Sabarimala and Religious Reforms

An Italian journalist friend had asked for my opinion on the on-going Sabarimala controversy in India. It became an opportunity for me to reflect on the issue of religious reforms. This article is a slightly modified English translation of my Italian article. In it, I explain why I do not agree with the Sabarimala decision of Indian Supreme Court and why I see that decision to be similar to the Hindu fundamentalist discourse which favours a narrow understanding of Hinduism.

Apart from the Sabarimala temple controversy, in this post I also touch on the difficulties of promoting religious reforms in Hinduism and among religious minorities, not just in India but across different countries.

Promoting Religious Reforms

For centuries, social costumes often sanctioned by religious norms had determined the acceptable behaviours in society. The adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948, gave a new way to measure our social costoms. In many countries, the increasing understanding of human rights violations led to adoption of new laws that undermined the control of the religious authorities on the societies.

I feel that reforming the religions through new laws and court judgements is particularly important in two kinds of situations:

(a) When there is a risk to the physical integrity or the life of persons: For example, the old Indian practice of Sati in which widows were forced to be cremated along with their dead husbands, would be seen as one such situation. In fact, the practice was made a criminal offence in 1829 under the British colonial rule.

Today, the female genital mutilation practiced in some parts of the world and among the Bohra community in India, would be another example of a religiously sanctioned practice that must be stopped because it damages of physical integrity of girls and women.

On the other hand, there is considerable debate about the practice of male circumcision, compulsory among Muslim and Jewish communities according to the religious-social norms. Many persons believe that even this is a violation of human rights of children and should be stopped.

(b) When there is a systematic discrimination or violation of human rights: Discrimination against some group of persons based on their gender or other characteristics such as caste, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic affiliation are examples of systematic violation of human rights and need to be challenged though appropriate laws and court judgements.

Some examples of such discriminations come from countries where orthodox religious groups are the majority and control the decision-making. For example, in different Islamic countries, women, homosexuals and persons belonging to other religions face discriminations. In countries like Uganda, dominance of some orthodox evangelical groups has resulted in laws that foresee jails or even death penalty for homosexuals.

Sabarimala Temple

I am personally not very conversant with the Hindu deities in south India, so I am not familiar with the myths of lord Ayappa to whom Sabarimala temple is dedicated. From what I have read, it seems that there are many Ayappa temples and only the temple in Sabarimala prohibits the entry of women in the fertile age group because here Ayappa is seen as a Brahamchari (celibate).

Thus, I don’t see the Ayappa cult as a systematic exclusion of women, it is only in Sabarimala and is justified by a specific myth. I am not a follower of Ayappa but if his followers see him as a celibate god, it is not up to me or to anyone else to judge their faith.

Hinduism is full of diverse ways of interpreting and practicing the religion, all of which are considered equally valid. They vary from belief in nature worship to a universal formless infinite consciousness (Parmatma) to faith in some or all of millions of gods and goddesses. There is no common sacred book or a supreme authority who can judge and say if one way of Hinduism is better than another. Many fundamentalist Hindu groups see this a weakness, and they want to impose a restricted view of Hinduism, deciding which gods to pray to and how to pray.

I feel that forcing Sabarimala to accept women of child-bearing age and to forego its ideas of a celibate god, is another way to obliterate diversity of Hinduism, a kind of Macdonaldization of religious diversity and pluralism. Though motivated by a different goal, that of promoting gender equality, it violates the basic idea of that temple and forces it in to a narrower definition of Hinduism, just like the ideas of conservative fundamentalists.

Reforming Hinduism in India

After the independence of India in 1947, Government of India has enacted different laws for reforming Hinduism including those related to caste-based discriminations and equality of women. Probably there are still many other aspects of Hinduism that require changes in laws. However, in my opinion, the bigger challenge is how to promote the social transformation in the society, especially in rural areas and smaller towns, so that the laws do not remain aspirational documents but are translated into reality.

The social transformation needed in India, for example for removing caste-based discriminations and promoting equality of women, require decades of patient work in the communities, helping our traditional and religious leaders to change. In comparison, advocacy campaigns and organising protests in the cities for changing the laws is much easier, while making those laws work for everyone is a long and hard struggle. Campaigns and protests also provide more opportunities for image-building and creating star activists, while working in communities to change them is ignored by most and can even be life-threatening.

Reforming other religions in India

Reforming the religious and social costumes of minorities is not easy in any part of the world. The biggest challenge is how to not be manipulated by the racists and fundamentalist groups from other religions. Thus, often persons who are active in promoting reforms among the majority groups, prefer to keep silent or look the other way when similar concerns are raised with regards to the minority groups.

For years, Afro-American feminists have lamented the difficulty of talking about the violence faced by Afro-American women because the progressives and activists are afraid that these debates will be hijacked by white supremacists and right-wing fundamentalists to reinforce negative stereotypes about Afro-American men. In the same way, LGBT Muslims in Europe get very little support from the liberals and activists, who do not wish to strengthen the Islamophobia.

It may be because of similar reasons that gender-based inequalities among the minority religions in India do not get much attention from activists and mainstream media. For example, I have read some progressives writing against the Modi government’s attempts to ban the practice of “triple talaq” among Muslims because they see it as minority-bashing by a nationalist government, though it violates women's rights. In the same way, the story of the Catholic nun who had charged the bishop of Patiala with repeated rapes has received limited attention from the mainstream media and activists in India while a report detailing the widespread sexual abuse of nuns has been written by Tim Sullivan, a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press.

Fortunately, blogs and social media are giving new opportunities for persons from different communities to raise their voices and be heard, even if "official" activists and mainstream medias do not wish to talk about their issues for ideological or political reasons.

Conclusions

I believe that it is fundamental to change and reform all the religious practices which violate the human rights. Making appropriate laws and court judgements should be seen only as a first step in the reformation process since the social changes require decades if not centuries to change. For example, the Sati practice outlawed by the British in 1829 was still occurring, fortunately not very frequently, even after India’s independence. I still remember the story of Roop Kanwar being cremated with her husband in 1987 and that some persons were still defending this practice.

However, preventing human rights violations and promoting equality should not be confused with the promotion of monocultures and loss of the rich cultural diversity of India. In this sense, I do not agree with the Sabarimala verdict of the supreme court of India because I do not see the practice of one temple as a systematic gender-based exclusion of women.

All the images used in this post are from the annual Ambubashi festival at Kamakhaya temple in Guwahati, Assam in India, which celebrates the mensturation of the Goddess, and represents one of the diversities of Hinduism. Only fundamentalists and misguided activists would try to cancel all such diversities of Hinduism in the name of "equal rights".

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#sabrimalaverdict #india #religiosdiversitiesindia #diversitiesinhinduism #womeninhinduism #religiousreforms

Games We Used To Play

A visit to the Jan Jaati Sanghralaya (Tribal Museum) of Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh, India) brought back the memories of my childhood. If anyone had asked me what kind of games do the tribal children in India play, I wouldn’t have known what to answer. I was surprised that most of the tribal games shown in this museum are the same games that I had played while growing up in the Delhi of 1950s and 1960s.

This post presents images of the traditional games played by children in India before the TV and video-games culture took over our lives. The images of this post come from the Tribal Museum of Bhopal as well as from other parts of India. Let me start this post with an image that I love. It is of a simple innocent game - a girl playing with a balloon. I love it because, in it the girl has been dressed in a sari like an adult, but she is still a child and she expresses the innocent joy of her childhood in her play. 

Games played in ancient India

References to games where players use a dice are found in the ancient Hindu texts of Rigveda and Mahabharat. The war of Kurukshetra, the central event of Mahabharat, starts from a game of Chausar, a dice-based board game, in which the elder Pandav brothers, Yudhisthir, bets on his wife Draupadi.

17th precept of Buddha in Brahmajala Sutta written in ancient Pali language advices the followers to avoid playing games and thus provides a list of common games played in India the BCE era. The image below shows the English translation of this text along with the descriptions of different games.

A bass relief sculpture from the Buddhist stupa ruins from 2nd century BCE in Bhahut village of Satna district in Madhya Pradesh shows persons playing a chausar or chaupad like game with the dice.

Both the above pictures are from Bharata - @Dauhshanti

Thus, ancient Indians had different kinds of popular games. You will find echoes of many of those games in those described below, with which I had grown up.

Traditional Indian Games

Most of these games do not require any special equipment. Sometimes they include a ball made from scraps of old clothes. Some games require stones of different shapes. Often the game-boards are designed on the ground with chalk or a brick.

In my childhood, we used dark coloured smooth tamarind seeds as the dice, by cleaving the seeds into two, so that one side is white and the other is dark. Thus, if you throw six pieces of tamarind half-seeds, you can count the seeds which land on their backs with the white part up.

So come with me on this journey of discovering the traditional Indian games. If you have an opportunity to visit Bhopal, do not forget to visit the amazing Jan Jaati museum with its rich exposition of colours and arts of tribal India. If you can't visit it, you can get a glimpse of its wonders at the museum website.

Poshamba or Poshampa

In the tribal museum they call it Poshamba, we used to call it Poshampa. In this game two kids form a

gate with their hands and sing a small ditty while the other children pass underneath. The ditty is: “Poshampa bhai poshampa, dakuon ne kya kiya, sau rupaye ki ghadi churayi, ab to jail mein jana padega” (Poshampa brother poshampa, what did the bandits do, robbed a 100 Rs watch, now they must go to jail). As the ditty finishes, the kid under the arms-gate is caught and has to choose between two words like allu-baigan (potato-egg plant) or sona-chandi (gold-silver) and depending upon the choice, s/he has to go behind one of the gate-kids and make a queue. Like this, all the kids are divided into 2 teams who will have a final round of pulling each other till one side falls. The image above from the tribal museum shows the final moment of the tug of war.

Chaktak Gondra or Ghoda Badam Shahi or Kokla-Chhipaki

The tribal museum calls it "Chaktak Gondra" and informs that the cities children call it "Ghoda

Badam Shahi". However, we used to call it "Kokla-chhipaki". In this game a child playing Ghoda (horse) holds a cloth and sings a ditty while s/he goes around other children sitting in a ring. The ditty says, “Kokla chhipaki jumme raat aayi re, jeda aage pichhe dekhe uski shamat aayi re” (Friday night of the hidden Kokla has come, whosoever will look behind, will be punished).

If any child tries to look back, Ghoda can hit that child with the cloth. While walking around, Ghoda quietly puts the cloth behind one of the sitting children. If Ghoda can complete one round without the sitting child being aware of the cloth at his back, Ghoda can beat that child with the cloth. Next, the child who was beaten becomes the Ghoda and the whole thing is repeated.

Thus the child playing Ghoda has to be vigilant and cunning, keeping a poker-face so that the sitting children do not realise that the cloth has been left behind one of them.

Pitthu

Kids are divided into 2 teams. Five or seven flat stones are placed one above the other in the centre of the space.

A kid from team one has to throw the ball so as to break the stone-tower. While kids of the second team need to collect the ball and throw it so that it hits one of the kids of first team, the other team needs to rebuild the broken tower without being hit. If the first team manages to complete the tower without getting hit by the ball then they have 1 pitthu in their account. If they are unable to complete the tower and get hit, then it is second team’s turn to throw the ball. The team with larger number of completed towers (pitthu) wins the game.

This was one of my favourite games in the school. I remember playing it with my classmates of primary school, early in the morning before the classes started.

Budawa or Lansangada or Dag-Dabeli

This is one game that I found in the tribal museum with which I was not familiar, because it requires

tree-climbing. One kid plays the stick-guard. Other children throw the stick as far as possible and while the guard goes to pick the stick, they all must climb on the tree. The guard brings back the stick, draws a circle around the tree and puts the stick in the circle. The children from the tree have to get down, pick up the stick and climb back without getting caught by the guard.

The tribal museum of Bhopal has two beautiful installations on this game, shown in the images on the right and below.

Gondiva or the stilts game

As the name suggests, it requires racing or dancing on the stilts. It is popular among Balga, Saharia and some other tribal groups. I was also unfamiliar with this game.

Gilli-Danda or Gulli-danda

This game requires a short piece of spindle shaped wood called Gilli or Gulli and a wooden stick called Danda. One kid hits the corner of Gilli with the stick and as it jumps up, hits it as far as possible. The other children have to catch the Gilli before it touches the ground. If they manage to catch it, it is their turn to play the game. If they can't catch it, the first player continues to hit the Gilli and go around.

This was also very popular when I was a child. However, I was not very good at it so I did not play it often.

Machhali Pakadia or Kekada Pakadia

This game is played by the tribal children in the coastal areas where they have to catch (Pakadia) a Machhali (fish) or a Kekada (crab) in the bamboo basket. I remember seeing children playing it in a river in West Bengal during my childhood, and I remember having tried in vain to catch a small fish with the basket. Thus this game is also unknown to the city kids.

Chaupad or Chausar

This is the ancient Indian game described in Mahabharat. It is played with 12 or 16 pawns and seems to be similar to a checker game popular in Europe (for example, in Italy they call it Dama). It is a strategy game like chess. However I had never played it as a child.

We did play a simpler version of a game with such a board and dice that is similar to Ludo. It is said that the British took Ludo to Europe from India in the 17th or 18th century.

Jhula or the swing

This simple game needs at least three children. One child sits cross-legged and holds his/her feet, while the other two hold the sitting child by his/her elbows and then swing him/her till s/he looses the grip on his/her feet and or opens her legs and touches the ground.

Ghite

This game is played with 5-7 small round stones called ghite (singular Ghita). The player keeps one stone in his/her hand, throws it up in the air and in the mean time, picks up the stones in the centre, catching back the stone-in-the-air. If the stone-in-the-air falls down, the player loses the game. It becomes slowly complex – you start by picking one ghita at a time and then increase the number of stones to be picked or you need to do some specific movements while picking the stones. This game is played mainly by girls.

An easier version of this game uses a ball, which is thrown up in air, while the player collects the stones.

Gadi

Village children often play with small wooden or bamboo carts (Gadi), pulling them around the village roads. Sometimes, the moving wheels action a stick which drums on the wood and makes a sound.

Usually these require larger spaces that are harder to find in the cities. In addition, in cities we do not use carts. Thus, while I had seen these in the villages, I had never played with them.

Carrom board

This game requires a special wooden board and special wooden round pieces called Goti. The Gotis are of two colours, white and black. In addition, there is a red Goti called the queen. The game is played by two or four players, divided into two teams, one black team and one white team. You need to hit the Gotis of your colour on the board till they fall in the holes on the corner of the board. The team that manages to get the red Goti wins the game.

I loved this game and remember playing it even while I grew up and was studying medicine. Many years later, I had bought a carrom board and taken it to Italy to play it with my son.

Ghar-Ghar or House-house

This game is usually played by young girls, where they play act to be ladies of the house, who cook and do household chores and make tea for the guests. They usually create a small separate space for playing it. In the image below, the two children sitting on the roadside, were playing it wrapped under a sari.

I remember playing it with my sister when I was around 5 years old and she was 3. We used to create our space between the charpaies, the light beds with wooden legs and woven with cord. These beds are laid out at night for sleeping and put up against the walls during the day to save space. I think that this game is a way for children to understand family relationships and gender roles, as during the play we used to mimic the exchanges between the adults of our families.

Kabbaddi

This game is also played by two teams. A person, the attacker, from one team has to go to the other side while repeating kabbaddi, kabbaddi, to touch a player of opposition and then run back to his own side while continuing to repeat kabbaddi-kabbaddi without a break. The other team has to avoid getting touched and if someone gets touched then they try to catch the attacker and not let him go back to his side. Every touch accompanied by safe return to your side earns your team one point.

In the image below, the guy in green dress is the attacker who has entered the space of the yellow side and is trying to touch someone of their team.

This game is played by older kids, both girls and boys, though more popular among boys. India has different state level and national level championships of this game. It is very popular in rural areas.

Conclusions

The Jan Jaati tribal museum of Bhopal is a beautiful place and merits a visit. I was really impressed by their beautiful art installations and the quality of tribal handicrafts. Their section on the tribal games is small but is very interesting, as you can guess from the images above.

Visiting the games room of the Tribal Museum brought back so many memories of childhood games and I was surprised that after more than fifty years I still remembered the words of some of the ditties used with those games.

Are you aware of games played by tribal groups in other parts of the world? Are there any games that are similar to the one described above? I feel that the origins of some of these games probably go back to our prehistoric ancestors and thus it is possible that ancient humans, as they spread out from their homelands, they took some of these games with them to different corners of the world.

Let me conclude this photo-essay with two pictures - first image is of a kite carrying the colours of the Indian flag. During the month of August, in the midst of the monsoon winds and especially around 15 August, the independence day of India, a lot of children and adults like to fly kites.

The second image is that of Biscopewalla (Biscope man), which can't be called a real game but was a way of entertainment during my childhood to watch some moving images and imagine ourselves in a cinema hall before there was any TV or video-games.

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Ancient Indians, Neanderthals and Denisovans

Recently I was reading the wonderful book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by the Israeli writer Yuval Noah Harari (originally written in Hebrew in 2011, English translation is published by Signal books, UK, 2014). Reading this book reminded me about some of my old thoughts on ancient Indian myths and the prehistoric humans such as the Neanderthals.

Many decades ago, while reading the old Indian sacred stories, I used to wonder if some of the people described in them such as asur, danav, rakshas, and vanar, could have been references to other human species.

This post explores some of those ideas about the non-human persons in the sacred books of Hinduism including Veda, Puranic stories and epics like Ramayan and Mahabharat. I am not claiming any scientific rationale behind these ideas, they are just speculations. The images used in this post are from the north-east of India and show depictions of those persons in the temples, folk-art and folk-plays.

Different human species: Regarding the encounters between the different human species, in his book Yuval Noah Harari has written that:

There were humans long before there was history. Animals much like modern humans first appeared about 2.5 million years ago. But for countless generations they did not stand out from myriad other organisms with which they shared their habitats. …

Homo sapiens, too, belongs to a family. This banal fact used to be one of history’s most closely guarded secrets. Homo sapiens long preferred to view itself as set apart from animals, an orphan bereft of family, lacking siblings or cousins, and most importantly without parents. But that’s just not the case. Like it or not, we are members of a large and particularly noisy family called the great apes. Our closest living relatives include chimpanzees, gorillas and orang utans. The chimpanzees are the closest. Just 6 million years ago, a single female ape had two daughters. One became the ancestor of all chimpanzees, the other is our own grandmother.

Homo sapiens has kept hidden an even more disturbing secret. Not only do we possess an abundance of uncivilised cousins, once upon a time we had quite a few brothers and sisters as well. We are used to thinking about ourselves as the only humans, because for the last 10,000 years, our species has indeed been the only human species around. …

Humans in Europe and western Asia evolved into Homo neanderthalensis, popularly referred to simply as ‘Neanderthals’. .. The more eastern regions of Asia were populated by Homo erectus, ‘Upright man’, who survived there for close to 2 million years, making it the most durable human species ever. .. On the island of Java in Indonesia, lived Homo soloensis. On another Indonesian island – the small island of Flores – archaic humans underwent a process of dwarfing … This unique species, known by scientists as Homo floresiensis, reached a maximum height of only metre and weighed no more than twenty-five kilograms. .. In 2010 another lost sibling was rescued from oblivion, when scientist excavating the Denisova cave in Siberia discovered a fossilised finger bone. Genetic analysis proved that the finger belonged to a previously unknown human species, which was named Homo denisova. … from about 2 million years ago until around 10,000 years ago, the world was home, at one and the same time, to several human species. …(pp 11-20)

European theories of encounters between different people in India: European academics and indologists from 19th century had popularized the theories of Aryan invasion and proposed that people of south India (Dravidians) were pushed southwards by those Aryans coming into India from the west. They had also proposed that fair-skinned Aryans had exploited and subjugated dark skinned indigenous populations of ancient India and forced them into specific caste groups (shudra) or outside the caste system (untouchables). They had argued that groups like Asur and Rakshas described in the ancient Indian tales were actually Dravidians and other indigenous people of India.

These ideas have been widely accepted both in India and internationally. For example, many people believe that the more than three thousand years old Harappa and Mohanjodaro civilizations in the Indus valley had disappeared due to Aryan invasion.

Only during the last couple of decades there have been doubts about the invasion theories since they have not found matching archaeological or documentary evidence or the evidence is non conclusive, to support this theory. However, objective discussions on this theme are sometimes difficult because certain Hindu groups see the Aryan invasion theory as diminishing of their claim to be original inhabitants of India. At the same time, objective discussions are difficult because many leftist scholars see them as efforts to pander to conservative Hindu groups.

Alternative hypothesis of encounters between different human species in Indian myths: However, I used to think that the Puranic stories and myths of ancient Indians could have been orally transmitted stories of the prehistoric humans, who could have travelled from one continent to another over thousands of years, enriching those stories with events from their own lives and passing them on to their younger generations.

So my thought was: what if the asur, danav, pichash, rakshas and vanar of those stories were other species of humans who might have lived on earth at the same time as the Homo sapiens? What if stories like those of the vanar kingdom from which Hanuman comes, which is described in Ramayan, are based upon much older stories from the millennium-long oral traditions and refer to our humanoid ape ancestors from which the different human species took birth and who were our species-cousins?

The Puranic stories talk about the birth of deva (humans) and asur from the same father Brahma and their subsequent fights. Similarly the stories linked to rakshas like that of Ravan, mention the highly developed cultures of these people and their rich cities full of gold (Lanka). I do not think that we can take these stories as literal truths or histories. Indian traditions have looked at, analysed and understood these myths in diverse spiritual and metaphorical ways.

For example, Indian mythologist Devdutt Pattnaik in his book “My Gita” writes of deva and asura as the two children of Brahma, “Though half-brothers, these sons of Brahma do not like each other: the deva fear the asura and the asura hate the deva. … In the Veda, the deva and asura are celestian beings. But in Purana, they are clearly rivals. The Europeans identified asura first as Titans, in line with Greek mythology, and later as demons, in line with Abrahamic mythology. This causes great confusion, as the asura are neither “old gods” nor “forces of evil”. Both old gods and forces of evil are unwanted and need to be excluded, while in the Purana, both are needed …” (p. 79)

To explain the disappearance from earth of all other human species except for the Homo sapiens, wars and genocides have been proposed. However, we can also interpret the old Indian myths as stories of interactions between different human species. Yuval Noah has written about these interactions, "About 70,000 years ago, Sapiens from East Africa spread into Arabian peninsula and from there they quickly overran the entire Eurasian landmass. When Homo sapiens landed in Arabia, most of Eurasia was already settled by other humans. What happened to them? … According to the Interbreeding theory, when Sapiens spread into Neanderthal lands, Sapiens bred with Neanderthals until the two populations merged. If this is the case, then today’s Eurasians are not pure Sapiens." (p. 20)

Can we confirm these ideas?: When the human genome mapping project had come up, I had thought that genome mapping could give the answers about inter-mixing between the different human species. For example, genome studies have shown that 1 to 4 percent of Europeans and Asians have some Neanderthal genes.

Another recent report about a genome study by Sriram Sankararaman of California university and David Reich of Harvard University has shown that a higher than expected percentage of south Asians have genes of the Denisovan species of humans. People of Oceania and Pacific have even higher number of persons with these genes.

Thus, these studies suggest that at least some degree of inter-mixing between human species did take place. However this does not prove that the other people mentioned in Indian myths and ancient books were other human species like Neanderthals and Denisovans.

The continuity of the living oral traditions in India: Another questions I have asked myself is - if it is true that the Indian myths carry memories of the prehistoric encounters between the different human species, are there similar myths and old stories among other cultures and people?

We share many myths with other cultures. For example, the floods of the Genesis Narrative are a common myth in different parts of the world, from Noah in the Bible to Sumerian and Babylonian myths, and the primordial floods described in the Indian myths of Manu.

So why we have not found other myths and stories of encounters between Sapiens and other species of humans? One answer can be that the myths and ancient stories of people could have included stories of encounters between different human species, but those stories are not accessible today. Or that these stories are there but they have not been thought/understood in this way. Another answer can be that the relatively new religions like Christianity and Islam have suppressed many of  the old myths of the oral traditions of the ancient people.

On the other hand, India has had a very strong tradition of keeping alive the oral narratives and customs. For example, a group of persons in Kerala still continues and conserves the tradition of chanting of ancient vedic sounds, whose meanings have been lost with time. Thus, these are living traditions in India and not just things that are found in museums and old manuscripts. Another factor influencing the continuing presence of old stories in India is because Hinduism is composed of hundreds of different belief streams, none of which can claim to be dominant or more legitimate than others, which makes it possible for the acceptance and continuing adaptations and relevance of old myths and sacred stories.

In India the myth-recreation and re-elaboration process is active and ongoing even today. For example, in popular Indian culture public figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar, as well as some film actors and politicians, are regularly turned into gods with building of their temples and making of new myths and stories about their exploits.

Perhaps that is how, ancient myths of encounters between different human species could have found resonance in relatively more recent stories of exploitation between different castes, and thus these continue to be woven and used in different ways in contemporary India!

Conclusions: Do ancient Indian myths tell stories about encounters between different human species from prehistorical times? May be one day the technology will be able to provide better answers to such speculative questions. More likely, these will remain speculations.

However, I like the idea that our old Indian myths and stories can remember events from the dawn of the humanity before we had our languages and identities. I like the idea that the archetype chimpanzee grandmother of Yuval Noah Harari is still remembered as the mother of Hanuman in our stories. That our Neanderthal cousins are still there with us as Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnath in the Ramlila plays. That our Denisovan cousins are not lost for ever, they live in the Puranic stories of India.

I think that "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind", is a wonderful book. If Human history interests you, it will give you a lot to think about!

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Guwahati City Walks - Kamakhaya Temple & Nilachal Hill

Garbhagriha (literally the Uterus, the most sacred part of the temple) hosting the sacred shrine to the goddess in an underground cave, has a black coloured sloping stone roof. It is at a lower level, and is the oldest and the most beautiful part of the temple. Its outer walls are covered by sculptures, some of them exquisitely carved into stone. The eastern wall of this building hosts a vermilion coloured Ganesha statue where pilgrims stop to pray and to try to affix a coin on its surface - if your coin sticks, it means that your wish will be granted.

The remaining three buildings are at entrance level so you do not need to negotiate any stairs. Beyond the main temple, up across some stairs, you can also visit a small sacred pond divided into 2 parts, with another small temple. Often people sit around on the stairs for an overview of the temple complex.

The building at the western end is connected to a covered passage going around the sacred pond, where persons wishing to visit the Garbhagriha can wait in a queue. Persons willing to pay can enter the Garbhabriha from other entrances, without waiting in the long queue.




Brahmins dressed in red clothes wait all around the temple looking for clients for different religious ceremonies such as Shradha (rituals for salvation of souls of dead family members) and goat-sacrifice. The monetary part of the temple visit and rituals can seem very in-your-face, but if you are not in a hurry, you can focus on appreciating the spiritual aspect of Shakti-worship.





Visiting the Garbhagriha: The underground cave of Garbhagriha can be visited only by Hindus. Even if you do not wish to visit it, you can still walk all around the temple, appreciate the different prayer spots and temples located around, and may be, sit down at a calm spot to meditate.

I did visit the Garbhagriha of Kamakhaya temple once, a few years ago. A narrow dark path cut into a rock takes you down to a cave, where a small spring bathes a yoni (vagina) shaped rock surface. The water of the spring, naturally mixed with an iron compound, and has a blood like red tinge. Thus the journey to the inner sanctum can be seen as a metaphorical journey back to the womb of the mother goddess, followed by rebirth.

I am claustrophobic, and thus found the walk through the narrow rocky passage a little terrifying. I remember the darkness on the stairs, persons behind pushing, kneeling down in a dark barely lit cave, quickly touching the wet stone while a priest had chanted some mantra and given me a spoon of that water to drink. It was all over in a few minutes.

I know persons who find spirituality in the experience of visiting the underground cave. I did not have any such feelings.

Shoes and cameras: Outside the temple, you need to remove your shoes. You can leave them with one of the shops near the temple gate for a few rupees. However, on festival days when it can be very crowded, it will be better to leave your shoes away from the temple and walk bare feet, since finding a safe place near the temple is difficult.

Unfortunately the management board of this famous temple has not made proper arrangements for collection of visitors' shoes and sometimes people can steal your shoes left outside (it happened to me the last time I was there - and there are no footwear shops on the hill!).

You can go inside the main temple gate with your camera, but you are not allowed to take any bags with you (not even the camera bags) – so make sure to leave your bags in some safe place before reaching the temple. Photography is possible everywhere in the outer areas of the temple but not in the inner parts and certainly not in the inner sanctum, Garbhagriha.

SCULPTURES OF KAMAKHAYA TEMPLE

An Assamese researcher Mousumi Deka has written a nice article about the sculptures of Kamakhaya temple (Sculptures of Kamakhaya temple: An aesthetic view, in International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 3, October 2013).

Inside the temple, it is usually crowded and difficult to look at the statues properly. An opportunity to see some of the inner sculptures comes with annual Ambubashi festival when they are placed outside for worship (an example is in the image below).

Kamakhaya temple is the most well-known site of Guwahati. It's deity represents Shakti, the feminine power. Pilgrims and tourists both visit it. This walking tour of Guwahati explains when and how to visit this temple.

Hinduism has 2 broad groups of worship-paths (along with innumerable lesser groups, each with its own philosophy and ideas that flow like streams into Hinduism) - Bhakti Marg or the path of devotion linked to Vaishnavism (cult of Vishnu); and the Tantrik marg or the path of rituals including sexual rituals and chanting of sacred words (mantra), linked to Shaivism (cult of Shiva). Kamakhaya temple is linked to the Tantrik path of worship.

The two paths, Bhakti and Tantrik, are not mutually exclusive - there is often intermingling between the two. Thus, Kamakhaya temple includes many references to Vaishnavism.

REACHING KAMAKHAYA TEMPLE

The temple is located near the top of Nilachal hill (Nil = Blue, Achal = immovable or mountain) in the south-eastern part of Guwahati, close to the southern bank of Brahmaputra river. You can start the walk at the base of the Nilachal hill, at a place called “Kamakhaya gate” on the A.T. Road, close to the Kamakhaya railway station (a small and new railway station; the main railway station of Guwahati is at Paltan Bazar, a few kilometres to the west).

Nilachal hill is supposed to be only 160 metres high and from the Kamakhaya gate, the temple is only 2 km away - yet it can be a difficult climb, especially on a hot and humid summer day. You can take a shared taxi from the gate to the temple. Another convenient option is to take the special Kamakhaya city bus near Nehru Park in Uzan Bazar, not far from the main Guwahati railway station.

There many other temples on Nilachal hill, on the way to Kamakhaya. Thus, after the Kamakhaya visit, you can walk down to visit them. This will also give you an opportunity to look at the green hills surrounding Guwahati and have panoramic views of the city.

MYTHS AND STORIES RELATED TO NILACHAL HILL & KAMAKHAYA TEMPLE

Hinduism brings together different streams of ideas, stories and philosophies, including those that are clearly contradictory. One such dominant stream of ideas is linked to the figure of Shiva, the god of death and destruction. Shiva is also Neelkantha, the god with a blue throat (blue is a poison of the world that Shiva holds in his throat to safeguard the universe). Shiva’s abode is in Himalayan mountains. His consort Shakti (Power), also known as Gauri, Sati or Parvati, is the daughter of Himalaya. While snakes (Nag) live wrapped around Shiva's neck, his companions include the Naga people. Thus, Shiva and Shakti represent the culture of north-east mountains in Hinduism. Nilachal hill, or the blue hill, represents Shiva himself.

Shiva and Shakti cults are very strong in the north-east. These cults revolve mainly around phallus (Shiva linga) but occasionally, also around the female genitals (Yoni), and celebrate sexuality as a primordial creative force of nature.

Shakti cults are about different forms of feminine powers – as mother, as fighter, as giver of wealth, as protector of knowledge, as giver of joy, and as the face of destruction. The North-east of India has a rich calendar of festivals linked to the celebration of different forms of Shakti - such as the festivals of Kali, Durga and Saraswati.

Goddess Kamakhaya of Guwahati is another form of Shakti that links to the female sexuality and fertility. One of the stories of Kamakhaya is about Sati, the daughter of Himalaya and Shiva’s wife.

Story of Sati and Shiva: Sati was the daughter of the mountain king Daksh. She fell in love with Shiva, whose followers were drunkards, pot-smokers and an unruly lot. Daksh did not like Shiva but Sati insisted on getting married to him. Once Daksh organized an important religious ceremony but did not invite his son-in-law. Sati angry with her father, decided to commit suicide by jumping in the sacred fires. Shiva grief stricken, first destroyed the mountains and then, holding his wife’s dead body, wandered all over the land. Parts of dead Sati’s body fell away during these wanderings. Her yoni (genitals) fell on Nilachal hill, where the Kamakhaya temple was built.

According to the other stories, Nilachal hill is the site where Shiva mates with his consort, Shakti. Thus Kamakhaya temple celebrates the sexual union of Shiva and Shakti, and is considered an ideal place for pursuing Tantrik powers.

There are other myths and stories linked to Nilachal hills, such as the stories of Narakasur and the stories of the love-god, Kamadev.

The Narakasur stories are about an Asur king who lived in this region. He fell in love with princess Kamakhaya of Nilachal hills and wanted to marry her. The princess did not want to marry him but did not wish to offend him. So she laid down her condition: “Make steps from the base of the hill to the top in one night and I will marry you”. Narakasur used all his strength to make the steps and was making very good progress. The princess was afraid that he would finish them and marry her, so decided to play a trick. She asked a rooster to start crowing. Naraksur, when he heard the rooster, thought that it was already morning and that he had not been able to fulfil princess’ condition, gave up. BTW, there are unfinished steps near Kamakhaya that are shown to the tourists as the proof for this story. 

The Kamadev stories: Kamadev is the god of love in Hinduism. His name literally means the "god of desire". In the stories, he is accompanied by his consort Rati (sexuality) and a friend, Vasant, the goddess of spring. Kamadev was supposed to be born on the Nilachal hill and gave the old name of "Kamrup" to  Guwahati. Still today, the district of which Guwahati is a part, is called Kamrup.

The ancient myths of female sexuality related to Kamakhaya are omnipresent in some present-day beliefs where the women of the north-east region of India are sometimes described as “magicians” who can turn stranger men into sheep and keep them as their slaves, not letting them go back to their homes.

KAMAKHAYA TEMPLE

A wooden passage connects the Kamakhaya parking place/bus stop to the path going towards the temple. The whole passage is also lined with shops selling prayer materials and other trinkets. Along the passage sit many sadhu (ascetics in orange clothes) and beggars, who usually ask for alms from persons coming back from the temple visit.

The temple is placed along an east-to-west axis, starting with the Garbhagriha near the gate, followed by other three inter-connected buildings. The fourth building is the site for the animal sacrifices (black goats). The image below has been taken from the western end and shows the first 3 buildings of the temple.

The sculptures on the external walls can be divided into 4 groups - sacred figures, daily life figures, plants and animal figures and geometric designs. Many sacred sculptures are in eastern style found in eastern part of India (in the states of Odisha, Bengal and Assam).

The male sacred figures include different representations of Shiva, especially those in which he is shown as the destroyer of the world (Bhairava). The female sacred figures are different representations of Shakti – such as Gauri (nubile girl), Uma (an adolescent girl becoming aware of her own body and its desires, symbolized by a hand-held mirror), Bhuvaneshwari holding a Veena (a music instrument) in her hands and as Kamakhaya (a woman in control of her sexuality).

Sculptures with Kamakhaya representations where the goddess freely expresses her sexuality, are sometimes partly covered (like in the image below).

The sculptures representing daily life include a beautiful depiction of a mother breast feeding her baby (in the image below).

AMBUBASHI FESTIVAL

The annual Ambubashi festival is celebrated in June and usually coincides with the arrival of the monsoon rains. This festival celebrates the menstruation of Kamakhaya and the renewal of her fertility cycle. For three days the doors of Garbhagriha are closed while huge crowds of persons gather outside the temple to sing, dance and pray. On the fourth day when the temple doors are opened, there are huge crowds to visit and pray to the goddess.

Ambubashi period is considered especially important for those who believe in Tantrik way of worship. Thus, tantrik sadhu (ascetics, wearing orange or red or black clothes) come out from their isolation in the mountains to visit the temple and to conduct special prayer ceremonies (in the image below).

Baul singers who are wandering minstrels, singing about love of nature, freedom and humanity, represent a syncretic tradition of the north-east. They include Vaishnav Hindu sadhu and Muslim Sufi saints, and are a very heterogeneous group. Groups of Bauls also gather at Kamakhaya during the Ambubashi time (two Baul singers in the images below).

Thousands of pilgrims come to Guwahati for Ambubashi and the government organises free camps to host them. Free transport is also organised for pilgrims from Kamakhaya gate to the temple. A huge fair with hundreds of village shops is held near Kamakhaya temple on this occasion.

Though Guwahati can be impossibly hot and humid in that period, Ambubashi is one of the best times to visit Kamakhaya temple and Nilachal hill. Personally, I think that the opportunity to listen to the different Baul singers lost in their mystic trance is the best part of Ambubashi.

OTHER PLACES TO VISIT ON NILACHAL HILL

Nilachal hill has five Shiva temples – Siddheshwar, Kameshwar, Kotilinga, Aghor and Amratkeswar.

Siddheshawar temple in front of the parking place of Kamakhaya is one of the ancient temples of this region. It has some beautiful sculptures, probably dating back to medieval period. This temple is under Archaeological Survey of India. Unfortunately there are uncontrolled constructions all around this temple, that tower above the temple and deface its ancient beauty.

Tara temple with stairs going up near the entry gate of Kamakhaya temple is another small, but beautiful ancient building. As with Siddheshwara temple, here also uncontrolled constructions of multi-story concrete buildings around the temple, disturb its ambiance.

Bhairava temple near the base of Nilachal hill and Bagala temple near Kamakhaya are both known for their importance in Tantrik worship. If you follow the main road going up beyond the Kamakhaya temple, you can see the entrance to the Bagala temple.

If you will continue climbing the hill beyond Bagala temple, you will reach the top of Nilachal hill with the Bhuvaneshwari temple.

From here you can see a panorama of Guwahati city as well as the river Brahmaputra with its white sandy beaches below the hill. Across the river, on the other side, on a clear day you can also see the new buildings of Guwahati IIT.

CONCLUSIONS

Hiking up from the base of the Nilachal hill to Kamakhaya temple requires stamina and preparation. It is easier to take a state bus or a shared taxi to the temple and then walk around. However, at the end of the visit you can walk down and visit the other temples that line this road.

I like this tradition of acknowledging and respecting the female sexuality of Kamakhaya. This walk is a great way to understand and appreciate some of the complexities of Hinduism.

Unfortunately the management of Kamakhaya temple has not been able to provide basic services like a proper place for depositing shoes and bags. Even worse, uncontrolled constructions have spoiled many of the ancient temples near Kamakhaya.

Not withstanding this neglect, it is the simple faith of sadhus, Baul singers and ordinary pilgrims from far away places that will touch your heart during the Kamakhaya visit, especially during the annual Ambubashi festival.

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