Limbuwan Todays: Process and Problems

-limbuwan today: process and problems Bedh Prakash Upreti The post-1950 spread of the Western type of education, and the new economic opportunities largely expedited by the opening of the Terai have had a tremendous impact on the traditiona12 socio-cul tural and political system in the Limbuwan. These forces have in troduced new institutions and roles, and values and behaviors to support these roles. This paper describes post-1950 socio-cultural change among Brahmin and Limbu in Limbuwan, Eastern Nepal. Only the most perti nent changes directly affecting the socio-cultural institutions and values of each group have been treated here. I have also tried to analyze the background and forces of change, and have presented a micro-model of change in this paper. At the end, this paper brief ly deals with the problems largely bro~ght about by post-1950 edu cational, economic, and socio-cultural changes. POST-1950 CHANGES IN BRAHMIN AND LIMBU CULTURES The following incident, which transpired during the author's boyhood, probably illustrates the types of changes that were to follow. In 1956, when I was a sixth-grade student, a new "science teacher" (a teacher who taught biology and health sciences) was brought in from Darjeeling'. We had never had a "science teacher" before and were very inquisitive about what he was going to teach. During the first day of his class, the new teacher told us that the use of ~ jal (water from the Ganges River considered by Hindus to be holy) was unhealthy and unholy as well. He also stressed the importance of wearing clean clothes, drinking boiled water, and brushing one's teeth every morning. (We did not have tooth brushes or tooth paste. We cleaned our teeth with charcoal which incidently, brightens teeth better than many of the sex-appeal tooth pastes advertised these days.) When I came home from the school I wanted to share my new findings with my grandmother. She always had a jar containing ganja jal in the ~-room which she had brought from Benaras dur ing a pilgrimage some years ago. Whenever the level of ganga-jal water in the jar became low, she used to add "ordinary water" to it. She believed that the "ordinary water," when it came into con tact with ganga-jal, also became holy. Since the jar was never cleaned inside, the water in it was dirty. So I told my grand mother what I had learned from my teacher, and she could not be lieve it. She looked startled. She closed both ears with her fingers (so that she would not have to hear any more "sinful" things) and said to me, "How can you say things like that? It is sinful to say that. It is sinful to even think of ganga-jal as being unhealthy and unholy." She protested in vain against my get ting "all those bad ideas" from the school. With tears in her eyes 48 INAS Journal she made me promise that I would never, never again think sacreli giously about sacred things. But I broke my promise. Next day when she was out in the field I secretly replaced the dirty water in the jar with fresh water. A couple of weeks passed and nothing happened. One morning she called me to the puja-room. With a confidence of a happy victor she pointed towards the jar and said "Look, did not I tell you how mighty ganga-jal is? It has the power to clean itself. It has always been holy and it always will be. Now, do you believe? Do not ever be misled by nasty ideas." With a cynical heart I nod ded my head in agreement. She was happy that I was a good son __ a boy who would not be misled by "unreligious ideas." When, after ten years' separation, I saw my grandmother in 1972, the first ques tion she asked me was whether or not I still had those silly ideas like the one regarding ganga-jal. "No ama," I said. With all my western education I still believed in ganga-jal. I was indeed a good son. She was very happy. The importance of this incident, besides its emotional appeal to the author, lies in the fact that my generation had already be gun to adopt a predominantly secular perspective. Whereas previous ly, for example, ganga-jal represented the holiest of all the holy waters in a hierarchy of waters, for my generation its value was determined on the basis of hygiene rather than holiness. This ' se cularization of Brahmin socio-cultural values is conspicuous in other aspects of Brahmin culture as well. Many Brahmin families that left Limbuwan during the 1950-51 revolt had not been able to carry on with their normal religious practices while they were living as refugees in the Terai. One of the practices that was not being followed was the system of chulo. Chulo is a raised platform with a hearth where only sacred thread (janai) holders in a Brahmin family dine: The raised platform cor responds to the ritual hierarchy between members who have received j anai, which signifies a "'twice born" status, and members without janai. Traditionally members of a family without janai or lower caste visitors (except untouchables who are not permitted to enter a high caste house) were not allowed to dine on the chulo. If a person without a janai or a person of lower caste even accidently stepped over the chulo, the food was considered ritually impure and was not eaten by the janai holders. In 1972 all but nine Brahmin households had leveled the chulo. Although persons with janai do not dine with persons without janai, the abolition of the ~ system has symbolically abrogated the previously ritually presc sitting arrangement during meals. Further, in 1972 not a single family was discarding the food touched by family members without janai. As a matter of fact, in many Brahmin families where I was invited for dinner, the food was often cooked by an unmarried daughter. This is in contrast to the pre-1950 period when food cooked by an unmarried daughter, considered "twice-born" only her marriage, and only then accorded the privilege of dining at chulo, was never eaten by the janai holders. Limbuwan Today 49 The change in Brahmin commensal practices is further exhibited by the ' use of previously avoided and even strictly forbidden foods, such -as tomatoes, onions, white sugar, and factory-made biscuits. In 1972, only one Brahmin woman in Dandagaon still refused to eat tomatoes and onions, while other women of her age ate those foods regularly . Chicken and eggs are still avoided by the majority of Brahmins of above 50 years of age. But an overwhelming majority of Brahmin boys born after 1950 consume chicken and eggs regularly. However, the cooking of chicken or eggs in the main chulo, where the food for the family is prepared, is still not allowed in many Brah min families. The most astounding change in Brahmin commensal practices this author observed was the liquor drinking habit of Brahmin youths in Dandagaon as well as the rest of Limbuwan. Previously, consumption of liquor of any kind was considered a "sin" and ritually polluting to a Brahmin. In 1972, many Brahmin as well as other high caste Hindu boys of above age l8 . had either tried rakshi or were regular visitors to a local bar (bha tti). Traditionally, Brahmins who were suspected of drinking alcoholi.c beverages were not only socially and ritually boycotted by their fellow caste members, but also consider ed a disgrace to their families. A Brahmin alcoholic in 1949 in a nearby village could not find a husband for his daughter among fami lies in the area because his was a disgraced family. His da ughter finally had to be married to a Brahmin three days walking distance away, who was unaware of his father-in-law's habit. Although Brah mins over 50 years of age still consider alcoholic beverages as taboo, their attitude towards suspected or even known young Brahmin drinkers is much less pronounced. In the words of an older Brahmin: You look for an educated man for your daughter. You find one. You also find that he not only eats chicken and pigs but also drinks rakshi. These days, it seems to me that rakshi drinking is considered a sign of high education. Young men seem to share the attitude that the more one can drink, the more highly educated he is. But what can you do? You have to get your daughter married. And the girls also want an educated man as their husband. I try to close my eyes to what young people do these days. I have a son in Kathmandu attending the univer sity. I know he does not drink. He is not the type. But if he ever drinks rakshi, I do not want to hear about it. I do not want to know because it hurts. Probably the above statement best summarizes the feelings of all older Brahmins. They are caught between two worlds, one (the traditionally ritual and hierarchic) which they understand, and the other (ritually secular) which they do not. The bewilderment of 50 INAS Journal the older Brahmin is expressed in phrases like_ "Why do they have to drink rakshi?;" "Does it f ill one's stomach {as food doe~T?" · and "does it make them look nice?" Changes in other aspects of Brahmin religious life also have t aken pl ace . Brahmins with janai used to put on white loincloths (dhoti or dharo) before going to chulo to dine.

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