Animal Sacrifice, Religion and Law in South Asia by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2023-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

Dalit defiance and its political significance

The reasons behind Dalit non-participation in the buffalo sacrifice in Tumakuru are manifold, but their main objection is that they now see the ritual as humiliating and demeaning. Not only does it require them to engage in many dangerous acts (such as holding the head of a large beast while it is cut), but also small mistakes in the process can lead to physical violence and even the loss of life.

One important Dalit task is the scattering of rice mixed with the blood of the sacrificed buffalo over the village fields. This ritual act (saragu) is considered to be very important as it ensures a good harvest and removes evil spirits. It is supposed to be performed barefooted. In 1988, a Madiga man in a village in Tumakuru district was severely beaten by caste Hindus immediately after the completion of the village goddess festival and nearly lost his life. The reason for this reaction was that the Madiga man had worn sandals for the scattering as he had a corn on his foot. Following this incident, the Madigas in the village decided to refuse to participate in the Buffalo sacrifice despite a variety of social boycotts being imposed by the caste Hindus.14

Other rituals require Dalits to go through physically torturous processes. In some areas in Bellary district, for example, a prepubescent boy from a particular Dalit family will be chosen for the role of scattering the blood-rice. Before the act, all his bodily hair (including eyebrows and eyelashes) is removed and he has to run alone around several villages with bare feet in the complete darkness. If he fails to perform his role properly, the young boy and his family are punished. The mother of the small boy can only pray that her son returns safely.15 Her anxiety is doubly intensified as not only can social and physical punishment from caste Hindus be expected, but also the anger of Maramma will harm them spiritually if the boy makes a small mistake.

For caste Hindus (non-Dalit Hindus) in the village, including those who are just above Dalits in the traditional caste hierarchy, the refusal of the sacrifice by Dalits is among the worst possible offenses. It is easily taken as a challenge and even an insult to the supposed harmonious social order of the rural village community. Caste Hindus often claim that they have allowed Dalits to acquire education, land and even government jobs. To express their discontent, they often mockingly call Dalits ‘government Brahmanas’, meaning people who receive undeserved benefits from the state's reservation policy.16 The name invokes the purportedly unfair privilege enjoyed by Dalits. It also hints at the possibility that there might be a second coming of the anti-Brahmin movement—a sequel to the first movement which fought against Brahmin domination in the early twentieth century, but this time directed against Dalits. However, despite strong feelings of anxiety about losing their authority over Dalits and their antipathy towards the government's positive discrimination policy, most of the dominant landed agriculturalist castes in the region see the rise of Dalits as inevitable.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.