, 2022

My purpose in this work is to interpret and critically investigate folklore and social epistemology, with specific reference to some folk deities and practices that I refer to as 'alternative mythologies,' and I dare to do so with tenacity. In the Indian cultural context, classical Sanskritic and Brahmanical religious acts have largely taken center stage in the religious panoptical system, at the expense of subverting extremely significant and relevant local and vernacular practices and doctrines. The blending of mythology and folklore, the blending of local deities with the ostensibly "official" ones, can be seen in practically all public spaces in India. To comprehend the exchanges between myth and folklore, one must first comprehend India's geographical and cultural diversity, as well as the practical requirement of holy ceremonies. This technique considers the distinct sociological, anthropological, and psychological roles that myth and folklore play in a group. It becomes necessary to penetrate society's sympathetic grasp of the implications of a certain rite, whether mythological or folkloristic. Dussehra provides an opportunity for a thorough explanation and sensitization of that spiritual system, as well as an appropriate example of acceptance and inclusion of diverse religious activities.

Deity Tradition in Rural Society of Western Himalaya: A Case Study of Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh

Himalayan Studies Journal, 2016

The western Himalayan region is full of village deities and the local people have their firm faith in them. The article discusses religious narratives about the village deity Nar Singh Veer of Mandi region of Indian state of Himachal Pradesh that can be found in the form of myths, legends, and folklore. These narratives are a proof of the power of Nar Singh Veer which provides relief to people from their hardships and also warns them in a supernatural form. Village priests (pujaris) and Gurs are the religious authorities who control both the deity and oral tradition on Him. There is a widespread belief in this region that the deity roams around his territory at night to protect it from evils. People talk about their experiences and encounters with the deity and these are also narrated both in legend and oral tradition. Religious folklore genres thus merge the social world of humans and mythical realm of deity. The aim of this article is to explore narratives related to this deity in the Mandiyali(Local Dialect) folklore in their socio-religious context. Our aim here is to research on the tradition related to Nar Singh Veer in Mandi region and how this tradition affected the society.

The Legend of " U Ramhah " and " Devil's Tower " : A Comparative Study of Oral Traditions

This paper proposes to study some aspects of folk beliefs prevalent in the Khasi Oral Tradition. The Khasi are an ethnic community residing in Meghalaya, a state of North East India. There are the existent multiple genres of folk beliefs within their religion and worldview. Such beliefs have no foundation in the rational explanation but are widely accepted as truth by the members of Khasi community. The Khasis in their small corner are not behind rest of the world in story telling, as they also have on record the legend of U Ramhah. According to a popular legend the fossil zed stone basket belonged to an evil giant who troubled the people through his greed and unsocial behaviour. The Khasis have their own mythological discourses to account for the extensive formations. They believe that the caverns are the bones of the giant U Ramhah, who died alone and unattended in hills. The other similar giant rock formation is “Devil’s Tower” which is based on Native American Lore. It suggests Devil’s Tower is a “gift of god" and its existence can not be explained. The Ancient Native Americans have several stories that explain its creation. Some Native American tribes in the area believe that what we see today is what has always been there and the tower is the same shape and size that it has always been. Looking at giant rock formations, it obviously delivers a common message of victory of good over evil and god always arrive to save mankind and preach prosperity and harmony. And also as a great source of entertainment. The function of such stories is to elucidate the Khasi philosophical thought on every aspect of Khasi culture and make sure that it reaches and hold captive even the simplest of men. Folk tales have no known origin and are transmitted spontaneously as oral tradition from generation to generation. Folk tales while dealing with situation familiar to listeners, are not usually based on historical facts, but are mostly of fictitious nature and have a predominance of fanciful ideas of the folk. Taking the clue from similar stories referring to natural objects and materials found in different corners of the world, the paper attempts to discuss how the popular beliefs of different communities serve similar functions in the regions they are found and thus become the raw material for studies under comparative framework.

Trees, Birds and Other Non-Humans. Mythological Entanglements with Landscape, Flora, Fauna and Spirits of the Himalayas

Lagoonscapes, 2021

This paper takes into account ideas about landscape and environment as they emerge from the study of beliefs, mythology and ritual activities of religious specialists of the Himalayan region, showing a deep and enduring web of relational entanglements between human and other-than-human communities. The notion of persoonhood seems, in fact, to transcend the human dimension in order to include a wider and larger set of other-than-human communities, including mountains, waters, plants, animals and other classes of beings.

RELIGION, FOLKLORE AND ORAL TRADITIONS: SPECIAL REFERENCE TO EASTERN INDIA

Acme International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2017

A large number of folklore related to religious groups, cults, personality based cults, exists these days in every region of the Indian sub continent. In India religious diversity is respected and encouraged. People from diverse cultures and backgrounds have always accommodated and amalgamated in Indian society. The growth of the folklore provides an interesting window to study the mixing of the legends, oral traditions, religious beliefs, culture and the actual history of the region. For instance in Eastern India there exists variety of folklore , folk literature, Mangal-Kavyas (Panchali) that deals generally with the religious cults, sects, traditions and stories of gods and goddesses , various forms of worship, it's beliefs, rituals and variety of practices etc. The folklore also shows how and why we worship Trees, Sacred Animals, Birds, Emblems, Pictures, Signs, and Motifs etc. The main reason to worship these manifestations is to show devotions to god and goddesses. It symbolizes the religious and cultural practices of both Aryan and non-Aryan traditions. It shows cultural synthesis and ongoing process of socio-anthropological development of the society. Therefore an assessment of Indian culture is possible through a careful study of the religion and folklore .

Soma, Gaṇeśa R̥gveda divinity metaphors, tridhātu Gaṇeśa Indus Sarasvati Script hypertext.pdf

Why is Gaṇeśa called Lambodara? Gaṇeśa holds Soma in the belly. Soma is amśu a kind of सोम libation (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa) cognate ancu 'iron' (Tocharian) Gaṇeśa is tridhātu. Note on ancu, ‘iron’ (Tocharian) Source: A Dictionary of Tocharian B - Volume 1 - Page 85 Thanks to Dr. Vipin Kumar for providing the lead. ब्रह्मवैवर्त ३.४४.९१ पुराणे उल्लेखमस्ति – यतः गणेशः विष्णोः नैवेद्यम् उदरे धारयति, अनेन कारणेन तस्य संज्ञा लम्बोदरमस्ति। http://puraana.tripod.com/pur\_index30/soma.htm An answer is provided by Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa ब्रह्मवैवर्तपुराणम्/खण्डः ३ (गणपतिखण्डः)/अध्यायः ४४ विष्णुदत्तैश्च नैवेद्यैर्यस्य लम्बं पुरोदरम् ।। पित्रा दत्तैश्च विविधैर्वन्दे लम्बोदरं च तम् ।। ९१ ।। लम्बो* दर [p= 897,2] mf(ई)n. having a large or protuberant belly , potbellied ( -ता f. ) MBh. Ka1d. Katha1s.; m. N. of गणेश Pan5car. Katha1s. Protuberant belly is a characteristic seen on Gardez Gaṇeśa Mūrti which is explained as a hypertext of Indus Sarasvati Script. Soma in the belly of Gaṇeśa is concordant with the script cipher of elephant-face related to iron working, metals manufactory: karibha, ibha 'elephant' rebus: karba, ib 'iron'; ib 'needle (writing stylus); mũh 'a face' in Indus Script Cipher signifies mũh, muhã 'ingot' or muhã 'quantity of metal produced at one time in a native smelting furnace.'; फडा phaḍā 'cobra hood (worn on the yajñopavita) rebus: फडा phaḍā 'metals manufactory'; paũjā ʻ paw ʼ (CDIAL 8018) Rebus: pã̄jā ʻkiln, furnaceʼ (CDIAL 7686) kola 'tiger' rebus: kolhe 'smelter'; kol 'working in iron'. गणे* श m. (= °ण-नाथ) N. of the god of wisdom and of obstacles (son of शिव and पार्वती , or according to one legend of पार्वती alone ; though गणे*श causes obstacles he also removes them ; hence he is invoked at the commencement of all undertakings and at the opening of all compositions with the words नमो गणे*शाय विघ्ने*श्वराय ; he is represented as a short fat man with a protuberant belly , frequently riding on a rat or attended by one , and to denote his sagacity has the head of an elephant , which however has only one tusk ; the appellation गणे*श , with other similar compounds , alludes to his office as chief of the various classes of subordinate gods , who are regarded as शिव's attendants ; cf. RTL. pp. 48 , 62 , 79 , 392 , 440 ; he is said to have written down the MBh. as dictated by व्यास MBh. i , 74 ff. ; persons possessed , by गणे*श are referred to Ya1jn5. i , 270 ff.) vyāḷa > , n. < vyāḷa. [Kannada. yāḷi.] 1. A mythological lion-faced animal with elephantine proboscis and tusks vyāḷa with tiger face and pronounced feline paws is a hypertext signified on Gardez Gaṇeśa Mūrti. Beginnings of endowing a human body with an elephant face are traceable in Sarasvati Civilization artifacts. Une tête d'éléphant en terre cuite de Nausharo (Pakistan) In: Arts asiatiques. Tome 47, 1992. pp. 132-136. Jarrige Catherine http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/arasi\_0004-3958\_1992\_num\_47\_1\_1330 The elephant head ligatured with a buffalo at Nausharo is a curtain-raiser for the practice of ligaturing in Indian tradition for utsava bera 'idols carried on processions'. The phrase utsava bera denotes that processions of the type shown on Mesopotamian cylinder seals or Mohenjo-daro tablets are trade processions for bera 'bargaining, trade'. Thus, the processions with hieroglyphs may be part of trade-exchange fairs of ancient times. It is significant that the utsava bera of Ganesa is shown together with a rat or mouse -- as vāhana: ibha 'elephant' Rebus: ib 'iron'. mūṣa 'rat, mouse' Rebus: mūṣa 'crucible'. Thus both rat/mouse and elephant face ligatured to a body, are Meluhha hieroglyphs related to metallurgical processes. Material: terra cotta. Dimensions: 4.8 cm height, 5.4 cm width, 4.6 cm breadth. Harappa Museum, H87-348 Elephant trunk LUS winnowing fan: karibha 'elephant trunk' rebus: karba 'iron' ibha 'elephant' rebus: ib '''iron' PLUS kulA 'winnowing fan' rebus: kol 'working in iron' kolhe 'smelter' kolle 'blacksmith'. Since गण [p= 343,1] is वाच् (i.e. " a series of verses "), Gaṇeśa becomes scribe of Mahābhārata. Gaṇeśa as leader of गण is signified on Sakar (Śankara) Dhar Gaṇeśa Mūrti, 10 miles from Kabul. iṅgaṛa Acanthus Ilicifolius is worn as the antarīya lower garment. Association of Gaṇeśa with iṅgaṛa is a remarkable ketu which signifies link with carburization, infusion of carbon into smelted/molten metal in a furnace: itkaṭa -- , ikkaṭa -- m. ʻ a kind of reed or grass ʼ lex. 2. utkaṭa -- 1 m. ʻ Saccharum sara or similar grass ʼ Suśr., ʻ fragrant bark of Laurus cassia ʼ, °ṭā -- f. ʻ the plant ʼ lex.1. Pk. ikkaḍa -- m. ʻ a sort of grass ʼ; S. ikaṛa f. ʻ wild bush whose leaves are used as a vegetable ʼ; A. ikrā ʻ a kind of reed ʼ; B. ikaṛ ʻ a reed ʼ, ikṛā ʻ a kind of plant ʼ; Or. iṅkaṛa, iṅkara, iṅgaṛa ʻ a reed like sugar -- cane from which pens are made ʼ; Bi. ikkar, ikrī ʻ a kind of grass ʼ; Si. ikili ʻ the plant Acanthus ilicifolius ʼ, ikiliya ʻ the waterplant Trapa bispinosa ʼ, ikiri ʻ the plant Barleria ʼ.2. P. ūklū m. ʻ the vine Staphylea emodi (used to cure snake -- bite), the shrub Abelia triflora (eaten by goats) ʼ, ricch ū° m. ʻ the shrub Viburnum cotinifolium (with a sweet fruit) ʼ.(CDIAL 1563) Rebus:iṁgāra (Pkt.) ingara 'carbon' (which is infused by wheat chaff, godhuma caṣāla atop aṣṭāśri yupa. Yupa or Skambha (AV X.7,8) is the ketu, 'proclamation emblem' of a Soma yāga as shown by Binjor yupa : áṅgāra m. n. ʻ glowing charcoal ʼ RV., °aka -- lex. 2. *iṅgāra -- , iṅgāla -- m. Vāsav. com. 1. Pa. aṅgāra -- m. ʻ charcoal ʼ, Pk. aṁgāra -- , °aya -- , aṁgāla -- , °aya -- m., Gy. eur. angár ʻ charcoal ʼ, wel. vaṅār m. (v -- from m. article), germ. yangar (y -- from yag, s.v. agní -- 1); Ash. aṅāˊ ʻ fire ʼ, Kt. aṅǻ, Gmb. aṅāˊ, Pr. anéye, Dm. aṅgar (a < ā NTS xii 130), Tir. Chilis Gau. K. nār (n < ṅ -- , not ← Psht. nār ← Ar. AO xii 184), Paš. aṅgāˊr, Shum. ã̄r (← Paš. NOGaw 59), Gaw. Kal. Kho. aṅgāˊr, Bshk. äṅgāˊr, Tor. aṅā, Mai. agār, Phal. aṅgṓr, Sh. agāˊr, ha° m.; S. aṅaru m. ʻ charcoal ʼ (a < ā as in Dm.), L. aṅgār m., P. aṅgyār, °rā m., EP. ãgeār (y or e from MIA. aggi < agní -- 1?), WPah. bhid. aṅgāˊrõ n., pl. -- ã, Ku. aṅār (ḍaṅār id. X ḍājṇo < dahyátē), N. aṅār, A. āṅgār, eṅgār, B. āṅgār, āṅrā, Or. aṅgāra; Bi. ãgarwāh ʻ man who cuts sugar -- cane into lengths for the mill ʼ (= pakwāh); OMth. aṁgāra, Mth. ãgor, H. ãgār, °rā m., G. ãgār, °rɔ m., M. ãgār m., Si. an̆gura. -- Wg. ãdotdot;ř, ã̄īˊ ʻ fire ʼ (as opp. to aṅarīˊk ʻ charcoal ʼ, see aṅgāryāˊ -- ) poss. < agní -- 1, Morgenstierne NTS xvii 226.2. Pa. iṅghāḷa -- ʻ glowing embers (?) ʼ, Pk. iṁgāra -- , iṁgāla, °aya -- ; K. yĕngur m. ʻ charcoal ʼ, yĕnguru m. ʻ charcoal -- burner ʼ; M. ĩgaḷ, ĩgḷā m., Ko. ĩgḷo. -- Deriv. M. ĩgḷā m. ʻ a kind of large ant ʼ, ĩgḷī f. ʻ a large black deadly scorpion ʼ. aṅgāraka -- , aṅgāri -- , aṅgāryāˊ -- ; aṅgāradhānī -- , *aṅgāravarta -- , *aṅgārasthāna -- , *aṅgr̥ṣṭha -- . Addenda: áṅgāra -- : Md. an̆guru ʻ charcoal ʼ.(CDIAL 125) Acanthus ilicifolius I submit that this is hypertext of Indus Script Cipher to signify dhamma samjñā 'responsibility indicator' or functions assigned to Gaṇeśa as the Superintendent of metalwork artisans. Sakar Dhar Gaṇeśa Mūrti is signified with two kharva 'dwarfs' rebus: karba, 'iron' PLUS dula 'two' rebus: dul 'metal casting'. Gaṇeśa is leader of गण[p= 343,1] m. = वाच् (i.e. " a series of verses ") Naigh. i , 11 m. a particular group of सामन्s La1t2y. i , 6 , 5 VarYogay. viii , 7; N. of गणे*श W.; a single attendant of शिव VarBr2S. Katha1s. Ra1jat. iii , 270; troops or classes of inferior deities (especially certain troops of demi-gods considered as शिव's attendants and under the special superintendence of the god गणे*श ; cf. -देवता) Mn. Ya1jn5. Lalit. &c; m. a flock , troop , multitude , number , tribe , series , class (of animate or inanimate beings) , body of followers or attendants RV. AV. &c; a company , any assemblage or association of men formed for the attainment of the same aims Mn. Ya1jn5. Hit. The combination of Gaṇeśa's elephant trunk and the tiger face with feline paws is the Indus Script hypertext which is the model for the architectural splendour of vyāḷa seen in hundreds of temples in India and Southeast Asia. phaḍa 'metals manufactory' paṭṭaḍe 'metals workshop'. These hypertexts are traceable to Indus Sarasvati Script hypertexts as seen on tiger mask artifacts. Hieroglyphs and rebus readings: mũh 'face' Rebus: mũhe 'ingot' kola 'woman' kola 'tiger' Rebus: kol 'working in iron' Nahali (kol ‘woman’) and Santali (kul ‘tiger’; kol ‘kolhe, smelter’) Slide72. Two composite anthropomorphic / animal figurines from Harappa.Whether or not the attachable water buffalo horns were used in magic or other rituals, unusual and composite animals and anthropomorphic/animal beings were clearly a part of Indus ideology. The ubiquitous "unicorn" (most commonly found on seals, but also represented in figurines), composite animals and animals with multiple heads, and composite anthropomorphic/animal figurines such as the seated quadruped figurines with female faces, headdresses and tails offer tantalizing glimpses into a rich ideology, one that may have been steeped in mythology, magic, and/or ritual transformation. Approximate dimensions (W x H(L) x D) of the larger figurine: 3.5 x 7.1 x 4.8 cm. (Photograph by Richard H. Meadow)Nahali (kol ‘woman’) and Santali (kul, kola ‘tiger’; kol ‘smelter’)

Ritual and Recognition of Divine Presence in North India

This paper presents an ethnographic vignette of pilgrimage worship in north India, in which I attempt to understand a mother and son's divergent reactions to changes in temple practice. My interpretation of these differences hinges on whether or not each actor was able to perceive divine presence in their material environment, and the conditions under which they could and could not do so. I follow how three aspects of the arranged temple environment-space, time, and material objects-triggered conflicting affective memories and expectations in the perceptual repertoires of the mother and son, with consequences for their ability to recognize the criteria of divine presence. Analyzing these memories in relation to the mother and son's varying life histories and expectations for pilgrimage worship, I show how questions of ritual authority, family loyalty, and community politics figured as well into their emotional reactions and abilities to recognize the criteria of the divine. I use this example to draw attention to a recent discussion regarding the "agency of gods and spirits" in certain life-worlds, with ties to postcolonial Indian studies, religious studies, and anthropology. Offering a methodology for assessing ritual interchanges between the material environment, bodily-sensorial schemas, forms of interiority, and divine life-forms, my close-range investigation then supplies the "divine agency" discussion with an analytical antecedent: I argue that before one can understand the agency of gods, one must first grasp how gods become intelligible to humans. For my two research subjects, this intelligibility was dependent upon the ways in which a certain arrangement of the material environment confronted their affective memories and expectations regarding divinity, ritual authority, family loyalty, and community politics. "She's being crazy-who knows why?" Raju offered.' Shortly before this, he had been huddled with the other two men around their liquor in the picnic area of the Bhairuji temple in Kodamdesar, India. The goat curry cooking over the fire demanded the efforts of Raju's mother, Radha, and wife, Mamta, albeit under Raju's supervision. He occasionally offered them cups of beer. In the meantime, Radha had become angrier at the pilgrimage priests for charging them a small fee to use the temple's utensils, bowls, and cooking pot. Her protesta-tions and accusations now grew louder, and she jumped up and paced around the cookout site. "I shouldn't have given her alcohol;' Raju later guessed bashfully, "that's the issue." Raju's interpretation of his mother's response to the charge for temple cookware defined her as "crazy." At the same time, because her madness came from the beer he gave her, it construed her actions as dependent upon his. These remarks were also part of his attempt to understand why Radha was so angry. I, too, was deeply puzzled by this, but the madness explanation never held any water. Insofar as she remained angry for the duration of the pilgrimage in western Rajasthan, the tiny amount of beer she had consumed likewise explained precious little. In this pape1; I attempt to understand Radha and Raju's divergent reactions to changes in pilgrimage practice at the Kodamdesar Bhairuji temple in Rajasthan, India. I argue that the disparity between their responses to d1e fee was rooted in the different composition of Radha and Raju's repertoires of perception and practice. These variant repertoires-similarly classed, but inconsistent in their gendered, generational, and life-historical aspects-made for separate experiences of the temple's material environment. Central to the difference between these experiences were a) Raju's ability and Radha's inability to recognize the criteria of divine presence in the temple's material environment, and b) the affective memories triggered in each of them by enco,mters with this environment. I show how Raju and Radha responded affirmatively to the architectural criteria of divine life-forms, but were pulled in different directions by their "rhythming," or intellectual-cum-bodily training in perception, thought, and action in time. Radha perceived the temple staff's irresponsible handing of the kitchenware-that is, material mediators of Bhairuji's graces-which confounded her memories, commitments, and expectations. This ensemble context, I argue, disallowed her from recognizing Bhairuji's life-forms at the temple. The implication of this example for ritual studies is twofold. First, this paper offers a new approach to ethnographic interlocutors' forms of interiority as these are engaged by ritual practice and its material infrastructure. Secondly, it responds to stud

Myth, Fable and Guile: The Art of Survival in Shahdol

He has a weathered face, eyes that are somewhat rheumy, and a gravely voice. All three come into play when he makes his statement. " Azadi " , he says " In azadi has lain our barbadi. Freedom has brought us to ruin. " He is the goutiya, village chief and elder of Parmania, and his narrative reflects off the faces squatting by the fire. " Long ago the dugdugi sounded in our village. The government harkara it was, who told us about azadi. He told us of a Gandhi baba. Way, way up on top of a mound, this baba was sitting. Then Nathuram Gond was passing by, below, with his gun. He aimed his gun and fired the bullets. Gandhi baba died. And we became free. " In this recounting of history, Godse has become Gond by a curious twist in the tail of collective memory. For Parmania is a village of Gond and Bhumia tribals, sheltered in a hanging valley of the Maikal hills of central India. Close to the south lies the source of the Narmada River and the range in which the village nestles descends sharply to the north into the valley of the Sone River. This is all part of the district of Shahdol and many villages like Parmania dot the landscape. Here live the indigenous peoples of Gond and Bhumia, Kol and Baiga, Panika, Agaria, Basor and Koiri. The rich, fertile valley floors were taken over generations ago by a host of immigrants from the Gangetic plains to the north. So slowly the tribes have been forced to move into the uplands and hills of the Vindhyan ranges. The Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), responsible for government development projects in this part of the uplands, sits comfortably plump in his easy-chair and scowls over his cup of tea. " These adivasis are so difficult to work with. They have absolutely no intelligence. When we go to meet them to tell them all about the benefits of the government schemes, they go off to their fields and forests during the day. And in the evening they are all dead drunk. Even when you tell them something they just nod blankly but nothing goes into their heads. How will the nation ever prosper with poor fools like these? " It is a fascinating question that he asks, for it is the starting point for uncovering many complex layers of myth and reality, of visions and perceptions that tell more about the perceiver than the perceived. The SDO, for instance, sits in a house built for him by the Public Works Department, budgeted officially at Rs 2,70,000 and when he looks out at the world through its windows what he sees reflects his house and not the world. For he is also responsible for seeing to it that those " poor fools " out there build their houses for a mere Rs 2,500 under the Rural Housing Scheme. Small wonder then that such a gulf separates him from the complexity of survival at the margin and makes it appear almost " idiotic ". Part of that complexity is ensconced in the Pahata that lies outside Chaitu Baiga " s house. This is a flat wooden board which he hitches to his bullocks and rides atop to level his ploughed field. It " s a simple device but, curiously enough, it has two wooden dowels protruding from the surface. Whatever could those be for? Chaitu is delighted to explain to the ignorant. He drags out an iron blade from under his cot which has two lateral arms, the whole thing shaped somewhat like an elongated U. He shows how he attaches the arms of the blade to the dowels of the Pahata through the simple expedient of hammering a couple of iron rings to clasp them together. Then he flips the whole thing over and hitches it to the bullocks. The blade drags albng the ground, turning the clods over and pulling out the grass by its roots. This is Chaitu " s Bakhar, the weeder he has fashioned himself with some help from the Agaria smith. In a neighbouring village, Bheekham will demonstrate the Kurri, a huge wooden spade that his bullocks pull to grade the land. His spade has round ears though, which fit into collars on the