In the year 1937, thinking to introduce the formal education among the Bhils of 12 Princely States Jhabua and its surroundings, Mama Baleshwar Dayal started a school of the Bhils called Dungar Vidyapeeth literally means Hill University. The Dungar Vidyapeeth was started in Bamania in the Princely State of Jhabua where the Bhils were oppressed and suppressed by the Rathore dynasty of Rajput kings. The noble venture was supported fully by the rich seths (merchants), advocates, journalists, high caste persons, etc.
Mamaji had initially 200 boys and 150 girls in the Dungar Vidyapeeth which was to grow up to in the final shape in the form of a residential Bhil University in the course of time if time favoured Mama and the Bhils. Saturanbai was the first Bhil girl who became an instructor in Dungar Vidyapeet after her own education in the tribal institution called Dungar Vidyapeeth.Later Mahatma Gandhi too appreciated the noble thought of Mama Baleshwar Dayal and fully supported his vision to educate the Bhils well. Thakkar Bapa too was doing the same missionary work as Mama but among the Bhils of Gujarat with great zeal.
Besides the formal education in the Dungar Vidyapeeth, Mama taught the Bhils the appropriate lesions of life as in the fast changing and growing India how to live life side by side with the people of higher castes and classes. Result of this was that the Bhils became their own leaders, guides, teachers and Gurus. Mama ideal wife became all round helper to the Bhils. What Mama Baleshwar Dayal achieved with the generous support of his fellow Hindu friends from Bamania, Petlawad, Thandla, Meghnagar, Jhabua, Banswara, Ratlam, Dahod and other places, the Government of Madhya Pradesh and Rajastha could not achieve till this day. We need supporters, visionaries, teachers and Gurus like Mama for uplifting the Adivasis of India and not the administrators and NOGs with huge budgets.
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Wednesday, April 1, 2009
BHIL NAKTO
A Folkloric and Cultural Way of Obtaining Salvation for Bhil Souls
Yearning for meeting God and winning of salvation for the departed souls is an inevitable indigenous belief among the Bhils to be done after the death of the elders especially. But as the sanskritisation and modernization takes place rapidly the tribal cultural and religious beliefs and religous practices are getting diluted mostly Hinduism. In this connection one should point out, that the Bhil cultural, religious and human rights are being disturbed and damaged. Nakto, a Bhil way of winning salvation for the departed souls is being beautifully maintained by the traditional and modern Bhils. The cultural damages done to the tribals of Central and Western India are being resented silently and slowly . Such opposition is being expressed in private and a times in the public meetings towards Hindus and Christians alike. A damage, to the tribal India is being felt strongly and systematically in the present century. This sort of missionary work has largely contributed negatively in the tribal communities of India. Indian missionaries in the tribal India have overlooked this fact more than the foreign missionaries especially who came from Kerala, Manglore and Goa.
In the Nakto, the deities are appeased in a three day long religious ritual, in the large gathering of the clan(gotra / jat) members, shaving off the hairs on the heads by male members of the clan, feeding to the members of the village and clan community, singing of the family history by the Ravalias(clan bards), final farewell to the departed soul or souls before the day break, mounring by the women folk, religous and ritual offerings by the married girls of the family, token of gifts for the brothers of the family by the married girls of the same etc...
These are some of the main features of the ritual called Nakto
Web Designing Indore By Black Soft
Yearning for meeting God and winning of salvation for the departed souls is an inevitable indigenous belief among the Bhils to be done after the death of the elders especially. But as the sanskritisation and modernization takes place rapidly the tribal cultural and religious beliefs and religous practices are getting diluted mostly Hinduism. In this connection one should point out, that the Bhil cultural, religious and human rights are being disturbed and damaged. Nakto, a Bhil way of winning salvation for the departed souls is being beautifully maintained by the traditional and modern Bhils. The cultural damages done to the tribals of Central and Western India are being resented silently and slowly . Such opposition is being expressed in private and a times in the public meetings towards Hindus and Christians alike. A damage, to the tribal India is being felt strongly and systematically in the present century. This sort of missionary work has largely contributed negatively in the tribal communities of India. Indian missionaries in the tribal India have overlooked this fact more than the foreign missionaries especially who came from Kerala, Manglore and Goa.
In the Nakto, the deities are appeased in a three day long religious ritual, in the large gathering of the clan(gotra / jat) members, shaving off the hairs on the heads by male members of the clan, feeding to the members of the village and clan community, singing of the family history by the Ravalias(clan bards), final farewell to the departed soul or souls before the day break, mounring by the women folk, religous and ritual offerings by the married girls of the family, token of gifts for the brothers of the family by the married girls of the same etc...
These are some of the main features of the ritual called Nakto
Web Designing Indore By Black Soft
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