Buffalo, Our Ancestor

MC Raj has written about how he became an author in two parts – part one and two. Here he writes about the significance of the buffalo in Dalit culture and about the work of REDS in preventing rituals that sanctify free caste labour.

Actually I did not mean to write another blogpost. However, it is difficult not to write now as there are a few things that are welling up in me. The name that you have chosen for your site [the blogger's name in Tamil] is ‘Buffalo’. This is a fascinating aspect for me. Let me explain.

When we started discussing seriously and researched into the history and culture of Dalits, we discovered, in our Movement, the close affinity we have with buffalo. I started writing and speaking about it. When REDS organized a national conference on globalization in Tumkur, I presented a paper in which I spoke at length about the significance of buffalo in Dalit culture. Within a few months, there was a book from Kancha Ilaiah. The title of the book was Buffalo Nationalism.

Much later, when we met Kancha, he presented the book to us and wrote with his hand that he drew inspiration from us for writing this book. We are happy that our thoughts worked like a spark to bring out a book. We were sad that I had to give up the idea of writing a book on buffalo’s significance in Dalit culture.

However, we continued the discussions with our people in our Movement. Every year, in Karnataka, Dalit people celebrate the festival of Maramma. In Tamilnadu, Maariamma is termed as a Dalit goddess, as I hear from friends. But in Karnataka, we have a different myth. Maramma is a Brahmin girl who fell in love with Kadaraiah, a young and robust Dalit boy. Both loved each other immensely. Maramma only looked at his body and its beauty with strong muscles. She was blindly in love with him. She also took it for granted that such a handsome young man could only be a Brahmin. Kadaraiah hid his ‘Madhiga’ identity for fear of losing his ladylove.  They married and lived happily. One day the mother of Kadaraiah went to see both son and daughter-in-law. Maramma was very happy and prepared good food for her mother-in-law, as she wanted to get into her good books. But it was all vegetarian food, grass-eating was the habit. They had a mouthful of all the preparations of Maramma. It was time for dessert. She had prepared ‘Kadubu’, a delicacy in Karnataka. In Tamil it is called ‘Kolakatte’.

She asked mother and son to have a taste of Kadubu and went to fetch water. Kadaraiah was full of fascination for his young love. At the end of the recitation of his love, he asked his mother about the taste of the food that Maramma prepared. He very casually asked her about how she liked the Kadubu that his wife had prepared. Kadaraiah’s mother was still having it in her mouth. She opened her mouth and said that it was very tasty and added: ‘However, Kadariah, it is nothing when we compare it with the taste of the bone that we bite during our meal’. The Kadubu in her mouth was laughing loud as it saw Maramma standing at the door before mother could close her mouth. Now Maramma knew that her husband was a beef-eating Madhiga Dalit. She opened her mouth wide and began to curse Kadaraiah for having married a Brahmin girl. She killed him and sent his ‘atma’ (soul) into a buffalo.

Today every year the village caste lord dedicates a buffalo to Maramma and gives it to the Dalits to rear it during the year. He becomes a sort of god for having gifted the buffalo to Dalits free. In return, he and other caste fellows extract free caste labour from all Dalits throughout the year. On the festival night, the buffalo is sacrificed and its head kept at the entrance to the village (now at the temple entrance) to remind all Dalits that they should never dare to even think of marrying a Brahmin girl or any other caste girls. More than the myth, it is the perpetuation of free caste labour that is unconstitutional.

Even as I am writing this, in Tharur, there are 8 policemen to prevent this festival tonight. This year, it has been a revolution in Tumkur District. Village after village, we have stopped this sacrifice of buffalo. No ordinary effort can achieve this. But we are very proud that we have stopped it even in big villages where ministers and MLA have supported the celebration and have hated us for stopping the festival. But this is being stopped all over the District. We have a big Movement, I told you.

In my latest novel Yoikana that has been published in the US, I have started it with Reindeer, which the Indigenous Saami people consider as their ancestor. I have brought buffalo and reindeer together as ancestors of two ancient peoples, the Saami and the Dalit. I was under the impression that this pride behind buffalo had not caught up in Tamilnadu. For the first time, I came across this in your website and it excites me immensely. Shiva’s wife Adishakthi incarnates as Chamundeshwari (We call her Chee Munde Eeshwari) to kill Mahishasura, who is Mahesh, the buffalo. This myth forms the background for the celebration of Dusserah.  I recollect that Dr. Badal Sen Gupta often used to narrate to me very proudly about the novel Mahesh that he relished reading. It is also about a buffalo written in Bengali language. He was not a Dalit. But he knew that I am and was happy to narrate it to me again and again.

I am sure one day when some others write Dalit history they will definitely refer to the way we have stopped this festival in our District in such large way. Am I so happy to send this blogpost to you! Our struggle is completely blended with the pride and dignity that this has brought in the lives of our people.

- MC Raj, Tumkur

Manickam Casimir Raj was born in Tuticorin and lives in Karnataka. He has a B.Ph. (Philosophy), B .D. (Theology), M.A Sociology. He has studied Tamil, English, Kannada, Malayalam, Latin, Greek and French. He has extensive work, travel, study, research, writing and consulting experience.  He works with the Rural Education for Development Society.

A Tiger-Woman’s Prayer

- Temsula Ao

According to Ao-Naga myth certain individuals, men or women, possess familiars or companion spirits in the form of tigers.

O you powers of the earth and sky,

Who gave me this destiny,

Tell me what is happening.

Because I hear a new cadence

In the familiar steps

That always stalk.

Reminding me of my varied selves

Whether they be spirit,

Human or beast.

O you capricious powers

Who fraught me thus

Why do you remain un-moved?

Can’t you hear the urgency

In the tracking steps

And the sudden fear in my heart?

Which cautions me

My time is running out

Whether I be spirit, human or tiger.

Tell me what to do

Should I increase my pace,

Run, skip or fly?

But my legs are leaden

With this un-shake-able burden

And the mounting fear.

That even if I try

The stalking pairs will out-pace me

And will not relent

Until I reach the shore

Beyond the region

Of the setting sun.

O you powers above

All-knowing, all-seeing,

Pity my human plight.

And enable me, just this once

To renounce

These other selves

Straddling my troubled spirit

Since grandfather’s tiger-soul

Came un-bidden to take control

And entangled my woman-self

In an un-seemly mesh

Of spirit, human and beast.

So I implore,

Grant me this last prayer

So that when I cross over

To the region

Beyond the sun

Like all others of my kind

The iridescent fumes

Of the last sunset

Will dissolve my several selves.

Be they spirit, woman or tiger

And raise a rainbow there

Against our composite tears.

- From ‘Songs from the Other Life’, poems by Temsula Ao (Grasswork Books: Pune, 2007)

Temsula Ao is professor of English at North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU). Some of her poems have found place in the syllabus of Nagaland University and NEHU.

Mizo folk songstresses

- Ruth Lalremruati

Excerpts from an article on the songs written by female poets of the Mizos. This article appeared in the Indian Folklife issue on Mizo Folklore, Guest Editor: Margaret Ch. Zama, Serial No. 34, November 2009

Read the full issue online here [pdf file]

…

Several folk songs have been named after the women composers themselves. Some of them, though composed by others, continued to be named after them. The Mizo folk songstresses were endowed with a remarkable variety of expressions which reflected in their compositions. Some of the notable Mizo folk songstresses are described below. Pi Hmuaki is claimed to be the first known songstress
of the Mizo. Her name can be traced back to 1600-1650 AD when the tribe settled between the Run and Tiau rivers. Some of her songs disclose her profound love of her village Ngente, a few miles away from Tiau River:

Kan Ngente Khua khaw nun nuama kha
Thla ka fam hma’n ka nghilh rua lo ve
(Our Ngente village a place of joy,
I will not forget thee till I die)

Kan Ngente khaw chhuahtlang dai rawnah,
Lungrual taka tuan lai ngai iang e
(I yearn for our contented lives together,
in the happy valley of our Ngente village)

Her songs are spontaneous and they contain no rigid themes for she is versatile, and flexible. It is said that she was a born songstress as she could compose musical verses at any moment without restraint. Her verses contain two lines; they are simple, natural and musical.

Darpawngi is another noteworthy composer of folk songs. Her songs can be categorized according to their tunes and themes into three groups:

Thlek zai (songs of head turn), Lusun zai (songs of mourning), and Thinrim zai (songs of anger). Most of her songs are lamentations for the death of her son, and her rebellion against the repressive village chief. Her songs are arranged in a three-lined verse form except for thinrim zai. Thinrim zai has four lines in each verse and the second line is an echo of the first line. She courageously protested against the injustice of authority through her songs.

Laltheri is another folk songstress who through her songs, contributed significantly to the social protest against the growing class discrimination facilitated by the repressive village chief. She brought about a change in the social status of the Mizo women through
her songs. She was the daughter of a powerful chief, Lalsavunga but broke tradition by falling in love with Chalthanga, a commoner, who was beheaded at the behest of her angry brothers. Laltheri protested against the murder by refusing to wear clothes and abstaining from food. When asked to wear clothes, she replied in a song:

Ka nemte puan ka chawi lovang ka nu,
Ka di thandang zalna mah, chhimhlei tualdaihah.

(Oh mother, I will not have my clothes on,
even my beloved lies in the cold grave)

Her songs clearly declare the depth of her feelings. Her powerful grieving finally touched the hearts of her proud Sailo brothers. And the chief Vanhnuailiana, her brother, agreed that such cruel incidents would not take place in future.

…

References
Lalbiaklina, H.K.R. Mizo Zaite ( Vol I), Exodus Press, Aizawl, 1995.
Lalruanga. A Study of Mizo Folk Literature. Unpublished thesis for Ph.D., Gauhati University, 1984
Lalthangliana, B. Mizo Hun Hlui Hlate, RTM Press, Aizawl, 1998.
Thanga, L.B. The Mizos, United Publishers, Gauhati, 1979.
Thanmawia, R.L. Mizo Poetry, Aizawl, 1998.
Thanmawia, R.L. Mizo Hla thu hrilhfiahna, Aizawl, 1998
Zawla, K. Pipute leh an thlahte chanchin, Aizawl, 1976.

The author works with the Department of Mizo, Mizoram University

Excerpts from an article on the songs written by female poets of the Mizos. This article appeared in the Indian Folklife issue on Mizo Folklore, Guest Editor: Margaret Ch. Zama, Serial No. 34, November 2009

Read the full issue online here [pdf file]

The Oral Poetry of the Bodos: Ethnic Voices and Discourses

- Anil Kumar Boro

Excerpts from an article on the mythology and folklore of the Bodos, early settlers in Assam. The sections chosen describe a narrative that uses puranic myth to subvert Brahminical authority. This article appeared in the Indian Folklife issue on Oral Poetry, Guest Editor:  Desmond Kharmawphlang, Serial No. 27, November 2007

Read the full issue online here [pdf file]

…

There are mythical narratives in Bodo, which embody the ethnic group’s perception of cultural difference. They reveal how the narrator and his audience handle their experience of cultural difference, their perception of the self and the other.

Gibi Bithai, a verse narrative comprising Bodo mythical narratives, reveals the images of Bodo religion and culture in counterpoint to other religions and cultures. The long verse narrative contains elaborate descriptions on how the universe, continents, and human beings were created, how groups of Aryan-speaking people came and settled in
Asia along with the Mongoloids. The verse narrative records how the great flood was brought in inorder to punish the wicked people and how the world was recreated. It purports to establish Bathoubrai as the principal and most powerful deity in comparison with all the deities venerated in the Brahminical tradition. The narrative tells us how all the races in the world, at one time, worshipped Bathoubrai only; but in course of time everybody except the yellow-skinned Mongoloids forgot Bathoubrai and started worshipping Vishnu and Brahma. They began to consider only these two as the gods to be venerated and propitiated. They considered other deities inferior and their followers as low castes with whom food should not be shared. So Bathoubrai wanted to teach them a lesson. Seeing this, the Brahmin priests invoked Brahma to protect them from the wrath of Bathoubrai. First came a tiger, then a snake, and then a bullock in support of them. The
already enraged Bathoubrai became more ferocious and danced a tandava, which according to the narrator-poet was to smash and destroy the temple — the place of worship of Hindus. Seeing this, Vishnu rushed to Bathoubrai and begged him to forgive him and his followers. Bathoubrai replied “the proud and arrogant Brahmin priests cannot be forgiven. They must be taught a lesson. Let Brahma do what he can to save them.’’ Vishnu rushed to Brahma who was also concerned and ashamed. Both of them came to Bathoubrai and requested him to forgive their followers.
Bathoubrai continued his tandava that caused great tremors. So they requested Bathoubrai’s consort to pacify him. She came and joined Bathoubrai in a slow pace and rhythm. From her dance, the narrator-poet of Gibi Bithai proclaims, came tala and lasya. Brahma clapped his hands to the rhythm of the dance while Vishnu played on the Siphung. Khoila played the kham and the other Bodo deities played other traditional musical instruments. All the deities came down from
Kailash and accepted Bathoubrai as the principal deity.
The narrative has features of intertextuality and interpolation that facilitates indigenous discourse as a counterpoint. The narrator-poet uses the puranic narrative of Siva to challenge the Brahminical discourses that sought to undermine and silence the religion and culture of the Bodos. Thus the narrative contests the supremacy of the Brahminical religion and claims that Bathoubrai is the supreme one among all gods. It was the explicit agenda of the narrator-poet’s discourse to
counter the colonial and post-colonial ethnographic endeavours to brand the ethnic group as “savage’’ and “semi savage’’. Let us have a look at what he pronounces as a preface to the long narrative verse.
The poet says,
The Vedas, the Ramayana, the Puranas have identified the people of the North east India as “savage’’ [man without any civilization]. Rev. Sidney Endle, Edward Stack, Major Playfair, and other scholars and ethnographers from outside the
country also called them “animist” and “semi savage”. The aboriginal people of North east India worship the almighty God as Bathou, Baitho, Washy, Baikhu and so on. Bathou is nirakara [disembodied], adrisya [unseen] omnipotent, omniscient and eternal——— Thus the people of the North east India [the Bodo and the other Mongoloid people] are not animists. (Introduction to Gibi Bithai)
The narrative verse contains different elements of intercultural communication in the way it deals with the anthropological categories based on biological differences. The narrator-poet focuses on the racial differences between the white-skinned Aryans and the yellow-skinned Bodos and other Mongoloids. The Mongoloid people of Assam and North-East India are well known for their common physical and linguistic features. The Bodos of Assam share this common feature with all other ethnic groups that come under the common Mongoloid stock. The tribes of this region were called Kirata, Mlecha, Asura, and Khacsha or Kacahri by the historians and the ethnographers of early times. The narrator-poet draws sustenance from these accounts and uses the same categories to contest the dominant discourses that tend to degrade and look down upon their social status.
The following excerpt from the text (Gibi Bithai by Bihu Ram Boro) will testify to this:

In the fertile land of the Sind
Arrived the group of people thus scattered
The white-skinned people worshipped Brahma
As the black coloured worshipped Vishnu
And forgot all about Sibrai
The origin of all deities
Thus the black and the white-skinned laughed at
And hated the ways of the yellow-skinned
Thus they hated the horned figure of Sibrai
Knew not the wicked priests the might of Sibrai
In ignorance because of which they neglected Sibrai
And worshipped Brahma and Vishnu
The black-skinned people knew Vishnu only
Considered him to be the only god
The white-skinned knew Brahma only
And considered others as non-entity
Day by day they forgot Siva
The origin of all the creations
The first incarnation of Bathou
Nor could they tolerate them
So thought Sibrai to teach them a lesson
They knew not his might
Listen, o! Thena, the affectionate disciple among men
He is the custodian and head of all the gods
How do we mortals know about him?
The wicked priests thus one day
Propitiated Brahma with offerings and prayers
Burning incense stick and aroma
For their well being
They forgot the teachings and ways of Sibrai and his
followers
Nor could they tolerate each other
Bellicose they were, as they knew each other’s wickedness
Thought Sibrai as he saw them
He should teach them a lesson
Of a yellow-skinned beggar
He took the guise and appeared before them
As the white-skinned priest saw him
They flared up in wrath like the fire
They addressed him as dog and pig
Threatened to kill him with a log
Father Siba in the guise of a yellow-skinned beggar
Pretended to run gasping in fear
They followed — the white-skinned priests
But could not they catch him
Tired and gasping they returned
Sat there in the place of worship

Father Siba in the guise of the beggar
Returned with a tattered bag
A hue and cry they raised
Chased everywhere with shouts of alarm
Thus pretended father Siba to flee
Disappeared all at once and re appeared on another side
With the power of divinity he showed them his strength
and might
Misconstrued and stupefied, the wicked priests
Fought and quarrelled amongst themselves.
[Gibi Bithai.Canto XXXII]

The narrator-poet focuses on the features of racial and cultural differences that he discerns among the Mongoloid Bodos, the Aryans and others. The text of Gibi Bithai and other texts are heavily loaded with the ideas of difference and contest. This type of discourse can be understood as a particular ethnic group’s aspiration for status and contestation of the established Hindu narratives. Similar to the caste puranas extant among the low caste and tribal people of Andhra
Pradesh, and the oral narratives of contest extant among many ethnic communities in India, the Bodo mythical narratives have a strong voice of contest and defiance. The narrator-poet makes deliberate use of his knowledge of the narrative of the Indian deities to fit into his discourse of contest and resistance.
The Bodo verse narratives related to religion and culture can be identified as more critical because these provide strong support as the authority of tradition even today. These narratives can be considered as those that mark the cultural boundary of the ethnic group as distinct from the others. The myths of Kherai worship and the related musical instruments tell us the origin of the form of worship in relation to the traditional religion of the Bodos and the different deities propitiated to the accompaniment of the musical instruments. Bodo religion and music centres around the worship of Bathoubrai or Sibrai, very often identified with lord Siva of the Hindu pantheon. These narratives related to religion and culture are strategic tools to negotiate any possible threat of disintegration. These narratives point to the existence of a heritage of indigenous culture not intermingled with the elements of the classical Hindu tradition and culture.

…

The narratives on the mythical characters and events are preserved in the collective memory of the community and thereby affirm the continuity of the indigenous past. They bring alive, to the present moment, the past of the community and provide us with clues to their culture.
…

The author works with the Department of Folklore Research, Guwahati University, Assam.

These excerpts are from his article for the Indian Folklife, A quarterly newsletter of the National Folklore Support Centre, Serial No. 27, November 2007

Read the full issue online here [pdf file]

Pleasant Dreams – Khasi Lullabies

by Daphinda War

Excerpts from an article on lullabies of the indigenous Khasi community who live predominantly in Meghalaya. This article appeared in the Indian Folklife issue on Oral Poetry, Guest Editor:  Desmond Kharmawphlang, Serial No. 27, November 2007

Read the full issue online here [pdf file]

…

Professor H.W. Sten in his book Khasi Poetry (1982) mentions an excellent piece collected, presumably from the Jaintia hills. It goes:

Kieh ka latkhur kur-kur
Ha ka nat saphoh,
Poi ka bei pho na jantapur
Kam ka labit tungtoh.

I have attempted a translation of this as follows:

The dove wails “kur-kur”
perched on a pear tree branch
your mother returns from Jaintiapur
Like a “tungtoh” sweated bat.

In the first line, the dominant imagery is of the dove cooing on a pear tree branch. As far as the meaning is concerned, it is complete in itself. In the fourth line, the dove is completely absent, and is replaced, as it were, by a bat. The mother who sings this lullaby likens herself to the bat returning from Jaintiapur. This has to be studied more closely. There is a suggestion of a trip that the mother has to undertake, and it can be implied that the destination is Jaintiapur, a thriving
market place which once used to be the winter capital of the erstwhile traditional state of Sutnga, that fell under the domain of Jaintia Chiefs. Jaintiapur is now in Bangladesh. There is a reference to “Tungtoh” in the lullaby. “Tungtoh” is a pungent paste made of fermented soya beans and is a favoured delicacy of the Khasis.

The song implies that the mother is trying to put her child to sleep so that she would be able to go to the Jaintiapur market to sell the “tungtoh” she had prepared, and would return as soon as she disposes of her ware. The imagery shifts ground a little, in that we find the mother likening herself to the diurnal bat that comes homes when it gets dark, presumably, with the smell of the pungent “tungtoh” still clinging to her person. Or it could be a clever and oblique reference to the
great distance she would have to travel to Jaintiapur and back, and coupled with the state of her anxiety to
get back home, she must have exerted herself to the point of perspiring heavily. Hence, the reference to odour in the image of the “tungtoh – sweated bat”.

Usually, lullabies have formula words, which are formed by syllables which are repeated. The most common ones are loo-loo, lalla, lullay, ninna-nanna, bo, bo, do, do…In the Khasi tradition, the most popular is “oi, oi”, which will be found in various lullabies, be they of rural or urban origins. However, there are exceptions to the rule, also. I have heard and recorded a peculiar version which is completely dissimilar. It is not the simplistic two-syllable formula of “oi, oi”, but “abjon, abjon”.
The text of the lullaby goes as follows:

Abjon! Abjon! Thung saru ka miaw
Han thung ko iileh
Han thung ko ileh
Ym ioh o du u bam.
Abjon! Abjon! Thung saru ka miaw ka ksaw,
Han thung ko ileh
Han thung ko ileh
Noh lut cha khyndaw.

The translation:

Abjon! Abjon! The cat and dog are sowing
Job’s tears
So what of it
So what of it
They won’t get to eat it
Abjon! Abjon! The cat and dog are sowing
maize,
So what of it
So what of it
It all falls to the ground!

The expression “Abjon! Abjon!” is a baffling one, because it escapes direct translation, and does not conform with the traditional “Oi Oi”. An old woman ventured an opinion saying it could denote the cawing of a crow as it flies overhead. The setting of the lullaby is indeed, above, in the sky, as I shall explain. “The cat is sowing Job’s tears” refers to the folk saying “the cat is ploughing the sky” whenever there is a formation of evenly fragmented clouds in the sky, a common
enough meteorological phenomenon here.

The singer, while singing, presumably sits outside, and relates the meteorological phenomena taking place overhead by applying folk description. By a clever twist, the singer shifts the scene to realistic terms, by saying that nothing can come out of that effort, because the clouds are not terra firma, and no Job’s tears can beexpected to grow on it. This is what is being conveyedin the first stanza.

The second stanza also begins like the first, and progresses similarly, till at the end of the stanza, we have the line – “It all falls to the ground”. This is a reference to the uselessness of planting Job’s tears in the clouds, again for the reasons stated which would result in maize falling to the ground. Although simplicity marks the lullaby, yet it is imaginatively constructed, making use of folk wisdom, improvisation, and what I would say, is a comic inversion of folk
sayings, by supplying a hard-nosed realism to its application.

Another very interesting lullaby which I have heard and recorded is one which involves handling of the infant’s fingers by the singer. I shall first reproduce the lullaby:

Ong kani e ja bei
Ong kani nei wan u ioh
Ong kani pan ram pan chah
phet sha khlo
bam da u sla patho.

The translation:

This one (finger) says give me rice, mother,
This one (finger) says for whom is the rice,
This one (finger) says let’s borrow some,
run to the jungles
let’s eat pumpkin leaves.

This one is sung by the mother who takes the infant’s fingers one by one, starting with the small finger, going on to the next, and next, as the succeeding lines come, ending with the thumb, and lifting it to the infant’s mouth. There are five lines in the lullaby, each meant for one finger of the infant’s single hand.

The text of the lullaby suggests some kind of food scarcity which is reflected from lines two to five. The reference to pumpkin leaves, which is an item of a poor man’s diet, suggests this. Pumpkin leaves grow abundantly in the jungle and when cooked proves to be very wholesome and filling rice and cucurbits. But inversely, the song might reflect that the baby has been fed and the singer thinks it is time for it to go to sleep, which can effectively be induced by making it suck its
thumb. Seen in any way, the lullaby is a highly creative one, aided by some action on the part of the singer.

…

The author teaches at the Department of English, St. Edmund’s College, Shillong.

These excerpts are from her article for the Indian Folklife, A quarterly newsletter of the National Folklore Support Centre, Serial No. 27, November 2007

Read the full issue online here [pdf file]

Oral Poetry from Kalahandi 3

Edited excerpts follow from Oral Poetry of Kalahandi collected and translated by Mahendra K. Mishra & Lal Ashutosh Dash, published in 2008 by Adibasi Sanskruti Gabesana Parishad, Sinapali, Nuapada District, 766 108.

Read the first set of excerpts here and the second set of excerpts here.

From the introduction:

Kalahandi has been hit by repeated drought. Continuous occurrence of drought along with irregular rainfall has made people poorer and poorer. The daily wage labourers and landless are generally called ‘sukhbasi’ in Kalahandi, meaning those who live happily. A proverb for ‘sukhbasi’ runs thus: ‘gai noru, sukhe nid karu’ which means that men without cattle have carefree and sound sleep. About one-lakh residents of Kalahandi and Bolangir districts of Orissa (most of them Gaurs or communities belonging to the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe categories) have settled down in Raipur town of Chattisgarh where a slum is known as Raipur ka Narak. Thus in the native land, as also in the area of resettlement, the life of the poor people of Kalahandi is no better than a curse.

Sajani songs
These are sung by the women of western Orissa

When rainwater is not available, people think of purchasing motor pumps to irrigate the land.

Sajani, Hatikana darapana
Marudi helana thakila pena,
Motora pipe ghena.

Elephant’s ear; like mirror,
Rain failed and came the drought
Go for a motor pump.

If some government officials like Revenue Officer, Forest Officer and police come to the village, the villagers provide them with hospitality. It’s ingrained in their mind that they have power. One such event in the village is reflected in the song.

Sajani, nuabandhe jagal gada
Asila patuari hoila randha
Hatar mundi hela bandha

A heap of weeds in the new pond.
Patwari came, food was cooked
My gold ring was mortgaged.

Primary education in tribal and rural areas in Orissa is met with teacher absenteeism. This irregularity has caught the sight of the illiterate girls in the village.

Sajani, semipatar kera kera
Amara talapadre iskul dera
Dine chhada dine padha

Bunches of bean flowers.
Our Talpadar village has a school,
The teaching is done every alternate day.

The poor people of Kalahandi living below poverty line migrate from their homeland to other parts of the country. They earn their livelihood as daily wage labourers.

Sajani, Dakinela thikadara
Ghara duara chhadi bidese ghara,
Petakaje harabara

The contractors invited us,
Leaving home, we are in an alien land,
All because of the belly.

In 1985, drought occurred in Kalahandi. Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi arrived in Boden, Sinapali, and many parts of Kalahandi. In the imagination of the people, their colour is an admixture of red and white.

Sajani, panaka betila godi,
Amar Rajib Gandhi rakata gori
Jahaje asila udi ho nuati jana
Sate Sonia ke sangedhari ho
Nuati jana

Sajani, the dove picked up the pebbles.
Our Rajib Gandhi is redwhite
He came flying in an aeroplane
With Sonia, Oh new moon listen to me.

The women folk were comfortable with coins. The paper note is difficult to get change for. So a woman says:

Sajani, Udigala udajaaja,
Tanka banigala chucha kagaja
Dukane nagala bhanja

Oh Sajani
Plane flew over the sky
Lo, the silver rupees turned into paper rupees
How difficult it is to get change for it.

The husband is not the audience of this song. This is a sort of monologue with a female friend for company. The wife dislikes the husband’s migration to distant places for money. In the folk imagination, Lanka signifies any far-off place.

Sajani,
tasni tasni tanka, Sajani,
mote charikari neijaa lanka,
kete arajiba tanka Sajani re.

Plates full of money
O sajani
Desert me not to go to Lanka
How much will you earn there?

…

From Oral Poetry of Kalahandi by Mahendra K. Mishra & Lal Ashutosh Dash

Published in 2008 by Adibasi Sanskruti Gabesana Parishad, Sinapali, Nuapada District, 766 108

Oral poetry of Kalahandi 2

Edited excerpts follow from Oral Poetry of Kalahandi collected and translated by Mahendra K. Mishra & Lal Ashutosh Dash, published in 2008 by Adibasi Sanskruti Gabesana Parishad, Sinapali, Nuapada District, 766 108.

Read the first set of excerpts from the book here.

From the introduction:

Oral poetry from Kalahandi is sung, accompanied with a group, music and dance. Anyone in the community can be a singer or dancer without prior training, irrespective of age or sex. Besides these, the Gonds and Kondhs have clan-based, professional singers who recite caste genealogies and origin myths of these tribes. Those who do not have caste bards have specialists drawn from their society to retain their ethnic history and legends through oral narratives.

Sajani song
Songs sung by women in western Orissa.

A girl has married out of caste and is insecure. Her beloved consoles her with the following lines:

Sajani, Nuabandhe pani nain
Jati gala bali bhalibu nahin
Tora kaje achhe muin.

No water in the new pond.
Fear not,
For you’ve not lost your caste
I’m there for you.

A social custom of taking bride price is current among the people of western Orissa. The bride’s father takes the bride price – ‘hajra’ from the bridegroom’s father in money, gold, buffalo, cows etc.
In this song, the drunkard husband demands money from his wife in return for the bride price. If money is not available, he wants to sell her earrings to purchase liquor.

Sajani, Pika patar reka reka
Tor bua khaiche chhakodi tanka
Kanara phasia dekha.

The tobacco leaf is striated.
Your father swallowed hundred and twenty rupees.
Show me your earrings.

Gender disparity is acute. Such disparity is visible in the day-to-day activities of the family. Here a man enjoys meat while the woman is deprived of it.

Sajani, Kasi baunsara dhuna
Ghaita khauchhe sikara tuna
Maiji chatuche nuna

A bow of tender bamboo.
The husband is relishing meat.
The wife is licking salt.

The collective mind retains events that are uncommon. Skylab was a threat to the people. They believed that it was like a bomb and that when it fell on the earth they would perish. Some old people arranged marriages hurriedly for their children and grandchildren in the hope that they would be able to live some days of conjugal life before the world ended.

Sajani, Gilase rakhilum macha
Gola parba bali kapila desa
Gola katha hela sesa.

The fish in a glass,
All the land is in panic.
That the monster ball would fall.
The gola(Skylab) store ended.

This song points to the corruption of government officials. A common man passes this sly remark to a block office employee, that he takes away the property of the government.

Sajani, Ahare kalami ama
Balaka bhitare karucha kama,
Gamchare neba dhana.

O mango of the grafted tree.
You are working in the block office.
You’ll take money hidden in the towel.

The schoolmaster is an important person in the rural scenario. People notice all his activities. The schoolmaster goes to the market and forgets to keep his school time. This is considered a sort of negligence on his part and is criticized.

Sajani, Semi sag basi hela
Gaar master bazaar gala
Gharike pasri dela

Bean leafs went rotten overnight.
The village schoolmaster went
To the market
He forgot to look at the clock.

…

From Oral Poetry of Kalahandi by Mahendra K. Mishra & Lal Ashutosh Dash

Published in 2008 by Adibasi Sanskruti Gabesana Parishad, Sinapali, Nuapada District, 766 108

Oral Poetry of Kalahandi 1

Edited excerpts follow from Oral Poetry of Kalahandi collected and translated by Mahendra K. Mishra & Lal Ashutosh Dash, published in 2008 by Adibasi Sanskruti Gabesana Parishad, Sinapali, Nuapada District, 766 108.

Mahendra Kumar Mishra’s earlier book was on Oral Epics of Kalahandi. Currently, he is promoting education among indigenous communities under the Multilingual Education Project in Orissa Primary Education Programme Authority of Government of Orissa.

Lal Ashutosh Dash teaches English Literature in the Panchayat Samiti College, Komma, Nuapada. He has conducted intensive research on Gondi linguistics. Currently, he is translating the oral narrative of Bhunjia community of Orissa.

From the introduction:

Kalahandi is in south-western Orissa. The literacy rate is about 62 per cent among men, 29 among women. Most of the population lives in rural areas. About a third of the rural population belongs to the tribes of Gonds, Kondhs, Sabars, Bhatars, Banjaras, Parajas, Bhunjias, Binjhals and Paharias. The Gaurs (milkmen), Keutas (fishermen), Kumbhars (potters), Sundhis and Kalars (liquor sellers) and Lohars (blacksmith) are the major castes of the peasant society. All these tribes and castes have a shared folklore. The tribal communities also have folklore in their own languages.

In this book, our endeavour is to identify the oral poetry sung by the women folk of Kalahandi.

…

Gua-Nadia songs
(The name refers to the betel-nut and the coconut – fruit with hard surfaces and juicy interiors – likened to the initial rebuffal of the beloved, followed by acceptance)

Ahare ukiabati!
Tui nai heluga sate amara jati
Sate kole dhari chuma detire guanadia
Sate kindiri ase bhendia re guanadia

O bright lamp! Were you of my caste,
Really, holding you on my lap, I’d kiss you,
O guanadia, the young lad moves around you.

Work song
In most villages in Kalahandi, the landless people work in their master’s house as agricultural labourers. They work throughout the year for stipulated quantity of paddy; about ten to fifteen quintals per annum. The agricultural labourers are called Halia, implying ploughmen. In the ‘Halia’ song, one can find the pitiable condition of his family. The master knows how to extract work from the halia but never cares for his miserable condition. The halia not only works in the field but also goes to the forest with a bullock cart to collect firewood. After coming from the field, he requests his master for some paddy. He remembers that in his house there is not a grain of rice to cook.

Eade sagada anili gharake gadi hela thia
Katha patra sari mahajana thane sabu katha kahe thika
Samia hela je masuri dhana ho, napidia mahajana.
Bela uchhluchhi ghare adhadiya nahin Kutibe bhuasen dhana.

I brought the cart to the house,
Finishing collecting wood, he tells before his master,
O master, it is time, give me masur paddy, the time is passing,
No paddy in the house to be husked by women.

Kanialama song
Recited by parents and companions, this heart-rending song describes the parents feelings upon the departure of their daughter, the new bride, from their house.

Dhire dhire renga nani dhire dhire renga,
Dhire dhire renga nani kania lama bele
Mudar jawa khusal jahi, gagar luga khusal jahi
Dhire dhire renga nani kania lama bele.
Bue kande Katen sale, maa kande randa ghare
Na kanda na kanda ho yo, Kania lama bele,
Gaile mangala geeta, dele hulahuli,
Na kanda na kanda na bua kania lama bele.

O bride, move slowly,
Your hair knot will fall down
Your clothes will slip.
It is the time of your farewell
O girl, move slowly.
(Father is crying near the husking place,
Mother is crying in the kitchen,
Don’t cry; don’t cry.
It is the time of her farewell.
The sang the auspicious song
And gave hulahuli
Don’t cry father and mother
It is the time of her farewell)

Mourning
Sometimes remembering the sweet days of her mother’s house, unable to bear the difficulties in her husband’s house, she comes to her mother’s house for succour. She puts her head on her mother’s shoulder and wails in song.

E bohu, mora suiba thana mela hela go bohu,
mor korihia darapanake kena dekhba go bohu.
moke kena kuri deba go bohu
Tor kaje randhi deba go bohu.

O mother, the unripe chilly is very bitter.
Were I a son, you’d have given me my share,
As I am your daughter
You threw me adrift the river, O mother.
I am scandalised, I have never been.
I am accused of being a thief in their house.

Sajani song
The young girls of western Orissa sing these songs.

The first line of the song – root of the coconut tree – refers to the depth of the girl’s love for her beloved. This love comes to the sight of other people and she expresses her fear of being outcaste. She pursues him to find a way out.

Sajani,
Nadia gachchara chera
Tamar lagi jati kula mohara
Nasa gala buddhi kara.

Root of a coconut tree,
It is for you,
I forfeit my caste,
I’m left alone.
Find out a way now.

…

From Oral Poetry of Kalahandi by Mahendra K. Mishra & Lal Ashutosh Dash

Published in 2008 by Adibasi Sanskruti Gabesana Parishad, Sinapali, Nuapada District, 766 108

புதைந்த பாதை/The buried path

ஒரு கிராமத்தின் நினைவும் வரலாறும்

ஜெ. பாலசுப்பிரமணியம்

The memories and history of a village

J. Balasubramaniam

வாய்மொழித் தரவுகள், குடிமரபு வரலாற்று ஆவணங்கள், புகைப்படங்கள் ஆகியவற்றைக்கொண்டு கிராமம் ஒன்றின் நூற்றாண்டு வரலாற்றைப் பேசுவதினூடாக தலித் மக்களின் கல்வி, பொருளாதார, அரசியல் விழிப்புணர்ச்சி, அவை பெற்றுத்தந்த அனுபவங்கள் ஆகியவற்றை முன்வைக்கிறது.

Telling the history of a village through a century with oral narratives, historical documents of inhabitants and photographs, this book foregrounds the education, economic and political awareness and the experiences of the dalit people.

தென் கரிசல் பதிப்பகம் ஒரு சமூககூட்டுப்பதிப்பு முயற்சியாக இந்த புத்தகத்தை பதிப்பித்துள்ளனர்.

Thenkarisal Publishers have brought this book out as a community publishing effort.

சொந்த கிராமத்தின் வரலாற்றை பாலசுப்ரமணியம் எழுதியுள்ளார். கிராமத்தில் இளைஞர்களுடன் வாசிப்பு குழு, அம்பேத்கர் இளைஞர் குழு போன்ற செயல்பாடுகள் இருந்தன. இந்த கிராமத்தின் பறையர் சாதியைச் சார்ந்த இளைஞர்கள் பெரும்பாலும் பம்பாய்க்கும், சென்னைக்கும் குடிபெயர்ந்து விட்டனர் – இவர்கள் சேர்ந்து மாத உரையாடல்கள் நடத்துகின்றனர். இதில் பதிப்பிக்கும் முயற்சி துவங்கியது – எல்லோரும் சேர்ந்து ஏழாயிரம் ருபாய் போட்டு இந்த புத்தகத்தை 2009 பொங்கலின் மறுநாள் இந்த வரலாற்றின் முக்கிய பிரமுகரான மந்திரமூர்த்தி தாத்தாவின் மனைவியின் கைகளால் வெளியிட்டனர்.

Balasubramaniam has written the history of his native village. Young men of this village had been involved in reading club and Ambedkar youth group activities. Most of these men, belonging to the Paraiyar caste, have migrated to Chennai and Mumbai – and they continue to hold monthly discussions. The effort to publish began there – they pooled Rs. 7000 to get this book released in 2009, the day after Pongal at their village, by the wife of Manthiramoorthy, a man who plays an important role in this history.

திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டம் நெல்லை சந்திப்பிலிருந்து மேற்கு திசையில் பன்னிரண்டு கிலோமீட்டர் தொலைவில் அமைந்துள்ளது திருப்பணி கரிசல்குளம்…

Thiruppani Karisalkulam is twelve kilometres to the west of Nellai junction in Tirunelveli district…

தலித்களின் நினைவுகள் (பக்கங்கள் 8-10)

The memories of Dalits (Pages 8-10)

கடந்தகால நினைவு என்பது நிகழ் கால அரசியல் மற்றும் எதிர்கால அரசியல் விருப்பங்கள் ஆகியவற்றை அடிப்படைகளாகக் கொண்டுள்ளது என்கிற புரிதலில் இந்த கிராமத்தின் நினைவைக் கொள்ளலாம். இந்த கிராமத்து தலித்துகளின் நினைவு கடந்த காலத்தில் நிலவுடமைச் சமூகமாக இருந்ததாகவும் தாங்களே இக்கிராமத்தின் முதல் குடிகள் என்றும், ஆதிக்கச் சாதிகளின் ஒடுக்குமுறையே இந்த நிலைக்குக் காரணம் என்றும் கூறுகிறது. “திருநெல்வேலி சீமையில் உள்ள எல்லா சமூகங்களின் வேறொரு இடத்திலிருந்து புலம்பெயர்ந்து வந்ததற்கான வரலாறு இருக்கிறது. ஆனால், பள்ளர், பறையர், சாதியினருக்கு மட்டும் அவ்வாறு எந்த வரலாறும் இல்லை. எனவே இவ்விரு சாதிகளும் பூர்வக்குடிகள் என்ற முடிவுக்கு வரலாம்” என்கிறார் பிஷப் கால்டுவெல். (Bishop R. Caldwell, A History of Tinnelvelly, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1982, pp. 4)

Contemporary politics and the politics of the future are the basis of the memories of the past. We can look at the memories of this village with this undertanding. The memories of the dalits hold that there was a feudal society here from before memories begin, that they were the village’s first inhabitants and that the oppression of dominant castes is the reason for their current state. ‘There is a history of migration to the Tirunelveli region among all communities living there. But, the Pallar and the Paraiyar do not have such a history. We can conclude that these two castes are the indigenous inhabitants.’ (from Bishop R. Caldwell, A History of Tinnelvelly, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1982)

தலித்துகளின் நினைவுகளில் இந்தக் கிராமத்தில் தேவேந்திரர்களும், ஆதிதிராவிடர்களும் ஒன்பது தலைமுறைகளுக்கு முன்பு இன்று ஊரின் மையப்பகுதியாகக் கருதப்படும் பகுதியில் பறையர்கள் மேற்குப் பக்கமாகவும், தேவேந்திரர்கள் கிழக்குப் பக்கமாகவும் வசித்து வந்துள்ளனர். தாங்கள் வாழ்ந்த பகுதிக்கு வடக்குப்புறம் விவசாயம் செய்துவந்துள்ளனர். ஒரு முறை நெல்லையப்பர் கோவிலின் சாமி சப்பரம் உலா வரும் போது பறையர்கள் வீட்டில் உலர்த்தப் போட்டிருந்த மாட்டிறைச்சியை (கொடிக்கரி) காகம் கொத்திச் சென்று சப்பரம் மீது போட்டது. இதனால் கோபமுற்ற ஆதிக்க சாதியினர் தேவேந்திரர்களையும், ஆதிதிராவிடர்களையும் ஊரின் தெற்குப்பகுதிக்கு அடித்து துரத்தியிருக்கின்றனர்.

In the memories of dalits, the Devendrar and Adi Dravidar lived in the centre of the village nine generations ago with the Paraiyar living in the west and the Devendrar in the east. They cultivated the lands to the north of where they lived. Once, when the chariot of the Nellaiyappar temple deity was in procession, a crow took some beef drying on lines outside Paraiyar homes and dropped it on the chariot. The dominant castes were angered by this and drove the Devendrar and the Adi Dravidar to south of the village, beating them as they chased them away.

தெற்குப்பகுதிக்கு வந்த தலித்துகள் தங்கள் கால்களால் கோடு கிழித்து இடம்பிடித்து தங்கள் குடிசைகளை அமைத்துள்ளனர். அதற்கு தெற்குப் பகுதியில் காடாகக் கிடந்த நிலத்தைப் பண்படுத்தி விவசாய நிலமாக்கியுள்ளனர். ஆனால் உடமை கொள்ளும் உரிமையை இழந்துள்ளனர். குடியிருப்புக்களை இடப்படுத்தி ஒழுங்குபடுத்தும் தீண்டாமையின் ஒரு செயல்பாடாகவே இந்தக் கட்டாய இடமாற்றம் நிகழ்ந்துள்ளது. தலித்துக்கள் ஏற்கனவே வசித்த பகுதியில் தாங்கள் விட்டுச் சென்ற முப்பிடாதி அம்மன் கோவிலும் (தற்சமயம் பேருந்து நிலையம் உள்ள மையப்பகுதி), பறையன் கிணறு (சில வருடங்களுக்கு முன்புவரை இருந்த இந்தக் கிணறு தற்போது நிரப்பப்பட்டுவிட்டது) என்ற குடிநீர் கிணற்றையும் தாங்கள் ஊரின் மையப்பகுதியில் வாழ்ந்ததற்கான எச்சங்களாக காட்டுகின்றனர்.

The dalits who came to the south dragged lines on the ground with their feet to mark out their space and built huts. They made the land that had been forest fit for agriculture. But they had lost their right to property. This forced migration and the ordering of homes took place as practices of untouchability. Dalits point to the abandoned Muppidathi Amman temple (in the central portion where the bus stand is currently) and the well with drinking water called the Paraiyan Well (this existed till a few years ago and has now been filled) as the remainders of the life they lived there.

மையப்பகுதியிலிருந்து துரத்தப்பட்டதற்கான மற்றொரு கதையும் உண்டு. திருநெல்வேலி நெல்லையப்பர் கோயிலின் காந்திமதியம்மன் சப்பரம் இந்தக் கிராமத்திற்கு உலா வரும்போது ‘பறையர்களும், பள்ளர்களும் எனது பார்வையில் படும்படி இருக்கக்கூடாது’ என்று அம்மன் உத்தரவிட்டதாகவும் அதன்படி இவர்கள் துரத்தப்பட்டதாகவும் கூறப்படுகிறது. எதுவாக இருந்தாலும் தீண்டாமையின் ஒரு செயல்பாடு என்பதில் சந்தேகமில்லை. விரட்டப்பட்ட காலம் ஒன்பது தலைமுறைகளுக்கு முன்பு என்பது வாய்மொழித் தரவின் மூலம் கிடைக்கிறது.

There is another story about how they were chased from the centre. When the Kanthimathiamman Chariot of the Tirunelveli Nellaiyappar temple was coming on procession here, the Amman is said to have ordered that ‘Paraiyans and Pallars should not come within sight’ and they were chased away subsequently. However it may be, it is doubtless a practice of untouchability. We learn from oral histories that the period of being chased away was nine generations ago.

பறையர்களின் முப்பிடாதி அம்மன் கோவில் அவர்கள் விரட்டப்பட்ட பின்பு கட்டிடம் கட்டி எழுப்பட்டு உள்ளது. ஆகவே அதில் இதற்கான ஆதாரம் எதுவும் கிடைப்பதில்லை. ஆனால் கைவிடப்பட்ட அந்தக் கோயிலை எந்த ஒரு சாதியினரும் சொந்தம் கொண்டாடுவதில்லை. ஊரின் தெற்குப் பகுதிக்கு வந்த தேவேந்திரர்களும், பறையர்களும் தங்கள் குலதெய்வமான முப்பிடத்தி அம்மனுக்கு அவரவர் தெருவில் (பறையர்கள் மேற்குப் பகுதியிலும், தேவேந்திரர்கள் கிழக்குப் பகுதியிலும் ) கோயில் அமைத்துக் கொண்டு வழிபட ஆரம்பித்தனர்.

The building of the Paraiyar’s Muppidathi Amman temple was built after they were chased away. There is no proof for this story to be found there. Yet no caste claims ownership of that abandoned temple. The Devendrar and the Paraiyar, who came to the south of the village, established temples and began to worship their clan deity, Muppdathi Amman, on their respective streets (Paraiyars in the south and the Devendrar in the east).

ஆதிக்க சாதியினருக்கு மாட்டிறைச்சி உண்பதுதான் பிரச்சினை என்றால் மாட்டிறைச்சி உண்ணும் வழக்கம் இல்லாத தேவேந்திரர்கள் ஏன் துரத்தப்பட்டனர்? வெறும் உணவுப்பழக்கம் மட்டுமே இதற்க்குக் காரணமாக இருந்திருக்க முடியுமா என்பது கேள்வியாக உள்ளது. அல்லது தலித்துக்கள் கொண்டிருந்த பண்படுத்தப்பட்ட விவசாய நிலங்களையும், நீர் ஆதாரங்களையும் ஆதிக்க சாதியினர் பறித்துக்கொண்டு துரத்தியிருக்கலாம். “நாயக்கர் ஆட்சிக் காலங்களில் பாண்டிய மன்னர்களுடன் நெருக்கமாக இருந்த சாதிகளிடமிருந்த நிலங்களைப் பறித்து நாயக்கரகளுக்கு நெருக்கமான சாதிகளுக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ளது”. பறையர்களும் பள்ளர்களும் பாண்டிய மன்னர்களுடன் நெருக்கமாக இருந்துள்ளது வரலாறு.

If the dominant castes had problems with beef-eating, why did they chase the Devendrars, who have no practice of eating beef, away? It is questionable whether food habits were the sole reason. Or the dominant castes may have seized the agricultural lands and the water sources and chased the dalits away. “During the rule of the Nayaks, the land that belonged to castes close to the Pandiya kings were seized and given to the castes that were close to the Nayaks.” According to history, the Paraiyar and the Pallar were close to the Pandiya kings.

தலித்துக்கள் கூறும் இந்த நினைவு தங்கள்மீது திணிக்கப்பட்ட தீண்டாமையை தலித்துகள் ஏற்றுக்கொண்டதைக் காட்டுகிறது. அதாவது ஒரு காலத்தில் சிறப்பாக வாழ்ந்தோம். ஆனால் மாட்டிறைச்சி உண்ணும் ‘இழி செயலாலே’ தாங்கள் துரத்தப்பட்டோம் என்றும் புரிந்துள்ளனர். அதேவேளை இந்தக் கிராமம் தங்களுடையது என்ற பெருமிதமும் நினைவுகளில் வெளிப்படுகிறது.

These memories that dalits retell show that they have accepted the untouchability that has been thrust upon them. Once, we lived well. For the ‘despicable act’ of eating beef, we were driven away, they think. Yet, these memories also reveal pride in the belief that the village belongs to them.