|
|
||
| a r t i c l e s o n c o n v e r s i o n | ||
|
Hinduism
and Tribal Beliefs AT A time when
strenuous efforts are on to wrench tribals from Hindu society, the symbiotic
relationship that has always existed between the two needs to be highlighted.
Tribal religious traditions have always been so intensely Hindu-like that the
question arises whether Hinduism itself is a grand elaboration of Adivasi
beliefs. Certainly, the
Western-inspired theory of the Great Tradition percolating downwards is not
adequate to explain the ground reality. If Hinduism can be described as a
continuum operating between the two poles of tribalism and Brahminism, then
there is as much likelihood of tribal beliefs spreading out of their forest
setting and acquiring an all-India dimension. Indeed, this is what appears to
have happened on a significant scale. The
phenomenon is observable from very early times. The example of Durga is
well-known and need not detain us. In many Hindu temples it is still possible to
see stones or pebbles (tribal representations of Devi) worshipped alongside the
main image in the garbha griha. It is now widely accepted that the special
nature of the sacrifice offered to her (goats, fowl, buffaloes) preserves an
ancient aboriginal practice. A number of totem deities sacred to tribals, also
function as village deities. It is now increasingly acknowledged that the gram
Devi (village goddess) worshipped in most villages in the shape of a stone under
a tree, was originally a tribal goddess. The fact that
tribal deities were worshipped as uniconical symbols and were usually of fierce
disposition is significant in the general context of Hinduism. Durga’s violent
aspect has already been referred to. Shiva too had an ugra form, as did Vishnu
in his Varaha and Narasimha avatars. Scholars, have now established the strong
tribal links of both these gods. But whereas they insist on the trickle down
theory, the reverse increasingly seems more plausible. In
the case of Shiva, the links were via tribal goddesses who were often worshipped
in the form of a rock or a stone pole. This was one short step away from the
Shiva linga, which is also a uniconical murti. The linga, moreover, is always
encircled by shakti, the female principle. But Orissa also presents instances of
rock, representing the goddess, being encircled by shakti, so as to exactly
resemble a svayambhu linga. Then there is the case of the svayambhu lingaraja of
Bhubaneswar, which legend has it, was first discovered by tribals. Whichever way
one looks at it, tribal presence in the heart of Hinduism is indisputable. The Varaha and
Narasimha avatars of Vishnu reinforce this viewpoint. In the tribal belt both
are linked with uniconical symbols. In a temple near Visakhapatnam they are
worshipped in the form of a stone linga covered with sandal paste. The
legend surrounding Narasimha says that he burst forth from a pillar to kill the
demon Hiranyakasipu. Since the pillar is widely worshipped in tribal areas, this
cannot be dismissed as mere percolation of Brahminical influence. As a recent
survey of Orissa reveals, the state abounds in instances of Narasimha depicted
on wooden pillars representing the goddess Khambheshwari. Narasimha is believed
to derive his power from the shakti residing in the pillar. This has become so
crucial to Hinduism that even Shiva as Bhairava is said to have emerged from a
pillar — an intertwining of tribalism and Hinduism at the lowest and highest
level. Even tantrism bears a strong tribal impress. The worship of the female
counterparts of Varaha and Narasimha, Varahi and Narsimhi, common in tantrism,
is also widespread among tribals. That Hinduism was more than an imposition from
above is further reinforced by the girija or hill-born aspect of Narasimha. It
is surely not a coincidence that an aboriginal god in the form of the head of a
lion was worshipped in Orissa and Andhra. Almost 70 per cent of the Narasimha
shrines in Andhra have a uniconical murti of the god. Conventional wisdom, of course, interprets all this in the light of Hinduism being a hegemonic religion that absorbed everything in its way. But the matter is not so simple. If Hinduism was appropriating tribal and folk deities in a bid to extent its sway, the incoming deities should logically have remained frozen at the level and in the form that they entered the great religion. Deities suspected to have tribal origins developed into major figures in Hinduism. This would be a rare case of the conquerors accepting the religion of the vanquished. This could hardly have been the case. The regularity with which the same themes, beliefs and customs recur at the tribal, village and high Hinduism level, makes it difficult to avoid the conclusion that the populace and the religion were one integrated whole.
|
||
|
|
Copyright © 2001 - All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
a r t i c l e s o n c o n v e r s i o n |
||
|
|
||
