Some times ago is passed away a great festival called ' BANDNA POROB'. It prossetion in area of jharkhand also purulia bankur and some district of orrisa and chhatris ghar.
Now it season of Tusu. This also a great festival of that area. Mainly based on song and dance. Critique said a paddy hunt festival. But this is not also ferming fest. it is a big deal of man on this area. As a festiv area it played a lifehood. This festival played on a hole month of agrayan. Main part of this festiv is month of Magh.
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lekha gulo aro details hoa dorkar
Sadhan, plz forgive me but I can't resist myself to say that you should have to learn English more.
english ta ektu thik kare likhbi r ektu details kare ek du kali gaan quote kare dibi, baki thik achhe, ekta karte paris ekta blogg e puro ta na likhe to be continued format use kar, tahle reader der eagerness increase karbe...
Ami setai chesta korchi. Dekhi kotota improve korte pari...
Karam Festival in Mumbai
The country has been experiencing hard time with series of disasters – natural and manmade in last few months. Despite all this there is spirit to face this difficult time and move on. This is a festive season all over the country across the communities. The Adivasi sisters and brothers of Chotanagpur in Mumbai celebrated Karam festival in series.
Karam is the name of a tree (nauclea parvifolia). The legend on Karam festival signifies Karam tree as savior and guarantor of prosperity. It is a popular festival among Oraon, Munda, Santhal, Ho, Kisan, Kol, Bhumij and other tribal communities of Central India. Out of the five types of Karam celebrated at the different times of the year, which coincides with the events of agricultural cycles, Raji Karam is the most popular. It is celebrated on the 11th day of the moon in the month of Bhado (August- September). The celebration is meant for the protection of standing crops. It is primarily meant for the young girls who are recently engaged. They pray for the healthy children in their future life. It is also believed that these ascetic practices bring down blessings upon their brothers and protect them from harm and evil.
The brothers and sisters from Chotanagpur living in different cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune would like to commemorate the significance of this celebration and maintain the tradition of their forefathers. Due to the modernization and conversion to Christianity the celebration gets improvised at place to place. However, the Karam festival reminds and reinforces the symbiotic relationship between tribals and the nature. It strengthens the element of caring and sharing in the family and the community.
In Mumbai this year, the first celebration was held on September 18th 2005 at St. Xavier High School premises. There were about five hundred sisters and brothers gathered to celebrate Karam. The celebration was led by Fr. Thomas Barla with the song and dance by colourfully dressed spinsters followed by Holy mass. Fr. Domnic, Fr. Amalraj, and Fr. Ricoper joined them in the celebration. It was a great feeling to listen to songs and the beats of mandar in south Mumbai. The girls were so happy dancing, feeling at home, meeting friends, and catching up with each other.
Following this celebration there were series of Karam celebration in Mumbai.
Andheri Sept.25th
Bycula Oct.9th
Malad Oct.16th
Vasai Nov. 4th
This kind of celebration reinforces one’s own identity. It is of feeling of Home away from Home.
Collected Details of KARAM FESTIVAL
By Dilip Kumar Mahata
Preparation: For Karam Festival villagers start their preparation in Bhadra Month (Aug - Sep). The head of the family ties the branches of the Karam (Adina Cordfolia) tree with the thread soaked in turmeric water on the day before the previous full- moon day. Two days before the festival, the girls who have yet to reach the puberty age remain on fast until they collect the sand granules from the river – Kaliaghai; in a basket known as ‘Tupa’ or ‘Dali’. After cleaning the stone chips from sand, they put the seeds of a few kinds of cereals.
The celebration starts with the welcome of the God Karam by songs. This is known as ‘Jagan’ (awakening). The germination of seeds takes place now, indicating that their psycho emotional compatibility of controlling the production.
On the auspicious day : They all go together to cut the branches of the said tree, dancing and singing. The eldest son of the organizing house hold cuts the branch with a single blow of the sharp cutting axe. He wears a new loincloth. The fasting girls perform the rituals through Chuman or Kissing. The head of the households worship the Gods alongwith other village deities or gods with offerings and sacrifices. The old man of the village complete the rituals narrating the myth concerning the origin of the earth and the tribe. They sing and dance, irrespective of sex, at the end.
After taking the rice beer, the males and females start rhythmic dancing. Dancing usually starts at night and continues sometimes throughout the night. The day time is not convenient for them because it prevents the pursuit of the common social activities. After toiling hard in the field in the day time, the woman folks dance throughout the night in the Karam Parab. There is some discrimination in case of dance. In Baha or Karam, both the men and women dance, whereas in Dassae or Sohrae only male folks dance. The dance is considered as a condition of intense social euphoria in which social activity is at its zenith and all the social sentiments are pleasurably and intensely excited.
Thus Raha (1967) comments:
“When any event is marked by the sandals, they at once give it a poetic expression and sing spontaneously on their way to or during any festival. The composition of their songs in different occasion reveals their idiosyncrasy, as are recorded in Tusu bandaranach (during Makar Sankranti), Karam, Dassae and so on. ”
Myth of the Karam Festival:
The Karam festival is celebrated by the Adivasis on the 11th day of the Lunar month of August - September. Although the feast is meant to ensure the protection of standing crops, it is primarily the feast of unmarried girls who have been recently engaged. They pray for the blessing of healthy children. On the day of Karam all unmarried girls who want to participate in the festival keep a fast.
Karam is the name of a tree (Nauclea parvifolia ). According to the account of my informants there is a particular household in their village in whose courtyard the karam branches are planted every year for the festival. Every year the village council reminds the head of that household that the festival is approaching. Accordingly, the village messenger (Gonrait) announces the Karam Day to all the villages.
Eight days before the Karam Day the unmarried girls take their new bamboo basket, go to a river, bring sand in the basket and heap that sand in the courtyard of the Karam household. They sing and dance around that heap. They mix some maize seeds in the heap. Each one of them fills her basket with that mixture and takes it home. This mixture is put in one corner of the house. The unmarried girls water the mixture with turmeric water everyday in their respective houses. During those eight days, the maize-seeds germinate and bring forth beautiful tender yellow-green blades which are called jawa.
In the afternoon of the Karam Day at about 2 or 3 p.m., the girls of the village go flower-picking with their Karam-baskets which are daubed red. They come back from their flower-picking towards sunset. They put on their best Saris, home-made garments usually with red borders. They fix the young jawa in their hair. Boys don their long Dhotis, shirts and turbans, gird their waist and ankles with belts set with little brass dancing bells. Between the belt and dhoti they insert jihail, i.e. a bunch of peacock feathers and chaonr, i.e. a yak’s tail, letting it hand down to the ground. In their turbans they fix tainya, i.e. birds’ feathers or kalinga, i.e. very thin pieces of brass. On their left shoulders they carry sticks if they are not drumming.
Thus attired, they come to the Karam-courtyard and sing and dance there for some time and then set out for the cutting of the Karam-branches. The boys beat their xel, i.e tribal drums, and the girls sing and dance to the drum-beats on their way. Having arrived at the foot of the Karam-Tree, they dance around it for sometime. Three branches are selected which are straight and not damaged in any way by worms or other pests. Their leaves must be fresh and green. One of the young boys cuts them. If the tree is tall, he climbs on it and cuts them. He does not allow the branches to fall to ground, but with care and reverence he hands them over to the girls who carry them on their shoulders still dancing and singing.
They return drumming, singing and dancing and carrying the Karam-branches in triumphant procession towards their village. At the sound of the music and singing of the party, the rest of the villages come out to meet the dance-party at the Karam-courtyard. The wife of the head of the Karam-household keeps standing there. The girls hand over the Karam-branches to her one by one for planting them in the courtyard. After lighting an oil-lamp, she digs a hole in the centre of the courtyard with a ploughshare and plants the branches firmly in the ground. She applies some oil and vermilion on the lower part of the branches. This ritual signifies the marriage taking place between the deity residing on the Karam-tree and the unmarried girls of the village. This marriage occurs at a supernatural plane. During all this while the dance-party keeps singing, dancing and drumming. The lady of the Karam-household burns incense or jaggery in veneration of the Karam-branches which are sacred to the deity so the latter may give good harvest, prosperity and well being to its worshippers.
After dancing around the Karam branches for some time the girls go to bring their Karam-baskets. The basket contain a little quantity of Arwa rice, i.e rice husked from dry paddy which is unboiled, tender cucumbers clothed with coloured clothes, earthen lamps, tender yellow maize blades and flowers.
Coming back to Karam-courtyard, the girls pay homage to Karam-branches. They sit in a circle around the planted Karam branches with their baskets in their hands. They light their oil lamps and listen to Karam-Story narrated by a story-teller. The story is punctuated by the girls throwing flowers, jawa, i.e ceremonial corn shoots and arwa rice at the Karam branches when the narrator gives direction to do so. Here follows the story as he tells it.
NARRATION OF KARAM MYTH
Today, we have all gathered around the Karam King. All of you have brought your jayi, i.e. tender corn shoots. There is jayi in the basket, above the jayi there is the light-vessel, above the light-vessel there is light (Daura maiyyan jai, jai maiyyan diya, diya maiyyan batti). We all see how you have arranged them before the Karam King and how you are worshipping him. So, friends, now I am beginning to narrate the Karam-Story to you. As we hear the story today let us ponder over it and try to understand it.
In ancient times - as story has been told and retold by our ancestors - there were seven brothers with their seven wives. They were living a rich and comfortable life (Thasa manja hi ujja-bijja lagiyar). The Karam feast was approaching. In those days, money coins were wanting and rare. They considered that the feast of Karam Raja was coming nearer and they had to buy goods and articles for the occasion. They had rice, mustard and magha (Guizotia abyssinica) or oil seeds. These were the wealth of farmers. Those seven brothers got ready for going to the market and buy goods and articles for their wives and children for the forth coming festival.
They loaded their oxen with their belongings for a distant journey. Those days, there were no horses, no carts and no buses for traveling. Their respective wives came to them and asked them to bring chutki (nose-rings) for some and mudri (finger rings) for others, jhika (ear-ornament) for some and bitla (ear-ornament of char wood, i.e. Buchanaria latifolia) for others a new clothes for some of them. All the wives told their husbands their needs. The youngest brother’s wife said to herself: ‘What shall I ask my husband to buy for me? I don’t have any children.’ However she went to her husband and told him right in his ear lest he should forget: ‘Bring me aginjhar, i.e. a sari shining like the sun to wear’. The husbands listened carefully to their wives and understood their orders well. Having harnessed their oxen with heavy loads they set out for their journey. They were going in a happy mood, laughing and joking with one another. It was like going abroad to a far away country.
In the course of their long journey they came to a dense jungle. Neither was any bird singing there nor was there any sound of other living creatures. That was the kind of jungle that they were passing through! In that long and great jungle raw bamboos were making kachkich sound and dry bamboos were making thay cracking sound due to wind and friction and an old bear was exclaiming hay ! (Kacha bans kachkichay, jhura bans thay kare, burha bhalu hay kare !). The bamboos were growing prolifically as they had been there for long years. Therefore they would certainly make friction sounds and the dry branches would surely break and fall with crashing sound ! They kept on going. They slept where it became dark. They walked day and night and were nearing Nahinanggar i.e. unseen city. Neither the father nor the mother had seen that country before. Such a place they had reached!
They saw palaces rising on top of the city, path around the palace, zig-zag streets, meandering bazaars, young boys and girls - sixty thousand of them (Sahar upar mahal, mahal upar dahar, eonth gali beonth bazaar, larki-larka sath hazar)! If young people were in such great numbers, you can imagine how many more the others were! That sort of market they had arrived at. Below, there were shops of business people in numerous lines and rows. So, friends, they had to do their shopping in that market.
They took down their goods from their oxen. They went about inquiring about the rates and prices of different commodities. To their great surprise they discovered that their cereals, pulse and oil seeds were selling for double the price in their own place. This made them very happy. They discussed among them how their commodities were going to fetch them really a fat sum of money! They sold their goods and collected a large amount of money. After these they roamed about the market searching for the articles which they had to buy for their wives. They went from shop to shop in different directions according to their needs and requirements. All the brothers got their respective articles and bought them. However, the youngest brother could not find his article in spite of searching for it in the whole town. His brothers were getting impatient with him and with his delay. They asked him: ‘What kind of article are you looking for, you fellow, that you don’t get in such a big market? Is it that you don’t have enough money to purchase it?’ He kept quite and did not tell them what he had been looking for. He kept on searching. He went to big shops and asked shopkeepers whether they were selling the aginjhar saris. They told him that they did not have such saris in their shops. He went to inquire in many other shops about the aginjhar sari but he could not get it in any of them. He was getting nervous because his brothers already bought their articles and were getting annoyed at his delay. Some of them were scolding him for his slowness.
Without getting discouraged he went to yet another shop and asked the dealer to give him the aginjhar sari. The shopkeeper said to him, scoffing: ‘From whom did you hear about this blooming sari, fellow? Was it your father or your mother who told you about this sari? Have they ever seen it? Who asked you to buy this blessed aginjhar sari?’ The boy was now in a state of mental distress. He asked himself: ‘ Where shall I get it from? If I don’t succeed in buying it for my wife, she will rightly complain to me saying : “All the other husbands brought the cherished articles of their wives as they had promised them, how is it only you did not bring me what I had asked you to bring for me?”
Just then, friends, there came an old florist lady. She had seen the young man inquiring about the aginjhar sari and receiving disappointing answers from the shopkeepers. She took pity on him and asked : ‘What are you searching for my son?’ He said to her : ‘I am looking for aginjhar sari, madam.’ She told him: ‘You cannot find it here in this market. I know its whereabouts. I fetch flowers and leaves for a Sadhu, a holy man, daily. I have come to know that aginjhar sari is available with him.’ This good news brought him encouragement and consolation. He went to Sadhu , fell at his feet and told him his difficulty. ‘Be patient, my son’, said the Sadhu, ‘ I shall give you the aginjhar sari. But it will be a big problem for you to take along with you.’ How will you take it? If people come to know about it, they may kill you on the way and snatch it away from you.’ The boy pleaded at least to show him that sari. The Sadhu had preserved it in a bamboo cylinder (Bans-thunrhi). He pulled it out slightly and lo, its dazzling appearance throw the boy flat on the ground! The Sadhu pushed it back quickly into the cylinder. Coming to his senses the exclaimed: ‘ At long last I managed to discover what I had been desperately looking for! I shall take this aginjhar sari at any cost, no matter what consequences I may have to bear for its sake.’ He told the Sadhu: ‘Please tell me the ways and means of owning and retaining this sari, sir. I shall observe your directions faithfully. By all means you give me this article and take from me whatever price you want for it.’ The Sadhu said: ‘ Tell no one about this sari and by no means you should look at it anywhere.’ ‘ Yes sir’, he replied, ‘neither shall I tell any one about it nor will I myself have a look at it anywhere on the way.’ Having said this, he paid its price to the Sadhu. He collected it and returned to his brothers smiling and in very good cheer. They had already harnessed their oxen for their return journey. When they saw him they said: ‘ Here he comes! His cheerful face shows that he finally got what he wanted. They asked him: ‘Hello brother, did you manage to buy your article?’ ‘ Yes’, he replied. ‘Come on then’, they said, ‘ get ready quickly for the return journey. Pack your belongings and load them on the oxen. Many days have passed since our departure from home. We have no idea about the happenings at home. Finish your work quickly.’ He replied: ‘Yes, I get ready in no time.’ He was very happy that he had acquired his most cherished article. He harnessed his oxen fast and they sat out for their homeward journey laughing joking and rejoicing. While going on their journey they had felt that the distance was great, but after their shopping they were all feeling light and even their oxen were walking comfortably and leisurely.
After journeying for a long time they came to a river. It was about one kos, i.e. three miles from home. The eldest brother said: ‘ Brothers, now we have almost reach our destination. We know well how many days we were able to eat and how often we had to go without food or drink. As a result we do not look fresh.
Therefore, we shall halt here, cook our meal and after our meal we shall proceed towards home.’ Accordingly they put down their belongings and arranged them in an orderly manner and led their oxen for drinking water. As they began to take out their cooking pots and pans, they said: ‘ Goodness, where hall we get the fire from?’ Those days there were no safety matches or match boxes. ‘ We have crossed the last village and left it far behind’, they said, ‘ Where shall we get fire now? It is our own village which is the closest to fetch fire from.’ The eldest brother told the youngest: ‘ Brother, go home to fetch fire and bring the news from home. Tell our wives at home that we shall be arriving soon.’
So friends, the youngest brother felt very happy with this order, because he got a chance to show the aginjhar sari to his beloved wife. She would be excited to see it. He marched off joyfully to fetch fire from home. As he was nearing home, he heard the rising sound of drums and cymbals! In the absence of there husbands the seven wives had been fasting and observing vows and making sacrifices for the love of their husbands. They were doing these so that they might look after their households well in the absence of their husbands, and leave peacefully in a sisterly fashion among themselves. They had renounced all merry making, eating and drinking. They had been constantly thinking of their husbands who were absent for days and months on end and yet they were living in quite and amicable manner. They did not even pay visits to their parents’ homes during the period of their husbands’ absence. God was very pleased with their conduct. Therefore he had sent the Karam Raja to them in their own courtyard so that they might celebrate, rejoice and be merry after so many days of austere living. Those were the drums and cymbals which were sounding and resounding in the midst of great merry making. There were seven chains of dancers. Even if some one had tried to separate a dancer from the other, they would not separate from each other. So compelling and absorbing was the power of that dance! Every body was in a frenzy of dancing and no body was there to watch the dance. The youngest brother arrived at the spot and observed that everybody was enthralled and drowned in the thrill and excitement of dance. It was simply captivating and he could not resist its magnetic pull on him! He joined the dance party and got lost in the great din of rejoicing. He forgot all about his brothers and their directions in the mist on the present excitement. His brothers waited eagerly and patiently for his return, but all in vain.
It was getting late. So, the eldest brother told the sixth brother: ‘Brother, go and find out what happened to that ass! Find out why he has not come back.’ So, this brother also goes home and sees the rejoicing crowd in the midst of the din and sounds of drums, cymbals, tomtoms and so forth. All children and adults without any exception were dancing ceaselessly (jhumuk-jhuma)! He could not control himself and joined the dance, forgetting completely to go back to his brothers with fire.
The eldest brother sent the next brother saying: ‘ Brother, it is your turn now and find out what exactly has happened to those two fellows. They have not returned to us with fire. If there was only one fellow there, then the case would be pardonable but the two of them have done the same stupid thing! However, I request you to come back with fire fast, because we are hungry here without food.’ Thus the fifth brother went home and he also joined the dancing and did not return. In this way the eldest brother sent all six brothers home to fetch fire, but none of them returned to him. He was left alone. How would they have been able to come back once they had witnessed the dancing at the dance-floor! They had all lost their concern towards their eldest brother, whether he was hungry or thirsty. So, the eldest brother was in a fix now. He said to himself: ‘ If I go now, who will take care of so many things lying here ?’ He was literally starving by now and his anger was flaring up like fire! ‘ What has happened to those fellow really’, he asked, ‘ if not all , a least a single fellow should have returned to me!’ At long last, he decided check on the matter. He picked up a big hatchet and marched towards home. He thought it quite possible that some enemy has stopped my brothers or some tragedy may have befallen them. That may be the reason why they did not return to me, or else how would they have failed to come back to me? He came and saw with his own eyes that every body was dancing there. His anger shot up in him surging from his heel and reaching the crown of his head (Enrik ris taruwa men charh jay). He was highly enraged. His eyes were blood shot with anger. He went round seeing and asking himself: ‘ What has charmed and hypnotized these fellows? How are they able to dance so much and with what kind of joy are they dancing so madly?
Due to intense anger he was not in a position to reason well. He was feeling like striking some of them there and then beating up some others later. Finally, he saw the Karam Raja right in the middle of the dancing crowd. It was the Karam-branch with its green foliage. They had planted it in the middle of the dancing floor and were dancing around it. He said to himself: ‘ This is the culprit which has bewitched all of my brothers and did not permit them to go back to me. This is the root-cause of all this crazy rejoicing and excitement!’ Out of sheer anger he swung his hatchet and chopped that branch into seven pieces, my friends! This ruthless act displeased the Karam Raja, represented by the Karam branch. Even the dancers were baffled by this irrational action and were asking themselves: ‘Why did this man do this? We were singing and dancing in such high glee and this gentleman disturb and disrupted so abruptly our lively and colourful program!’
The eldest brother was all the time preoccupied with the thought that so much luggage and belongings were left behind together with so many oxen untended! Therefore after chopping off the Karam branch at the dance-floor he returned to the river where the belongings had been left. When he got to the river, behold, all the belongings had turned in to stones! His fortune had turned into misfortune. Oxen, pots, plates, jars, bags, bedding and clothes, all had turned into stones! He was now deeply perplexed. He said to himself: ‘Alas, this is my own doing! I became angry and did not control my anger, and I cut the Karam branch representing the Karam Raja deity. As a result the deity got offended and most probably it has sent me all this misfortune! ‘Saying this, he held his head with his hands and began to repent, saying: ‘Hay Karam, Hay Karam, Hay Karam, Hay Karam…, Oh Karam! Where shall I go and what shall I do? What shall I eat and drink now? My fortune had been destroyed!’ Now, as he was saying ‘Hay Karam, Hay Karam’, he began to think that he would go to look for the Karam Raja and ask pardon for his mistake. He was determined to find the Karam deity without minding the difficulties and obstacles it would entail on the way. There fore saying: ‘Hay Karam, Hay Karam’, he set out to find the Karam Raja deity.
As he was approaching a village repeating all the while : ‘Hay Karam, Hay Karam’, the villages came out to see, thinking that something sad must have happened to him. Now, one of the women in the village who had come out to see him, had a big cluster of Birni - grass roots actually growing on her head. She was not comfortable anywhere. She could neither comb her hair nor could she show her face to anyone. She asked him : ‘Where are you going, sir?’ He replied : ‘ I am going to find the Karam Raja deity. My fortune has gone all wrong.’ She said to him : ‘Ask him about my misfortune too. This huge cluster of Birni roots (Birni Bhuchra) has grown on my head and for all these years I have been in real trouble.’ ‘Yes, madam’, he replied, ‘I shall ask him.’ Having talked to her, he continued his journey repeating : ‘Hay Karam, Hay Karam…!’
On his onward journey he reached another village where he met a woman on whose buttocks there was a big wooden stool, sticking out permanently ! Due to this, it was neither convenient for her to sit nor stand. It was a big penance for her. She asked him : ‘Where are you going, sir ?’ He replied : ‘I am going to find the Karam Raja deity. My fortune has gone all wrong.’ She told him : ‘Please tell him about my misfortune also. See, I have been in great pain and suffering for a long time due this wooden stool sticking to my buttocks permanently. It is shameful and humiliating for me to appear before others !’ He promised to put her case before the Karam deity.
He continued his journey in hunger and thirst. At one place he met a cowherd. He had lots of cattle that were looked after by seven “sticks”, i.e by seven persons. Even so he was no more able to look after the cattle due to their overwhelming numbers. When the traveller came to him, lamenting : ‘Hay Karam, Hay Karam… !’, the cowherd asked him : ‘Where are you going, sir ? What happened to you ?’ In reply he told him that he was going to the Karam deity for setting his fortune right. The cowherd told him to put his difficulty also before the Karam Raja, how he was unable to look after his cattle due to their increasing number. Yet, why did the god keep giving him more and more cattle ? He said : ‘Ask the Karam Raja whether he is going to give me still more cattle or is going to take them away from me.’ The traveller said : ‘All right, I shall ask him.’
He went further, repeating the phrase : ‘Hay Karam, Hay Karam…’ and met a shepherd. He had a blanket only half a foot long. It was neither long nor short. He could neither wear it nor could he cover himself with it at night. He had only that much of cloth for day and night. He asked the traveller : ‘Sir, neither do I grow richer nor poorer than I am at present. Therefore, please, ask the Karam Raja whether he is going to give me more or is going to take away even this half a foot of blanket that I have with me. On your way back, tell me his answer.’ ‘All right’, replied the traveller, ‘I shall tell you the answer.’
The traveller continued his journey with increasing hunger and thirst. He was sweating profusely. In one place a cow was suckling its calf. He said to himself : ‘Now I shall drink this cow’s milk and then proceed or else I cannot go any further.’ When he came in front of the cow it began to charge him, and when he went behind it it was kicking him. Therefore, he could not drink the cow’s milk. However, he continued his journey repeating his phrase : ‘Hay Karam, Hay Karam…’ till he reached a spot where he saw Urid plants (Phaseolus Roxburghii) laden with lovely green, mature beans. He said : ‘ Now, I shall eat these Urid beans to my heart’s content and then proceed ahead.’ He plucked the Urid beans and opened them to eat their seeds and lo, there were caterpillars inside ! He was disappointed but not discouraged from continuing his journey, repeating : ‘Hay Karam, Hay Karam…’ again and again. When he came to a river, he said : ‘Let me at least quench my thirst in this river.’ He filled the cup of his palm with river-water to drink, but behold, the water had turned red and changed into blood ! ‘Oh’ ,he said, ‘it is my own fault to have caused this misfortune to myself ! ‘On his onward journey, he saw a horse. ‘ I am tired’, he said, ‘ so, I shall mount on this horse and complete the rest of my journey.’ When he was coming near the horse ran after him to bite him.
Disappointed again he continued his journey and reached an ocean. It was a great ocean. It was the meeting-point of seven seas, sixteen rivers, the Ganges and the Jamuna and twenty two other rivers (sat samundar, sora dhar, Gangi-Jamuna, bais dhar). He landed at such a place beyond which he could not proceed any further.
Across the seas he saw the Karam Raja whom he had chopped to pieces with his hatchet. He said to himself : ‘I see the Karam Raja all right, how lovely and green, but how shall I cross this great ocean to come to him ? ‘Seeing the gigantic obstacle before him, he began to weep and cry - a sure sign of his repentance concerning his own irrational behavior and action. The Karam Raja deity was in the lap of God, so to say, in the courtyard of God Himself. When God saw this man imploring Him, repenting of his wicked deed and feeling sorry for his mistake, He took pity on him. He ordered a crocodile : ‘Go across the ocean and bring that gentleman here to me because his heart has changed for the better.’ With this order the crocodile sailed across to him. At first, when he saw the sea-creature, he got frightened ! However, he said : ‘Whatever may happen, let it happen ! ‘On reaching the shore the crocodile asked the man : ‘Where do you want to go, sir ?’ He replied : ‘I am going in search of the Karam Raja, but how shall I cross the ocean ?’ The crocodile answered : ‘Come along , I shall ferry you across the ocean.’ With this generous invitation the man sat on the back of the crocodile. The crocodile swiftly cut across the ocean without any delay and carried the traveller to God. It did not do any harm to him on the way. After coming to the Karam Raja the traveller fell at his feet and in tears he asked pardon from him for his serious fault. Looking at this God said to him : ‘Look here, my son, you had to suffer so much for your own mistake. It was good that you came so I could see your genuine repentance and change of heart.’ The penitent implored God saying :’I am asking a blessing from you my Lord. Please, give me back my old fortune, because until you have granted this favour I refuse to go back !’ God said : ‘It is all right, my son, everything will be all right. I shall grant you whatever you desire because I have seen the change of heart in you. In spite of so many difficulties and obstacles on the way you have come here to me. So, how can I refuse your request ? Go now, all your wishes will be fulfilled. There will be no problem for you anymore.’ The traveller said : ‘My Lord, there was a horse on the way and I wished to ride it, but it did not allow me to do so. Instead, it ran after me to bite me ! How shall I go back now, for I am tired ?’ God replied : ‘Go now, that horse is yours. When it sees you now, it will come to you running and will not do you any harm.’ The traveller was about to take leave from God when he remembered that the river had turned into a stream of blood when he was thirsty and wished to drink from it. He put this case before God and He told him in return that there would be fresh and clean water in the river for drinking on his way back.
The traveller was getting ready to go back when he remembered that he had wished to eat the raw Urid beans on the way when he was hungry, but there were caterpillars in them. He asked God why this was so. God said : ‘Listen to me, people say ‘God ,God’ from outside, but inside they are just the opposite of what they proclaim and appear to be. In your case, while coming that way, you were saying : ‘Hay Karam, Hay Karam…’, but having seen the Urid beans you thought within yourself that you would eat them and satisfy your hunger. You were concerned about yourself alone. You did not think of the person to whom that Urid belonged. By eating its beans you would cause him to suffer some loss when gathering his Urid crop.’
After hearing God’s explanation the traveller was about to leave when he remembered that the cow on the way had not allowed him to milk it and drink its milk. He asked God to tell him the reason. God replied : ‘Don’t worry, that cow is yours now. It will not do you any harm and will allow you to drink its milk.’
After this the traveller takes his leave, but after a short while he remembers again the shepherd’s request and tells it to God : ‘The shepherd met me on the way and came to know that I was coming to the Karam Raja. He requested me to ask you whether you would permit him to retain that half a foot of blanket, or would take it away from him. It neither grows bigger nor becomes smaller. I would be glad if you would give an answer to this question too.’ God told him : ‘Go and tell the shepherd that I shall take away from him whatever he has, because he is proud. He is a hypocrite and is careless with regard to others’ property. He grazes his flock in others’ crops. He does not respect the crops as he would his own. Tell him that everything will be taken away from him and nothing will remain with him.’
The traveller was going and just then was reminded of the cowherd’s question: ‘ Why does God continue to give me so much cattle although I am unable to look after it well?’ He put this question before God. In reply God said: ‘Go and tell him that I shall give him still more cattle, because he is honest and clean of heart. He gives generous gifts of cattle to the needy and to those who deserve it. Therefore, I shall increase the number his domestic animals still more.’
While leaving the place the traveller was again reminded of the woman’s question: ‘Why was the wooden stool sticking to her buttocks permanently?’ He put this case before God an got the reply from Him: ‘Go and tell her, that she does not know how to behave with her parents-in-law and with her husband’s elder brothers. She does not give them due respect. That is why the stool is sticking to her buttocks permanently. Once you have told this, give her a powerful kick at her buttocks and that will settle the matter. The stool will fall off from her body.’
After all this the traveller said to God: ‘Lord, there is still another question. If you could give an answer to it, it would be very nice.’ God said: ‘All right, tell me the question.’ The man told Him: ‘There is a woman on whose head a huge cluster of Birni-grass roots has grown. She has requested me to put this case before you. Would you suggest some solution to this problem, Lord?’ God replied: ‘Yes, go and tell that woman that she also does not know how to behave with her parents-in-law and with those who must be kept at a distance by her. Indeed, she does not comb her hair properly. She does not arrange her hair nicely and leaves it unkempt. After telling her this, you must give her also a powerful kick and the Birni-grass roots will be uprooted and will be thrown down from her head.’ The man said: ‘Yes, my Lord, I shall do likewise.’
The traveller said again: ‘Lord, I shall do all these things which you have told me, but give me some knowledge also. The Karam Raja has gone away from me. What shall I do about this?’ God said: ‘Go now. All your fortune has been restored and everything has been set right. Once a year you must plant the Karam branch in your courtyard, worship it, keep fast and observe vows to it, give food and drink to the villager. Let there be no quarrel in the village. Maintain friendly and loving relationships between big and small, between children and adults in the village.’ The man said: ‘Yes, my Lord, I shall do all this for you have given me so many blessings. On my part I shall not make such mistakes anymore in the future.’
After this long dialogue with God the traveller set out from there, rejoicing because all his problems had been solved. That same crocodile came up again to him and he sat on its back. It sailed across the ocean with great speed. He was very happy to cut across the seven seas, sixteen rivers, the Ganges and the Jamuna and twenty two other rivers, back and forth. It was but quite natural for him to feel great joy, because it was due to God’s blessing alone that he was able to cross the mighty ocean.
After coming to the shore the crocodile said: ‘Get a stone and strike my head well.’ He did so. As a result there came out diamonds, gold, silver and rubies from its head! With this his joy increased a hundredfold. The crocodile gave him a piece of advice saying: ‘Go, you will get everything. You have fields, plough them and break the lumps as you broke my head. It will fetch you much money and you will be able to buy gold, silver, diamonds and other precious stones. Teach others also to do the same.’ ‘Yes, sir’ he said, ‘I shall do accordingly’. After this the traveller said farewell to the crocodile and set on for his homeward journey.
The traveller saw that the horse was coming towards him, all excited, to receive him, singing: ‘Chin-hon-hon-hon-hon’! He mounted the horse and reached the river. He had not drunk water for a long time and he was hungry and thirsty. The river was sparkling with its kal-kal sound. Clean water and the green Ganges (Phari pani hari Ganga) was in sight. He said: ‘My fortune has returned to me now. I shall drink to my heart’s content. Let the body be beautiful, let the mind be beautiful, let every part of the body be beautiful, let every corner of the house be beautiful (tan ho sunddar, man ho sunddar, sharir ka angg-angg sunddar, ghar ka kona-kona sunddar!) Thus he is wishing that everything be beautiful.
He drank water from the river. Please, - the narrator here addresses the girls - throw some rice grains on the Karam because he is now getting his food and drink. He drank water till he was satisfied. He was saying:
‘Hari
Ganga, phari pani!’
After that he proceeded in his journey. Now he was strengthened, consoled and overjoyed. He reached the place of Urid pulses. Their fruits were twice as lovely, green and big in size. He began to eat the Urid seeds till he was satisfied. His fortune was returning and he was getting his sustenance. Therefore, please throw some rice grains on the Karam.
He proceeded further and came to the cow, which was suckling its calf. He said: ‘Now it seems to be all right. I shall drink milk to my satisfaction after I have eaten a good amount of Urid seeds.’ The cow said: ‘Come, my darling, you are also my darling (bachhru) because your heart has now changed into a lovely thing like the calf darling. It has lost its crookedness and has become straight.’ So the traveller milked the cow and drank its milk till he was satisfied. Here also sprinkle some rice grains on the Karam.
From there he proceeded and came to the shepherd. The shepherd saw him from far and said: ‘Yes, he is coming back and possibly he is bringing news for me.’ He went to the traveller, feeling happy and hoping for good news and asked him: ‘Hello friend, did you bring me news?’ ‘Yes, my friend’, replied the traveller, ‘but how shall I tell you?’ ‘Don’t worry’, said the shepherd, ‘just tell me what the news is, it doesn’t matter whether it is good news or bad news.’ He told him: ‘God said that he will take away from you what you have, because your heart is not straightforward. You are proud. You are not considerate towards the young and the old. You do your own thing without any concern for the others and live in your selfish pride.’ ‘Oh, this is bad news’, said the shepherd, ‘my fortune has gone wrong!’
After communicating this news, the traveller proceeded further and came to the cowherd. The latter saw him from far and thought he must be bringing good news, because he was coming back in a sportive mood, happy and shining, mounted on a horse, whereas the previous time he had looked sad. He asked him: ‘Did you bring me good news, my friend?’ ‘ Yes, friend’ replied the traveller, ‘God is going to give you many more things on top of what you already have. What you have now is little, but God will give double or triple the amount you have now.’ The cowherd said: ‘It is well said my friend, that God gives overwhelming gifts to those whom he loves. It is as though He lifts the roof and fills the house till it is overflowing!’ God gave him more because he had an honest and straightforward heart. He was generous in giving gifts to his spiritual guides and to those who were needy. Sprinkle rice grains here, because Karam Raja has come down today, i.e. a day of prosperity and happiness. Let the Karam Raja shower blessings likewise on all.
From there, friends, the traveller proceeded ahead and came to the woman who had a wooden stool sticking to her buttocks permanently. She was eagerly waiting for his return, exclaiming: ‘Hay-soh-hay-soh’. She was neither able to sleep nor sit down, nor was she able to come outdoors. Her problem was the biggest of all. She saw him arriving and asked: ‘Did you bring me any news, sir?’ ‘Yes, madam’, replied the traveller. ‘Tell me the news then’, she pleaded. He told her: ‘Look here, you do know how to go about the social customs with regard to your parents-in-law, the elders who must be kept at a distance and the others, big and small. When you see a stool, you sit on it. When you see a chair, you sit on it also. When you see a bed, you go and sit on that too. When the elders are sitting on these pieces of furniture before you, you should not sit on them. When they come near you, then you must leave your seat for their convenience. You are not observing these social rules and customs. Furthermore, you are neither able to make distinctions between the members of one community nor of the other. There are certain norms to deal with them differently, but you are carelessly bypassing them. You are also not dealing properly and respectfully with the near and dear ones.’ Having said this, he gave her a mighty kick close to the stool at her buttocks and the wooden stool feel off from her body. Her problem was solved. Therefore, sprinkle some rice grains, because her fortune also returned to her.
From there the traveller proceeded further. After journeying for some time he was approaching the woman with the Birni-grass roots on her head. She was patiently awaiting his arrival for a long time. She was very uncomfortable. For many days, months and years, she had not been combing her hair. She was not joining the company of others out of shame. When he came to her, she asked him: ‘Did you bring any news, sir?’ ‘Yes madam’, he replied, ‘listen, you are not minding your parents-in-law, elders to be kept at a distance and others. You do not comb your hair properly and allow it to fly about in the air freely. You do not cover your head with your sari before respectable persons.’ Having told her mistakes in matters of community living he kicked her powerfully in the back and with it the Birni roots fell off from her reeling head. The woman was almost thrown down to the ground. She felt light in her head and said to him: ‘Sir, I think you have solved my problem once for all.’ Her head became smooth and nice to look at. So, sprinkle rice grains, because the Karam Raja has come in her life. Her fortune has returned to her.
From there, he proceeded further and did not go home straight. He had been preoccupied with the thought of his belongings and oxen which had turned into stones at the river. When he came there, he saw that they had all turned into their original selves, namely, cooking pots, pans, jars, bags, bedding, oxen and so forth. He was overjoyed because his fortune had returned to him. Sprinkle rice grains here, because the Karam Raja has come down into his life.
After this he finally reached home. Coming back home he planted the Karam branch in his courtyard according to God’s advice and direction. He worshipped the Karam and with him all his brothers and their seven wives came to worship it. Thereafter they began to live again in prosperity, peace, harmony and happiness. Whatever promises God had made were fulfilled. Thus Karam Raja had come down to them. All of you, sprinkle rice grains here for such auspicious and happy event. After this - the narrator concludes - all the brothers and their seven wives began to sing and dance with great rejoicing, because they had recovered what they had lost and their fortune had come back to them and even greater happiness lay ahead in the future.
Conclusion of the Recital:
The narrator at last recites the following prayer: ‘O Karam Raja, I ask your blessings upon all, give your gifts to all. Those who do not have wealth, give them wealth. Those who do have children, give them children. Give your blessings upon granaries, courtyards and streets of the village. Give your blessings upon households fields crops, cattle, children, fruits and flowers abundantly! May you be praised, o Karam Raja, again and again.’ When this last prayer is made, all the young girls sprinkle rice grains on the Karam branch.
After listening to the Karam story the young girls give (maize plant blades) to their brothers and other spectators to put it behind their ears and in their hair. Young, smooth and good looking cucumbers brought by the young girls in their Karam-baskets are the sign of good and healthy babies the girls are going to bear in their married life in the future.
After the Karam story-telling is over, others who are present there in the Karam courtyard, say to the young girls: ‘Give us your babies, we shall fondle and look after them!’ The girls give them their cucumbers and they in turn eat them with much fun and frolic. There is a mixture of shyness and happiness on the part of the young girls who are addressed by the spectators in a humorous manner as though they really were the mothers of those babies represented by the cucumbers.
After listening to the Karam story the boys and girls go home and break their fast by eating bread and other dainties and drinking rice beer prepared for the occasion at their respective houses. There is a belief that by observing the ceremonial fast at the Karam festival young girls secure the well-being of their brothers in particular.
After an hour or so, they come back to the Karam courtyard and spend the whole night in singing, dancing and drumming. Other members of the village also join the dance-party. Those who do not and cannot dance also come to the Karam courtyard and spend the night in watching Karam dances, sitting around the courtyard. Ladies with babies give their babies to their parents-in-law to look after them in the courtyard and join the dancing. Their parents-in-law like them to dance and they encourage them to do so. Thus it is the whole village-community which takes part in the dance and merry-making in the Karam courtyard.
Footnotes:
1. Tender cucumbers are substitutes for baby boys. Young girls are the future mothers of healthy children for the continuation and perpetuation of the tribe.
2. Recorded (and translated) in the course of the author’s field work in Surguja District, M.P. (village Dhab), 1984-85.
3. Onomatopoeic sounds.
4. Onomatopoeic sounds.
5. Birni grass(vetiveria zizanioides) is hard to uproot. Its roots are used to make khass tattis, i.e mats to cool the room in summer. Weavers use the same roots as thread-brushes.
6. A husband’s elder brothers must kept at a distance by a married Oraon woman. This is a mark of great respect for them from heart.
7. Onomatopoeic sounds.
8. Onomatopoeic sounds.
9. The young girls who are listening to the Karam story throw some rice grain rice on the Karam branch as a sign of their celebrating the blessing of God.
10. See note 9.
11. Literally, it means a calf. It is an endearing term for beloved persons.
12. See note 9.
13. Sighs of sadness and misery.
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