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UNIT 3

The document discusses the concept of folk religion, particularly focusing on folk Hinduism and its practices in Assamese society. It highlights the integration of various tribal beliefs into Assamese Hinduism, the worship of multiple deities, and the significance of rituals and magical practices. Additionally, it explores the belief in spirits, ghosts, and the use of magic and spells for healing and agricultural purposes.

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Dolly Banerjee
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12 views

UNIT 3

The document discusses the concept of folk religion, particularly focusing on folk Hinduism and its practices in Assamese society. It highlights the integration of various tribal beliefs into Assamese Hinduism, the worship of multiple deities, and the significance of rituals and magical practices. Additionally, it explores the belief in spirits, ghosts, and the use of magic and spells for healing and agricultural purposes.

Uploaded by

Dolly Banerjee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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UNIT 3

THE CONCEPT OF FOLK


RELIGION WITH SPECIAL
REFERENCE TO FOLK
HINDUISM
FOLK RELIGION
 All known societies , past and present have possessed religion and
elaborate cave burials made by Neanderthal Man reveal that as long
as 150,000 years ago our ancestors may have worshipped the
supernatural.
 During the past century, different groups of scholars have studied
religions in different ways.
 Folklorists have recorded folk or peasant religions and the orally
transmitted superstitions or popular beliefs of civilized peoples.
 Religious beliefs, to be defined must involve supernatural entities
towards which sacred attitudes are directed by groups of people.
 Every religion recognizes several or all of the following
entities : one or more deities, spirits and demons, personal and
impersonal power, one or more souls, ghosts, fate, luck, magic
and witches.
 In addition each religion attaches religious significance to
certain objects and places, such as the insignia of a priest or
the mountain abode of a deity.
 The sacred and the profane (or secular) are attitudes expressed
by all people towards supernatural and natural worlds.
FOLK HINDUISM
 Accounts of Hinduism have predominantly been approached via literary and
textual avenues, through which its ancient, philosophical, abstract, and
transcendent features are highlighted.
 By a folk variety of Hinduism is meant these specific features: the privileging of
mediums and trance sessions; the intimate, familiar, unmediated approach to
the deity (given the absence of a religious intermediary); the ability to sense,
feel close to, and talk to deities; the importance of devotion, intuition, emotion,
and religious experience; the offerings of non vegetarian items, alcohol, and
cigars to the deity; the absence of text based, ritual procedures (the chanting
of mantras, slokas) for approaching the deity; a pragmatic, day to day
orientation, valuing rituals of self mortification and equality of all before god. (
http://sociology.iresearchnet.com/sociology-of-religion/folk-hinduism/ )
FOLK RELIGION, BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS OF ASSAM

 The Assamese Hindu society is one which has assimilated into itself
various erstwhile tribal groups.
 Many tribal groups have also moved towards the Assamese Hindu
through integration, accepting customs and beliefs.
 The Assamese Hindus believe in and worship Vishnu, Siva, Ganesha,
Durga and other Gods and Goddesses.
 Shiva, Vishnu and Devi have different names at the folk level.
 They are worshipped in various occasions and tine, and Lord Siva is a
very popular folk God for all sections of people and is worshipped at
the beginning of every phase of cultivation.
 Manasa is also a very popular folk deity.
 Manasha is regarded as a snake Goddess and is also worshipped as the
goddess of welfare, curer of diseases and giver of wealth.
 The Goddess is normally worshipped in the form of an earthen pot in
the rainy season, and this kind of celebration is called Marai Puja or
Manasa Puja.
 She is worshipped at the time of epidemics such as cholera and small
pox.
 Subachani or Subhasani is another popular deity who is believe to
confer on her worshipper’s wealth and prosperity by removing fears
and evils.
 She is known by various other names such as Subhasini, Ihata Devi.
 Sitala or Ai-Bhagwati is the pox goddess. When somebody
suffers from small pox or similar silment, the goddess is
propitiated by the women folk with songs of supplication.
 Dharma is a folk God who is worshipped as curer of diseases.
 It is said that the Dharma cult had considerable influence in
Assam, but except for certain rites performed in the name of
the deity, Dharma is not worshipped as an independent deity.
 Among the Vaishnavas of Assam, there is a sect known as
Purnadhariya or Barkheliya.
 Assamese Hindus also worship trees and stones. Animals and birds
are also worshipped in the form of idols.
 In the Bas Puja festival of lower Assam, bamboo poles are
worshipped.
 Birds made of clay are worshipped in a rite known as Sare-Barat
prevalent in some areas of Kamrup district.
 Various magical activities and rituals are performed to control the
weather. Bhekuli Biya or frog marriage is a mimic act performed by
the village womenfolk when there is no rain for days together
during the month of cultivation.
GHOSTS AND SPIRITS
 The Assamese Hindus believe in a number of spirits and household deities.
 Bak is a water spirit which lives in a deserted tank and is fond of fish.
 Dot (daitya) lives in tank, channels, shaded out of the way places
overgrown with watery plants. It leads people by all manner of
inducements to any place and deals merciless blows on them.
 Jakh is a terrible spirit. It kills its victiom by gnawing into his vital parts.
 Chamon is noted for taciturnity (silent, tight-lipped).When a person is
possessed by it, the person losses all power of speech.
 Of all the spirits, Burha Dangoriya is most religiously disposed. It wears a
magnificient turban like an Assamese gentleman and dhoti. Its clothes are
white as marble.
 Pret is the soul of a dead person. On the death of a person, the soul
wanders about aimlessly for some time before a permanent abode is
allotted to it. During this period it is known as Pret.
 Khetar is a presiding spirit of field. This spirit lives in an open place and it
deals particularly deals with children.
 Kandh is a horrible demon with a headless trunk and two furious eyes
set upon the chest. It lives on sea shore and wanders about in the
country at night and returns to its home at the approach of dawn.
 Biras a re said to be a class of Khetar but more dreadful.
 Parooa is a sprightly female spirit. The traveller loses his way when
possessed by it.
 Ghar- Jeuti is a benign female spirit which presides over a person’s
house. Different methods of exorcism are used to tackle them.
MAGIC AND SPELLS

 Almost all sections of people widely believe in the practice of magic and
spells.
 Both white and black magic are practiced widely .
 White magic is usually connected with the fertility of corn-fields, curing of
certain diseases and also with the controlling of the weather.
 In various phases of cultivation certain rites are performed in the fields
which are clearly magical practices.
 For example, among the people of Goalpara, Kamrup and some parts of
Darrang agricultural rite called goch utha is performed on the day of the
completion of transplantation.
 Magical rites are also performed to cure certain simple diseases.
 In some cases spells and incantations are applied to cure acute sufferings.
Village medicine man or bez are called in to cure illnesses through spells.
 Spells are also used to remove snake venom and spirit possession.
 There is a widespread belief that various harms may be caused by the ojas
to an intended victim by using black magic.
 Sometimes the ojas accomplish their purpose by calling on the help of a Bira
or some evil spirit.
 Almost all the magic religious specialists are concerned with among other
things supernatural beings and supernaturally caused illness.
 In their practices the specialists not only dispense herbs and other
forms of medicine, but frequently they utter spells or perform some
rites as well over either the medicine or the patient.
 If the illness is attributed to supernatural causation, however, charms,
spells and amulets together with herbs comprise their material medica.
 There are three types of therapy: simple curative propitiation, simple
curative magic and exorcistic séance. The first two are used almost
exclusively for physical and the later for mental illness.
 Apart from these treatments of supernaturally caused illness, the
specialists prescribe talismans and amulets of various kinds including
objects such as tiger’s nail, boar’s tooth, jap or charmed cord to the
victims depending on the nature of illness and the patient.

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