Initiation of Bhil Marriage Ceremony
The ancient culture of the tribal / Adivasi / indigenous India should be saved from being lost as useless through the process of the protection of their culural rights. These elaborate and cultural rites and rituals give the social unity, love and a sense of social belonging. These days it is very much seen in the hundreds of Bhil marriages in the district of Jhabua, MP. No matter, where these poor, deprved and hungry people have goone for procuring food, they return back, spending lots of money , just to be one with their tribal groups. It is seen that educated and the non educated Bhil come together to perform togethere these rites and rituals which the mainstream society has ignored including the NGOs working for over decades of years who silently impose and integrate their own social and cultural values.
The Bhil marriage has an elaborate rites and rituals already beginning prior to the initiation ceremony of marriage. On the initiation ceremony called Vane Behadvun, the Bhil village community officially install the bride or the bridegroom for the marriage ceremony which last for ode number of days. In this social even all the sections of the community and clan has specific role to play which is traditionally assigned by the Bhil society to perform. What a beautiful even. The sequence of the events on the Vane Behadvun are like this:
1. The village community assembles at the house of bride or the bridegroom in the darkness of the night.
2. Women folk start singing folk songs of the Bhils describing coming of the friends and relatives, introduction of the other partner, invitation to the village headman(Tadvi) to install the bride or the bridegroom on the seat of marriage called Bharati, etc.
3. Playing of the musical drums by musicians (Vajotari) and their honouring by Arati done by the women folk of the bride or the bridegroom.
4.Collection of the Bharati items such as mango leaves, pipal tree leaves, winnowing fans,(supada), turmeric, oil, rice, husking pestle, other items.
5. Bride or the bridegroom is ceremonially taken of bathing the purification ceremony, bride weeps and then brought to the seat for initiation ceremony. Hence forth they maintain silence. If leave the seat they hold a sword or an arrow in a hand as the sign of heroism and defence.
6. Now the village or clan girls start singing of the folk songs.
7. Bride - bridegroom is brought to Bharati for the initiation ceremony.
8. The candidate is annotated with oil on the hands and legs.
9. Covered with dhoti(while clothe of) brother-in-law and 4 boys and 4 girls smear rice with the winnowing fans.
10. Daru (country liquor) is offered to Bharati.
11. Signs of turmeric are put on the front wall as the signs of deities' presence by the Tadvi(village headman) or elder of the clan(gotra).
12. Girls continue singing folk songs in Bhili. Through the folk songs, the girls scoff the relatives of the candidate for marriage, prepare the girl or bride to face the suffering in the other or the alien house, and meanwhile the turmeric is applied to the partner.
13. Girls carry bride or the bride groom on their shoulders and dance in the inner room.
14. Brother in law carry the bride or the bridegroom on the shoulder and made one round of the house.
15. In the Khali(dancing spot) boys and girls dance as long as they feel nice as the night grows.
16. Then bride or the bride groom is brought in the house and all depart to sleep.
All the rites and rituals are conducted by the village community members and the traditionally job assigned to them. The master of the house or the father of the bride or the bridegroom only hosts but not directly involved in the carrying of the functions. Beautiful ceremonies. But the intervention of the outsiders, including the Indian missionaries they have corrupted tribal cultures They denied the value of leadership of the tribal community and Centralised for making themselves more powerful and impoverishing the tribals. thus spoiling their culture and weakening of the tribal leaders and tribal cultures.
Retaining of these rites and rituals will help remain united tribal communities of India, which will serve as a social bargaining for their overall human rights which are badly damaged by all who are serving them or finding inraods among them for their own benefits.
Website Development Indore
Saturday, April 18, 2009
UMALO
Girls and Women's Human Rights...?
The Bhil girls and women are by nature artistic.The have excessive love or infatuation for singing, dancing, giggling, eloping, romanticising everything in the Bhil social and cultural setting. The art, in a Hindu society is performed and enjoyed by few and selected, in the tribal societies performed and enjoyed by all. What a privilege.This creates a positive, lovely and romantic atmosphere in the Bhil country rarely seen in the world. It is also attractive and lovely to the tourists from India and abroad.That is why the festivals like Bhagoria, marriages, fairs, market places, gal, gad, etc are so unique, socially and culturally enhanced round the year even at the time of hunger and droughts. The Bhil girls and women take everything with smile.
As such there is an in built psychic mechanism in the body, mind and emotions of Bhil girls and women folks to respond everything in a romantic and positive way. In a way they take leisure, work, studies, singing, dancing, market places, road side works, harvesting, speaking, sharing, narrating, filling of water on the village wells or at the hand pump sites and everything as an unavoidable expression of Bhil romance, intensely happy moments, idealized for its purity and beauty in their tribal habitats, exciting, sentimental, nostalgic quality, etc. One way it is uniquely Bhil cultural characteristic of the Bhil girls and women. Thus the tribal atmosphere turns out to be excessively beautiful and romantic, pervading even all the negative areas of life to respond them in positive and calm manner.
On the other side, one can say this is hindrance in the areas where the protection of girls and women's rights are primly to be respected and self-discipline is needed. In such moments and situations girls especially are exploited. That is why their self-esteem is low. Government has come out with strong legal provisions to protect them. Yet on the social levels much more remains to be done by the society itself and not by outsiders or NGO's who have not so far respected tribal cultures and promoted them, except for the economic gains. Because persons and people of sophisticated cultures are making lots of due and undue interferences with the Bhil culture and at the end Bhils and the Bhil culture suffers and is going down. Everything is turning towards the advantages of the non tribals since 60 years.
At the work sites, studies, at the time of festivals, when excessive love and romance is socially and culturally displayed, naturally or spontaneously exhibited, etc. This way the desired goals are not achieved in these fields. The non tribal seven like missionaries have misunderstood and negatively coloured and projected the tribal cultures since they are socially and culturaly prejudiced. Others have taken a times undue advantages of the spontaneous and innocent responses of the tribal girls and women and at the end tarnished their image. At the costs of Umalo Bhil society and culture has suffered its image in the hands of the non tribals. Even those who have taken advantage of them look down.
In the Bhil culture anything excessive of this type is taken as Umalo, a socially and culturally generated, inherited and promoted Bhil value having negative and positive implications. When the girls are filled of Umalo no one can control them. What is Umalo...? One needs to understand correctly and guide them properly and creatively which is absent, without negatively attributing the Bhil girls and women as the Indian missionaries have done in the past and present, even imposing their value system and cultural characteristics. This is one of the important factor why culture could not grow and take a proper shape. A great harm done to the non tribal cultures like the Bhils by the non tribals. Whereas the Bhil girls and women are more innocent, honest and naive than non tribals. Negatively looking at the Bhil culture , the outsiders even though they may be Indian missionaries, have spoiled outlook of the Bhils towards their own culture. Foreign Missionaries had healthy outlook towards the Bhil culture.
What is Umalo then...? Umalo is socially, culturally, geographically, animated, generated pure and simple thought, and inherited cultural behaviour among the girls and women of the Bhil society . It needs to be properly understood and not culturally coloured by their their own cultural prejudices which the non tribals have done and are doing now.
Website Development Indore
The Bhil girls and women are by nature artistic.The have excessive love or infatuation for singing, dancing, giggling, eloping, romanticising everything in the Bhil social and cultural setting. The art, in a Hindu society is performed and enjoyed by few and selected, in the tribal societies performed and enjoyed by all. What a privilege.This creates a positive, lovely and romantic atmosphere in the Bhil country rarely seen in the world. It is also attractive and lovely to the tourists from India and abroad.That is why the festivals like Bhagoria, marriages, fairs, market places, gal, gad, etc are so unique, socially and culturally enhanced round the year even at the time of hunger and droughts. The Bhil girls and women take everything with smile.
As such there is an in built psychic mechanism in the body, mind and emotions of Bhil girls and women folks to respond everything in a romantic and positive way. In a way they take leisure, work, studies, singing, dancing, market places, road side works, harvesting, speaking, sharing, narrating, filling of water on the village wells or at the hand pump sites and everything as an unavoidable expression of Bhil romance, intensely happy moments, idealized for its purity and beauty in their tribal habitats, exciting, sentimental, nostalgic quality, etc. One way it is uniquely Bhil cultural characteristic of the Bhil girls and women. Thus the tribal atmosphere turns out to be excessively beautiful and romantic, pervading even all the negative areas of life to respond them in positive and calm manner.
On the other side, one can say this is hindrance in the areas where the protection of girls and women's rights are primly to be respected and self-discipline is needed. In such moments and situations girls especially are exploited. That is why their self-esteem is low. Government has come out with strong legal provisions to protect them. Yet on the social levels much more remains to be done by the society itself and not by outsiders or NGO's who have not so far respected tribal cultures and promoted them, except for the economic gains. Because persons and people of sophisticated cultures are making lots of due and undue interferences with the Bhil culture and at the end Bhils and the Bhil culture suffers and is going down. Everything is turning towards the advantages of the non tribals since 60 years.
At the work sites, studies, at the time of festivals, when excessive love and romance is socially and culturally displayed, naturally or spontaneously exhibited, etc. This way the desired goals are not achieved in these fields. The non tribal seven like missionaries have misunderstood and negatively coloured and projected the tribal cultures since they are socially and culturaly prejudiced. Others have taken a times undue advantages of the spontaneous and innocent responses of the tribal girls and women and at the end tarnished their image. At the costs of Umalo Bhil society and culture has suffered its image in the hands of the non tribals. Even those who have taken advantage of them look down.
In the Bhil culture anything excessive of this type is taken as Umalo, a socially and culturally generated, inherited and promoted Bhil value having negative and positive implications. When the girls are filled of Umalo no one can control them. What is Umalo...? One needs to understand correctly and guide them properly and creatively which is absent, without negatively attributing the Bhil girls and women as the Indian missionaries have done in the past and present, even imposing their value system and cultural characteristics. This is one of the important factor why culture could not grow and take a proper shape. A great harm done to the non tribal cultures like the Bhils by the non tribals. Whereas the Bhil girls and women are more innocent, honest and naive than non tribals. Negatively looking at the Bhil culture , the outsiders even though they may be Indian missionaries, have spoiled outlook of the Bhils towards their own culture. Foreign Missionaries had healthy outlook towards the Bhil culture.
What is Umalo then...? Umalo is socially, culturally, geographically, animated, generated pure and simple thought, and inherited cultural behaviour among the girls and women of the Bhil society . It needs to be properly understood and not culturally coloured by their their own cultural prejudices which the non tribals have done and are doing now.
Website Development Indore
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