The Wrestler's Body: Identity and Ideology in North India
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The Wrestler’s Body Identity and Ideology in North India Joseph S. Alter UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley · Los Angeles · Oxford © 1992 The Regents of the University of California For my parents Robert Copley Alter Mary Ellen Stewart Alter Preferred Citation: Alter, Joseph S. The Wrestler's Body: Identity and Ideology in North India. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1992 1992. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft6n39p104/ 2 Contents • Note on Translation • Preface • 1. Search and Research • 2. The Akhara: Where Earth Is Turned Into Gold • 3. Gurus and Chelas: The Alchemy of Discipleship • 4. The Patron and the Wrestler • 5. The Discipline of the Wrestler’s Body • 6. Nag Panchami: Snakes, Sex, and Semen • 7. Wrestling Tournaments and the Body’s Recreation • 8. Hanuman: Shakti, Bhakti, and Brahmacharya • 9. The Sannyasi and the Wrestler • 10. Utopian Somatics and Nationalist Discourse • 11. The Individual Re-Formed • Plates • The Nature of Wrestling Nationalism • Glossary 3 Note on Translation I have made every effort to ensure that the translation of material from Hindi to English is as accurate as possible. All translations are my own. In citing classical Sanskrit texts I have referenced the chapter and verse of the original source and have also cited the secondary source of the translated material. All other citations are quoted verbatim even when the English usage is idiosyncratic and not consistent with the prose style or spelling conventions employed in the main text. A translation of single words or short phrases appears in the first instance of use and sometimes again if the same word or phrase is used subsequently much later in the text. Transliteration has been done with an eye toward readability and simplicity. Diacritics are excluded from the text but have been included in the glossary. Although the common language spoken in Banaras is Bhojpuri, almost everyone also speaks some version of Hindi, Urdu, or a combination thereof. All of my interviews were conducted in Hindi. Therefore, transliteration usually conforms to the standard Hindi pronunciation, but in some cases the wrestlers with whom I spoke affected a particular pronunciation of specific words, as, for example, bethak (deep knee bend) rather than baithak. In part this may be a function of the linguistic interface in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and in part because wrestlers have developed a slight accent of their own when talking about the specifics of their art among themselves. If these terms are not in common usage, and it seems that even non-Banaras wrestlers have the same pronunciation, I have conformed to the wrestlers’ predilection. 4 Preface This is a study of wrestling as a system of meaning, and it must be made clear at the outset that I have not undertaken to study the technical aspects of the sport. Those who look for a detailed explication of moves, countermoves, and techniques will undoubtedly be disappointed. The reason for this is quite simple. The moves, countermoves, and techniques of Indian wrestling must be filmed or photographed to be appreciated and understood fully. This monograph is not an exercise in replication or description of this exact sort; it is a work of interpretation—to adapt an old adage, 1001 words offered in place of what would otherwise be a mere picture. I am indebted to a number of institutions and individuals for the support they have given to this project. Preliminary research funding was afforded by a Humanities Graduate Research Grant from the University of California at Berkeley for a study of the popular literature on Indian wrestling. Funding for a year of field work was provided by a Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant under the auspices of the Fulbright-Hays Foundation. The ample financial support given under this grant was much appreciated. I would also like to thank the staff officers in Washington and Delhi for their efficient work. Without their help, getting the necessary visa and academic affiliation would have been impossible. While I was in India the staff at “Fulbright House” were very helpful in many ways, which made the difficult task of research that much less arduous. In Banaras I was granted affiliation with the Department of Physical Education at Banaras Hindu University under the direction of Dr. S. S. Sharma. I am grateful both to the university and to Dr. Sharma for their support. Upon completing the field research I was awarded a Mabelle McLeod Lewis Memorial Grant for a year of dissertation writing. This support proved invaluable and fulfilling, as I was able to write without distraction for an entire year—a rare situation today. In India a number of people contributed to the success of this project. I cannot remember the names of every wrestler whose words and ideas have found their way into this text. To all of them goes my sincere gratitude for patience and long-suffering indulgence. A few wrestlers with whom I spoke extensively must be mentioned by name. In Banaras, they are: Lakshmi Kant Pande, Govardan Das Malhotra, Jatindar Kumar Pathak, Narayan Singh, Kaniya Lal Yadav, Amru Dada, Banarsi Pande, Indramani Misra, Pratap Singh, Jharkhande Rai, Krishna Kumar Singh, Kaniya, Ashok, Sohan, Manohar, Atma, Shyam, Govind, Anand, Subhash, Danesh, Ram ji, and Lal ji. I am deeply indebted also to Sita Ram Yadav, a champion wrestler of his time; Nathu Lal Yadav, a genuine pahalwan; and Lallu Pahalwan, a quintessential guru. I would also like to thank the owner, managers, and staff of Sandeep Hotel, where I lived for seven months. Their good humor was always appreciated. I recommend their services highly. If I have left out anyone’s name it is not by design or lack of appreciation but because so many were helpful. In Dehra Dun I express my heartfelt thanks to Kanta Pahalwan, who first introduced me to Indian wrestling. During my stay, however, Kanta was absent from Dehra Dun, and I 5 worked closely with Yamin and his cadre of young wrestlers from Saharanpur. A special word of thanks must go to Dr. Shanti Prakash Atreya, who is by popular acclaim the guru of Indian wrestling. I had hoped to work closely with him in Dehra Dun but was unable to for various reasons. (The life of a fieldworker does not always accommodate itself to the obligations of a grihastha.) Instead I have read his numerous articles on Indian wrestling and hope to have absorbed in this way what he would rather have had me learn in his akhara at Bandarjuddha. His influence on my work is considerable. In the Department of Anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley a number of people made valuable contributions to my research in particular, and to my academic career in general. My greatest debt is to my advisor and friend Gerald Berreman, whose support has been unstinting. Over the years his critical eye and astute judgement have broadened my appreciation and deepened my understanding of anthropology. The spirit of his work has informed much of my own thinking. William Simmons’s good-natured support and insightful comments have helped to keep me on the right track. Thomas Metcalf’s extensive knowledge of India has provided a necessary and much appreciated perspective. Other people have looked over various portions of this manuscript as it went through a number of drafts. I am grateful to Burton Benedict for his comments and to the members of the dissertation-writing seminar at the University of California, Berkeley, for a chance to exchange ideas. Philip Lutgendorf has provided encouragement and has pointed out more than one bhram. I am indebted to Bruce Pray and Joseph Schaller for looking over the glossary. My thanks also go to Peter Nabokov, who took an interest in my work and recommended the manuscript to the University of California Press. More than one anonymous reviewer made valuable suggestions for which I am very grateful. Although not directly involved in this project, I would also like to thank Elizabeth Traube, my M.A. advisor at Wesleyan University, for getting me to ask the right questions. Finally I am indebted to Nicole Constable, whose sharp eye for imprecision is but one mundane feature of a wholly immeasurable and invaluable contribution to the larger project. 6 1. Search and Research Overview This monograph is a study of Indian wrestling as a way of life. The term Indian wrestling is translated directly from the Hindi phrase Bharatiya kushti. Kushti (generic wrestling) is regarded as having a uniquely Indian form. In North India there are two other terms that are used interchangeably when referring to Indian wrestling. The most common of these is pahalwani, which I have taken to signify two important conceptual domains within the larger framework of wrestling as a way of life. On the one hand, pahalwani defines a particular concept of self structured in terms of somatic principles; on the other hand, it articulates the values and ethics of a distinct ideology. To study pahalwani, therefore, is to understand how wrestlers make sense of who they are through the medium of their bodies. The second term is mallayuddha, which may be literally translated as “wrestling combat.” The term mallayuddha is used very infrequently and is regarded by most wrestlers as an archaic designation. On account of its classical derivation, it is used primarily by people educated in Sanskrit. The root word malla, translated simply as “wrestler,” is used in conjunction with two other common terms. Mallakala is translated as the “art of wrestling,” and mallavidya as the “knowledge of wrestling.” Both terms, which are used somewhat more frequently than mallayuddha, indicate that wrestling is regarded as a complex system of meaning, as more than just a passive form of recreational leisure.