Ritualization and Performance of Halumatha Kuruba Identity in Mailaralinga Jatre
A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of
Master of Philosophy in English
by Yashasvi M Maadesh (Reg. No: 1730033)
Under the Supervision of Sushma V Murthy Associate Professor
Department of English
CHRIST (Deemed to be University) BENGALURU, INDIA
December 2018
Approval of Dissertation
Dissertation entitled ‘Ritualization and Performance of Halumatha Kuruba Identity in Mailaralinga Jatre’ by Yashasvi M Maadesh, Reg. No. 1730033 is approved for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy in English.
Supervisor: ______
Chairperson: ______
General Research Coordinator: ______
Date: 26 Feb 2019
Place: Bengaluru
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DECLARATION
I Yashasvi M Maadesh hereby declare that the dissertation, titled ‘Ritualization and Performance of Halumatha Kuruba Identity in Mailaralinga Jatre’ is a record of original research work undertaken by me for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy in English. I have completed this study under the supervision of Dr. Sushma V Murthy, Associate Professor, Department of English.
I also declare that this dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title. I hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the dissertation.
Place: Bengaluru
Date: 26 Feb 2019
Yashasvi M Maadesh
Reg No. 1730033
Department of English
CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru
iii
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the dissertation submitted by Yashasvi M Maadesh, (Reg. No. 1730033) titled ‘Ritualization and Performance of Halumatha Kuruba Identity in Mailaralinga Jatre’ is a record of research work done by her during the academic year 2017-2018 under my supervision in partial fulfillment for the award of Master of Philosophy in English.
This dissertation has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title. I hereby confirm the originality of the work and that there is no plagiarism in any part of the dissertation.
Place: Bengaluru
Date: 26 Feb 2019
Dr. Sushma V Murthy
Associate Professor
Department of English
CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru
Head of the Department
Department of English
CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru
iv
Acknowledgements
I thank Christ (Deemed to be University) for giving me an opportunity to pursue Master of
Philosophy. My sincere gratitude goes to the department of English for their thoughtful comments and encouragement, also for the questions posed which motivated me to widen my research from various perspectives.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my guide Dr. Sushma V Murthy for her constant support for training me in the fields of folklore and performance, for her patience, motivation, and immense knowledge. Her guidance has helped me throughout in the process of writing my dissertation.
My special thanks to my internal examiner, Dr. Bidyut Bushan Jena for his insightful comments. I extend my gratitude to the Wodeyar, Archakas, Goravappas, Goravammas and other devotees of Mailaralinga during my field work for providing me with required data and involving me in their traditional ritual practices.
My sincere thanks to all my friends for their constant support in helping me to finish my research on time. It gives me great pleasure to recall the sustained support extended to all my research activities by my family.
Yashasvi M Maadesh
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Abstract
Folk performance narratives are important cultural texts in the study of
communities and indigenous identities. Lord Mailara is an incarnation of Lord
Shiva generally worshipped by the shepherd communities. Kurubas being the
shepherd community in the regions of Karnataka, their traditional occupation was
shepherding and weaving. Halumatha Kurubas are a sub-sect of the Kuruba
community. This dissertation examines Mailaralinga Jatre as a cultural text which
ritualizes Halumatha Kuruba identity. It highlights the lives and history of the
community through an analysis of Mailaralinga Jatre, an annual carnival which
brings together individuals of the community through rituals such as Karanika and
Pavada Utsava. It further tries to examine the varied roles performed by individuals
and groups of different castes. The project approaches Mailaralinga Jatre as a
historiographic narrative of cultural history and attempts to define the connection
between folklore, identity and community consciousness historically from the tenth
century to contemporary contexts of globalization. Discourse analysis, folklore and
performance studies constitute the methodology of research. The chapters focus on
the identity of Kuruba community and Halumatha Kurubas in specific through the
performances of Karanika and Pavada Utsava and the impact of globalization on
the tradition.
Key Words: Mailaralinga, Jatre, Halumatha Kuruba, historiography, folk performance narrative, community consciousness, collective identity, globalization
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Contents Approval of Dissertation…………………………………………………………………… ii Declaration…………………………………………………………………………………. iii Certificate…………………………………………………………………………………... iv Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………. v Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………... vi Contents…………………………………………………………………………………….. vii Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………...... 1-22 1.1 Lord Mailara and Kuruba Community…………………………………………. 1 1.2 The Jatre Tradition……………………………………………………………... 3 1.3 Mailaralinga Jatre as a Folk Performance……………………………………... 6 1.4 Primary Text……………………………………………………………………. 8 1.5 Research Questions……………………………………………………………... 8 1.6 Research Gap…………………………………………………………………… 9 1.7 Objectives………………………………………………………………………. 9 1.8 Method and Methodology………………………………………………………. 9 1.9 Literature review……………………………………………………………….. 10 1.10 Outline of Chapters…………………………………………………………… 18 1.11 Scope………………………………………………………………………….. 19 1.12 Limitation……………………………………………………………………... 19 Chapter 2: Kuruba Identity and Performance in Mailaralinga Jatre ………………….. 23-39 2.1 Impact of Performance on Identity…………………………………………….. 23 2.2 Goravappas: Chief Performers of the Mailaralinga Jatre……………………. 24 2.3 Initial Rituals of Mailaralinga Jatre…………………………………………… 25 2.4 Karnika Utsava………………………………………………………………… 26 2.5 Pavada Utsava…………………………………………………………………. 31
vii
2.6 Gorava Kunitha………………………………………………………………… 33 2.7 Costume………………………………………………………………………… 35 2.8 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….. 37 Chapter 3: Globalization and New Collective Identities in Mailaralinga Jatre ……… 40-55 3.1 Impact of Globalization………………………………………………………... 40 3.2 Jatre and a Sense of Community………………………………………………. 41 3.3 Trade and New Settlements of Kuruba Community…………………………… 42 3.4 Commercial Elements in Mailaralinga Jatre…………………………………... 42 3.5 Impact of Animal Rights Activism…………………………………………….. 44 3.6 Entertainment…………………………………………………………………… 45 3.7 Modes of Transportation………………………………………………………... 47 3.8 Security at the Jatre…………………………………………………………….. 48 3.9 Impact of Social Media…………………………………………………………. 49 3.10 Mailaralinga Jatre on Google and YouTube…………………………………. 51 Chapter 4: Conclusion ………………………………………………………………….. 56-60 4.1 Mailaralinga Jatre as Historiographic Resistance Narrative…………………... 56 4.2 Contribution……………………………………………………………………. 58 4.3 Limitations……………………………………………………………………... 58 4.4 Scope for Futher Research……………………………………………………... 58 4.5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 59 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………… 61-66 Appendices ………………………………………………………………………………… i-xx Glossary ………………………………………………………………………………….. xxi-xxii
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Chapter – 1
Introduction
“Folklore, as defined by W.R. Bascom, comprehends all knowledge that is transmitted by word of mouth and all crafts and techniques that are learnt by imitation and example as well as the product of such craft” (Datta 14). Folk performance narratives are important cultural texts in the study of communities and indigenous identities. They act as historiographic narratives which give voice and visibility to sub-sects of people hitherto left out from grand narratives of history. In the postcolonial discourse of subalternity, these narratives help recover stories which have fallen through the cracks of hegemonic ideologies such as caste, nation, nationalism and race by foregrounding performance of identities through rituals, folklore and collective celebrations such as Jatres (carnivals).
This dissertation attempts to highlight the lives and history of the Halumatha Kuruba community through an analysis of the Mailaralinga Jatre, an annual carnival which brings together individuals of the community through rituals such as Karanika (prophecy) and Pavada
Utsava (self-punishment). Through a close reading of the elements of performance, the project attempts to establish the connection between folklore, community consciousness and individual identities.
1.1 Lord Mailara and Kuruba Community
Lord Mailara is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. The temple at Mylara is dedicated to the
Lord Mailaralinga which is also known as Mailari. Mylara is located in the extreme south-western corner of Hoovina Hadagali taluk, Bellary District, Karnataka. Mailaralinga is the Kula Daiva
(house deity) of the Gorava families who belong to the Halumatha Kuruba Community. Maadesh 2
Mailaralinga temples are located at different regions of Karnataka. For example, at Yadgir, Devara
Gudda, Baglkot, Balki, Kanakagiri, Kadur, Mudukutore, Nagamangala and there are few temples at Bengaluru as well that which is located at Nagarbhavi and Vijaynagar. In Karnataka after the
Jatre of Mailaralinga at Mylara, the Jatre of Mailara at Yadgir stands out prominently. Lord
Mailara is also worshipped in Telangana (Mallanna / Mallayya) and Maharashtra (Khandoba).
Kuruba community is one of the oldest and the major Hindu castes in the regions of Karnataka whose traditional occupation was shepherding and weaving (rough black woolen blanket). The
Kuruba community proudly carried their profession and people from this particular community were hardly educated. Even to this day people from the Kuruba communities are less educated and few people who are in the city regions have started giving importance to education. The Kuruba community, which upheld their tradition, profession and religion with pride, spread to various parts of India and started to become a part of various other traditions, culture and languages. Prabhu
Allama, the president of Lingayath temple states that “Kuruba huttuva munna kulavilla, gotra villa. Kuruba falkani Basavanna” which means before Kurubas there were no castes and sub-caste, sub-caste came with people like Basavanna who was from the Kuruba community.
Figure 1: Rough woolen blanket weaved by the Kuruba community (Yashwanth M) Maadesh 3
Kuruba communities have their own style of dance forms such as Dollu Kunitha, Kamsale and
Gorava Kunitha. Kunitha is a ritualistic dance form of Karnataka, a popular form accompanied by the beats of decorated drums and by singing. Kuruba community is divided into three major groups that is Halumatha Kurubas, Jenu Kurubas and Kaadu Kurubas. This community is also called as
Kuruma, Hegde, Bukka, Kuruman, Kurumbar in the regions of Andra Pradesh, Telangana and
Tamil Nadu. The Halmatha Kuruba community is considered as the shepherd community of
Karnataka. The Halumatha Kuruba community usually worships the nature and the elements of nature, especially in the form of stones. Lord Shiva is worshiped in different avatars such as
Beereshwara, Nanjundeshwara, Mailaralinga, Mallikarajuna, Veerabadhra and many others.
They also worship different avatars of Goddesses or Shakti Devathes such as Yellamma, Renuka,
Chowdamma, Kariyamma, Chamundi, Bhanashankari, Gullamma and many others. The
Halumatha Kurubas share a strong sense of class consciousness and display a heightened sense of community consciousness in the hierarchy of Kuruba community. The Halumathas use to work as shepherds and cowherds. As these people who take care of the cows, sheep and provide milk to the villagers were considered as the purest when compared with the other Kuruba communities.
People from this particular community belong to Shudra community. The community is well- known as the devotees of Lord Shiva. Lord Mailara is worshipped not just by these communities but also worshipped by the other castes – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Dalits.
1.2 The Jatre Tradition
Festivals are celebrated on fixed days and are held regularly whereas the Jatres reflect the lifestyle of wanderers or migrants (Venkatesha M N 4). Jatres are usually held among the folk groups and is a collective performance whereas Habba (festival) is restricted just to the level of families and neighbours and is related mainly to the worship of a clan deity which becomes a Maadesh 4 normative act. The Jatre at villages are prominent to a particular class or caste. These Jatres usually teach social values to the villagers through the performance of rituals. Participation in such
Jatres reflects social flexibility among different classes of people and enhances social relationships among villagers.
The Jatre enables families and kinship groups to come together and experience a sense of belonging through collective rituals and performances. The Jatre is thus more of an emotional experience than a mere symbolic ritual. The Jatres are managed by different institutions. For example, certain Jatres are managed and maintained by the state government. Whereas, most of the Jatres in villages are usually celebrated or restricted to a particular community. In such a situation, a senior member of the community such as chief priests, or the heads of the village generally decides the dates on which the Jatre has to be held.
The Jatre of Mailara is a discursive narrative since the tradition has not emerged from main stream rituals. This particular tradition emerged many years ago but doesn’t belong to the
Brahmanical tradition (Upper Caste). The Jatre is a historiographic narrative of the entire Kuruba community. This particular tradition started initially as an oral narrative. Mailaralinga culture and community has evolved over time. It is believed that Mailara tradition has emerged from the tenth century or even earlier. “This tradition might have been established during the tenth century or even earlier because Brahmasiva, a poet of the twelfth century has mentioned in Samaya Parikshe that: maneveggade Cattapaninde nine tanada/ Mailaranum Malaciyum janakaptaradarene”
(Venkatesha M N 16).
The Jatre consists of the elements of performance. The act of public performance is based on symbolic interpretation between the performers and the audience. The audience remain conscious about the performance particular in public acts (Jatre). Maadesh 5
A Jatre is a cultural text. The Jatre is a hybrid space because the rituals are performed by the
Halumatha Kuruba community but the people who visit the Jatre are from varied backgrounds such as people from the Brahmin to Dalit community along with few people from Christian and
Islamic backgrounds as well. “The Jatre is a medium of expression with the objective of exhibiting the cultural specifics within the religious and ritualistic frame” (Venkatesha M N 2).
Jatre of Mailaralinga was initially celebrated at Dodda Mailara, during those days people had to walk miles to the banks of Tungabhadra river for Gange pooje before Karanika. The devotees were less in number and hence the small area near the temple was more than enough but with the increase of devotees and audience the space was insufficient. Hence a new temple was built on the banks of the river Tungabhadra and is called as Chikka Mailara. At present the Jatre is celebrated at Chikka Mailara. But the devotees from the Gorava families even to this day celebrate certain rituals at Dodda Mailara before they come for the Karanika Utsava at Chikka Mailara.
Figure 2: Dodda Mailara (Yashwanth M) Figure 3: Chikka Mailara (Wikipedia)
Maadesh 6
1.3 Mailaralinga Jatre as a Folk Performance
The Gorava families, one among the Halumatha Kuruba community worship Lord Shiva in the avatar of Mailara and the Jatre is annually celebrated on Bharata Hunnimme (Full moon day) in the month of February. The devotees from the Gorava families are called as Goravappa and the female devotees are termed as Goravammas. Jatre of Mailara is well known for the
Karanika ritual (prophecy utterance) and this sacred ritual is always performed by the Goravappa.
The Karanika Goravappa is selected by the elderly members of the village. People of Karnataka look forward to this day very eagerly to hear the Karanika and although the devotees feel that the
Karanika is a prediction of the political situation of the state and country for the coming year, the devotees also apply the oracle to agricultural outcomes as well.
People from different communities perform different roles during the Jatre. For example,
Davatige Gorava, the one who holds the lighted lamp in his hand during the procession of Lord
Mailara is from the Brahmin community and the Karanikada Gorava, the one who announces the
Karanika, the oracle (prophecy) is from the Gorava family. Below is the list of Goravappas and
Goravammas who take part at the time of the procession of the deity.
Kind of Gorava Work of the Goravas
Davatige Gorava Holds a lighted lamp in his hand
Doni Gorava Receives alms in a square bowl
Cati Gorava or Kudure Gorava Dances dressed like a horse while whipping his legs
Sarapali Gorava Breaks an iron chain by pulling it with his hands
Nayi Gorava Dance like a dog
Karadi Gorava Wears a cap of bear skin and holds a flute in the hands. Maadesh 7
Pahare Gorava Rings the bell at regular intervals to announce the time. Karanikada Gorava Announces the Karanika, the oracle (prophecy).
Pavadada Gorava Pierces iron tridents through his cheeks and fore arms. Kanchaviras pierce iron rod through their legs. Kinnari Gorava Plays a string instrument called Kinnari.
Maddale Gorava Plays a leather percussion instrument called Maddale. Elecenci (a small bag with betel and nuts) The female Goravamma who offer betel leaf and Goravamma areca nut to the deity. Cavuri Goravamma The Goravamma who fans with the a Cavuri.
(Venkatesha M N 19-20)
Figure 4 and 5: Goravappa and Goravamma at the temple of Mailara (Yashwanth M)
Karanika uttered from the year 2013 to 2018 is as follows
27 February 2013 - Malebele Sampaaditale paraak (There would be sufficient amount of rain)
16 February 2014 - Tumbida koda muru tunda aaditale paraak (A completely filled pot will
be broken into three pieces) Maadesh 8
5 February 2015 - Muttina gantu muru bhaga aaditale paraak (A Pearl knot will be divided
into three parts)
25 February 2016 - Muttina raashi mooru atale paraak (a mound of pearls will be divided into
three)
13 February 2017 - Ambali haliseetu kambali beesitale paraak (Even if the food would be
spoilt there would be blankets for shelter)
9 February 2018 - Aakashakke Sidilu Baditale Paraak (The thunders will hit the Sky)
Pavada Utsava is also a famous ritual performed at the Jatre of Mailara. Pavada Utsava is a miraculous deeds (self-punishment) performed by the devotees. There is no set ritualistic performance. Devotees make arike (plea) based on their physical conditions so that they would be able to fulfill it when their wishes come true. The ritual is generally performed on either the day before or after the Jatre. Pavada Utsava is not restricted to a particular caste or religion. But it is usually performed by the Kanchaviras (Scheduled castes and Dalits) and at the present generation by the Kuruba communities as well. Their services are such as piercing iron tridents through their legs, arms and cheeks. As they perform the ritual, they sing songs in praise of the Lord Mailara.
1.4 Primary Text
The project focuses on the Performance of Mailaralinga Jatre as the Primary text.
Mailaralinga Jatre is famous for the rituals, Karanika and Pavada Utsava (Kanchavira). The research mainly throws light on these two elements of the Jatre. The Jatre is also known as
Bharata Hunnimme Jatre or Karanika Jatre.
1.5 Research Questions
How is Mailaralinga Jatre a folk performance narrative? Maadesh 9
What are the performative elements in Mailaralinga Jatre which establish collective
consciousness among the Halumatha Kuruba community?
How does the Jatre represent shifts from traditional community participation to global
interaction and transitions from the sacred to secular?
1.6 Research Gap
Existing research on Mailaralinga Jatre focuses only on rituals. This project analyzes the Jatre as a historiographic narrative to trace the cultural history of Halumatha Kuruba community from the tenth century to the contemporary context of globalization. The connection between identity and community consciousness will be underlined through a close analysis of collective performances of the Jatre.
1.7 Objectives
Analyze Mailaralinga Jatre as a cultural text which ritualizes the Halumatha Kuruba
identity.
Understand Mailaralinga Jatre as a Folk Performance Narrative.
Examine the varied roles performed by individuals and groups of different castes in
Mailaralinga Jatre.
Trace the historical evolution and discursive transitions in the tradition of Mailaralinga
Jatre up to the current impact of globalization.
1.8 Method and Methodology
Discourse Analysis using Folklore and Performance Studies.
The researcher has integrated ethnographic discourse analysis as a framework to understand community identification through social participation. Approaches of “thick Maadesh 10 participation” (Sarangi) and “thick description” (Greetz) are applied to analyze field work and performance. The researcher visited the Jatre site at Mylara to record and document performances and interviewed devotees, performers and temple authorities to study the impact of performance on community identification and collective consciousness among Halumatha Kurubas.
1.9 Literature Review
The secondary resources used by the researcher are categorized thematically under folklore and historiography, history, collective identity and other references on folklore.
1.9.1 Folklore and Historiography
“Folklore is the material handed down traditionally by word of mouth or by custom and practice” (Datta 14). Alan Dundes highlights the idea on modern concepts of folklore. Though folk traditions are considered as the elements of past, the modern concepts of folklore give a new dynamic space for the folklorists to analyze the traditions:
Dundes has distanced himself from the Grimm brothers’ legacy of romantic
nationalism, and advocated folklore as an adaptive strategy of modern life. He
also expanded the scope of folk materials from oral to written and material items.
His advocacy of the idea that folklore is constantly being created anew in
contemporary life was especially important. It is not a relic of the past, as many
believe, but an expression of present-day issues. (Bronner 53-54)
Mailaralinga Jatre though considered as the tradition that has been followed from the tenth century or even before, the Jatre has always been a new space for the researchers to analyze it through various aspects and therefore the researcher is analyzing the Jatre from the historiographic Maadesh 11 perspective and further focuses on the rituals – Karanika and Pavada Utsava along with the impact of globalization.
Datta in the article “Folklore and Historiography” focuses on how the folklore is considered by the folklorists to be a part of lived reality not just about the past but focuses on the present-day rituals as well. According to Datta Birendranath, “folklore like history, is almost as old as the human society. There has been no society – not excluding the most ancient or most primitive in which knowledge, belief, customs etc., have not been shared and handed down” (14). Halumatha
Kuruba community has handed down the cultural history and traditions of Mailaralinga to the present generation. The tradition of Mailara is not restricted to the particular community but it is followed by the various Hindu castes of Karnataka.
Datta in the article “Collaboration between Historian and Folklorist: The Common
Ground” highlights the importance of oral traditions and its importance for studying the history of a particular community:
Historical research is the term applied to the work necessary for the establishing
of occurrences, happenings, or events in the field with which the historian is
concerned. This Knowledge is entirely dependent on the transmission of
information from those living at the time, and this information forms what is
known as the source material for the particular period of time, and this
information forms what is known as the source material for the particular period
or topic. The occurrences themselves can never be experienced by the historians,
and what they have at their disposal are either accounts of occurrences as seen
by contemporaries, or something, be it verbal, written, or material, that is the
end product of an occurrence. (51) Maadesh 12
Halumatha Kuruba community has carried forward the tradition of Mailaralinga through orality.
Even to this day the oral tradition has been followed in the land of Mailara but recently technological advancements have replaced the oral tradition. There are no two different perspectives between the oral and written traditions. The oral tradition is transformed into the written tradition through transcription. The songs are recorded in various forms – Films, DVDs and Cassettes. In this regard, Bausinger comments on how industrialization no longer implies the end of folk culture but rather attempts to trace the modifications of mutations undergone by folk culture in the industrialized and urban world (Datta 28).
Mailaralinga Jatre a historical tradition by following various rituals such as Karanika and
Pavada Utsava are classified under the mythological field. Levi Strauss comments on the relationship between history and mythology and tries to identify at what point does mythology and history start from:
The simple opposition between mythology and history which we are accustomed
to make is not at all a clear cut one. The gap which exists in our mind to some
extent between mythology and history can probably be reached by studying
histories which are conceived not at all as separated from but as a continuation
of history. (Datta 60)
1.9.2 History
Alan Jabbour in the article “Intracultural and Intercultural: The Two Faces of Folklore”, focuses on the two aspects of folklore: “Intracultural and Intercultural” (22). Intracultural aspect to the workings of culture within a group. The second aspect, intercultural refers to cultures across boundaries. Cultural identities are constantly re-created through the process of intra and inter Maadesh 13 cultural interactions, as evident in folklore traditions. Jabbour’s article is instrumental in highlighting how the Mailaralinga Jatre at once heightens the Halumatha Kuruba identity through ritual performance and exemplifies collective consciousness and participation beyond the community.
Handoo Jawaharlal in the article “The Palace Paradigm: Historical Space and Folklore”, identifies art, history, ritual and performance as intrinsic elements of folklore. He further highlights the aesthetics of narrative performance in folklore thereby situating it within a distinct framework of a community text.
The film Sri Mailara Linga directed by Kate Gururaj focuses on the history of Lord
Mailaralinga at Mylara, Bellary district of Karnataka. In the initial few minutes shows the performance of Karanika and Pavada Utsava (Kanchavira) and also shows the entire history of the Mailaralinga tradition. This film helps the researcher to trace the history of the Mailaralinga
Jatre through the historiographic narrative. In the initial few minutes of the film, the film gives the introduction about the two main rituals of the Jatre. Therefore, the film is relevant to the research because the researcher focuses on the rituals of the Jatre – Karanika and Pavada Utsava as a performance narrative.
The article “Folk Narratives” by Oring Elliott, opines that folk narratives exist in multiple versions and are a renovation of the past made to speak in the present. Mailaralinga Jatre exists in multiple versions within Karnataka. The Jatre of the age-old tradition is still followed in Bellary,
Karnataka with a renovation in the entire process till date:
Obviously, the process of folk narration evolved sometime after the
development of language and has continued unabated until the present day. It is Maadesh 14
often necessary to point out that folk narration is not characteristic of just
primitive or peasant groups but is characteristic of all known human groups at
all stages of civilization - ourselves very much included. (Oring Elliott 123)
The narrator or the performer engages people’s minds intellectually the way the Goravappa at
Mailaralinga Jatre does. The utterance of the Goravappa is given so much importance that everyone listens carefully. An emotional connect is established within the community.
The book Mailaralinga Jatre – Reflections on the Dynamics of Folklore by Venkatesha M
N talks about the Jatre in detail and focuses on the lord Mailaralinga in three different regions –
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. In this book Venkatesha M N explores about psychoanalytical performance. The Jatre underlines the importance of cultural practices through the psychological nature of Kuruba identities. He tries to understand the minds of the performers and the audience through the methodology of psychoanalysis. The audience in the Jatre looks up to one person at the time of Karanika and hence a psychological connection is established within the community.
Zaidi Inayat A S in the article “Folklore, Ordinary People and Making of the Indian Nation” quotes R S Sharma “The history of production, where the ordinary people stood simply as tool for production” (257). The researcher focuses on the Jatre as a production. This production would be impossible without the audience. Therefore, the Jatre of Mailaralinga produces the identity of
Kurubas not just as tools but as the agents for identity production. The Jatre becomes a public act and audiences are conscious about the performance. Therefore, as R S Sharma says “without
Production, no history”. Performance narratives are thus collective manifestations of the synchronicity of audience, production and history. Maadesh 15
1.9.3 Collective Identity
Bapat Rao Guru observes that “Folklore and oral discourse, in particular, have always been known as the voice of the weak and the oppressed” in his article “Performance as Discourse”. In his analysis of Elin Diamond’s book Performance and Cultural Politics, describes performance at various levels especially with reference to India (South India) (155). Jatres are enactments of collective memories of a large group. The oral narrative of a specific culture or a community evolves over time, so does the Jatre performed by the Shudra community which is considered as the fourth Varna in the Hindu caste system. The Mailaralinga Jatre as a whole is considered to be a performance. The question of orality brings in convergences and divergences of the performance at different levels.
B K Sarkar in his article “A Festival of the People” explores about the complex web of
Indian life and culture with a historical overview of the “past present rites”, ceremonies, customs and institutions (1). The article focuses on cultural identities as performativity through collective identity. The Mailaralinga Jatre is a festival that celebrates the life and culture of the Shudra community (Kuruba community) in Bellary, Karnataka. The Jatre comprises the historic elements of different “past present rites”, various ceremonies (Karanika Utsava and Pavada Utsava), customs (prophecy utterance, walking on hot charcoal, piercing the body) as mentioned by B K
Sarkar.
Deborah A Kapchan in the article “Performance” speaks about the structuring of an individual and group identities and also questions what constitutes the difference between
“habitual practices” and “heightened performance”, how they work within the society (479). The
Jatre is a heightened, collective performance because this happens only once in a year in a particular place where as “habitual practices” or festivals become normative acts. Unlike rituals Maadesh 16 performed within the framework of a caste hierarchy where a priest from an upper caste officiates rituals at home in a temple, the Jatre of Mailara is performed by the community. This shows the nature of “heightened performance” of the Jatre.
Dr. Lakhendra Bala in the article “A Study on the Influence of Mass Media on the Culture and Tradition of Singpho Tribe in Tinsukia District of Assam, India” notes that the word culture nowadays is used in so many peripheral contexts that its original meaning has been submerged.
Mailaralinga culture which was once part of the Kuruba community culture now belongs to people from different castes and religions and hence the original tradition is now more secular.
According to Nishikant D. Mirajkar, in “Facets of the Study of Indian Folklore”, “Folklore is a part of a culture that belongs to and is deeply influenced by the community.” He says that communities lived through shared rituals and festivals. The folk arts and traditions which have been declining over the centuries have been safe guarded through government financial support.
Mailaralinga Jatre is known to be a very old tradition which has been kept alive because of the involved participation of the community. The Kuruba community has kept the age-old tradition alive through shared rituals such as Karanika and Pavada along with various other similar rituals performed during the Jatre.
In the Introduction of ‘Folklore, Public Sphere and Civil Society’, M D
Muthukumaraswamy and Molly Kaushal underline how communities break hierarchies and constitute new identities and establish intercultural contacts. The festival is a cultural phenomenon which generates constant “public opinion” as folklore (3). Through this public opinion, folklore as a tradition travels worldwide. Due to constant migration and dispersion of the community the Jatre has become a multiple performance. The Kuruba community has evolved through many phases and absorbed other cultural backgrounds. Maadesh 17
Wang Ying in the article “The Impact of Festivals and Events on City Image: A Case Analysis of the Ningbo International Fashion Festival” quotes Ros Derrett and Williams “The publicity festivals and events can generate for a community not only have a cumulative impact on the location as a tourist destination but also feed into the image and identity of the community and assist with creating an appealing a consolidated sense of community” (13). Mailaralinga Jatre which has now become a publicity festival creates a sense of community among the Kurubas of
Karnataka.
1.9.4 Other References on Folklore
Bilimale Purushotham focuses on the folk theatre performance – Yakshagana as the richest and most popular tradition of Karnataka in his article “From Sacred to Secular: Tale of Tensions and Contending Power Equation”. He notes that Yakshagana was initially popular in Dakshina
(Southern) Karnataka, where it was performed only in the premises of temples and courts. The art form was considered to be sacred but now it has become a secular performance where people perform all over Karnataka and people have started teaching and performing all over. Similarly,
Mailaralinga Jatre has also become very secular because the Lord Mailaralinga is worshipped in different regions of Karnataka and the Mailaralinga Jatre is celebrated in all these temples sometimes on the same day – on Bharatha Hunnimme or sometimes on the different days of the same month.
Dr. Sen Soumen, highlights that it is the duty of the folklorist to investigate the new space where folklore is taking shape; through this idea Roma Chatterji in his paper “Purulia Chho:
Discursive Space Constitution of Culture” lends his idea about Folk culture (37). According to
Roma Chatterji Folk Culture is slowly entering into the field of Popular culture. Popular culture is the culture which is experienced and enjoyed mostly by large audiences whereas folk culture is Maadesh 18 usually performed, experienced and celebrated only by a particular community or a particular set of people. The researcher focuses on the Jatre of Lord Mailara celebrated over the years and the impact of globalization and modernization. The Jatre which was once just known to be classified under Folk culture is now famous under Popular culture as it is associated with mass society. Folk culture works on space bounded face to face communication whereas mass society doesn’t work on this principle. Most of the Folk cultures are discursive and the regularly celebrated festivals originate from the mainstream idea of history.
Mailaralinga Jatre, a famous carnival of Karnataka underlines the community consciousness among the Gorava families of Halumatha Kuruba community. Though there are certain works on the Jatre of Mailaralinga they focus mostly on the historiographic narratives and explore the psychological mindset of the audience. Through the detailed analysis of various articles based on folklore and historiography, history, collective identity and other references on folklore, the researcher analyzes Mailaralinga Jatre through the perspective of the Halumatha Kuruba community and stresses upon the ritualization and performances in the Jatre and the impact of
Globalization through which the Jatre has transitioned from being sacred to secular.
1.10 Outline of Chapters
In the project, chapter two “Kuruba Identity and Performance in Mailaralinga Jatre” focuses on Kuruba community in general and Halumatha Kuruba community in specific. The chapter’s main aim is to foreground the Jatre as a folk performance narrative through an analysis of the Mailaralinga tradition - rituals performed by Gorava families (Karanika) and other rituals performed by the devotees of other castes and religions (Pavada Utsava) at the Jatre along with the analysis of the dance form (Gorava Kunitha) performed and the costumes that the Goravas wear on the special occasions. Maadesh 19
Chapter three “Globalization and New Collective Identities in Mailaralinga Jatre” discusses about the impact of globalization and how new collective identities are reinforced in the space of the Jatre. The Jatre which was once a scared ritual with the trend of google it has reached wider audience and hence has become a secular ritual and is categorized under the popular culture.
Chapter four, “Conclusion” focuses on the Jatre being a resistance narrative, a historiographic study underlines the community consciousness of the Halumatha Kuruba community through the various rituals performed at the Jatre which categorizes the Mailaralinga
Jatre as a folk performance narrative.
1.11Scope
The dissertation focuses specifically on the collective identity of the Halumatha Kuruba community through the ritualized symbolic interactions of the Mailaralinga Jatre.
1.12 Limitation
The dissertation does not focus on other Jatres of Mailara such as Yadgir (Mailara),
Telangana (Mallayya) and Maharashtra (Khandoba).
Maadesh 20
Works Cited
Bapat, Guru Rao. “Performance as Discourse.” Folklore as Discourse, National Folklore Support
Centre, 2006, pp. 155- 156.
Beth, Mary Oliver and Bartsch, Anne. “Appreciation of Entertainment: The Importance of
Meaningfulness via Virtue and Wisdom.” American Psychological Association, 2011.
Bilimale, Purushothama. “From Sacred to Secular: Tale of Tension and Contending Power
Equations.” Folklore, Public Sphere, and Civil Society, Indira Gandhi National Centre for
the Arts, 2004, pp. 171-176.
Bronner, Simon J, editor. The Meaning of Folklore: The Analytical Essays of Alan Dundes. Utah
State University Press, 2007.
Chatterji, Roma. “Purulia Chho: Discursive Space Constitution of Culture.” Folklore, Public
Sphere and Civil Society, Indira Gandhi National Centre, National Folklore Support
Centre, 2004, pp. 37-38.
Datta, Birendranath. “History and Historiography vis-à-vis Folklore and Folkloristics.” Affinities
between Folkloristics and Historiography, National Folklore Support Centre, 2002, pp. 14.
Figure 3. “Mylara Lingeshwara Temple at Mylara.” Wikipedia,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylara_Lingeshwara_Temple_at_Mylara.
Handoo, Jawaharlal. “The Palace Paradigm: Historical Space and Folklore.” Folklore as
Discourse, National Folklore Support Centre, 2006, pp. 22-33.
Jabbour, Alan. “Intracultural and Intercultural: The Two Faces of Folklore.” Folklore, Public
Sphere, and Civil Society, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, 2004, pp. 17-22. Maadesh 21
Kapchan, Deborah A. “Performance.” American Folklore Society, JSTOR, vol. 108, no. 430, pp.
479.
Kate, Gururaj, director. “Sri Mailara Linga.” YouTube, SRS Media Vision, Oct 29. 2015,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiEm6wtm6NY.
Dr. Lakhendra, Bala. “A Study on the Influence of Mass Media on the Culture and Tradition of
Singpho Tribe in Tinsukia District of Assam, India.” Journal of Business Management &
Social Sciences Research (JBM&SSR), 2014.
Macgilchrist, Felicitas and Hout Tom Van. “Ethnographic and Discourse Analysis.” Ethnographic
Discourse Analysis and Social Science, Forum: Qualitative Social Research, vol.12, no.1,
Jan 2011.
Mirajkar, Nishikant D. “Facets of the Study of Indian Folklore.” Indian Folklore, B.R. Publishing
Corporation, 2001, pp. 13 – 16.
Molly, Kaushal, and Muthukumaraswamy M D. “Introduction.” Folklore, Public Sphere, and Civil
Society, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, 2004, pp.123.
Oring Elliott. “Folk Narratives.” Folk Groups and Folklore Genres, Utah State University Press,
1986, pp.121-145.
Sarkar, Benoy Kumar. “A Festival of the People.” The Folk – Element in Hindu Culture, 1st ed.,
Longmans, Green and CO, London, 1972, pp.1.
Venkatesha M N. “Introduction.” Mailaralinga Jatre – Reflections on the Dynamics of Folklore,
National Folklore Centre, 2007, pp. 02. Maadesh 22
Venkatesha M N. “Introduction.” Mailaralinga Jatre – Reflections on the Dynamics of Folklore,
National Folklore Centre, 2007, pp. 04.
Venkatesha M N. “Mailaralinga Tradition.” Mailaralinga Jatre – Reflections on the Dynamics of
Folklore, National Folklore Centre, 2007, pp.16.
Venkatesha M N. “Mailaralinga Tradition.” Mailaralinga Jatre – Reflections on the Dynamics of
Folklore, National Folklore Centre, 2007, pp. 19-20.
Wang, Ying. “The impact of festivals and events on city image: A Case Analysis of the Ningbo
International Fashion Festival.” IFFAIR NINGBO, Erasmus University, 2009, pp. 12.
Zaidi, Inayat A S. “Folklore, Ordinary People and Making of the Indian Nation.” Popular Culture
and Pre – Modern Societies in South Asia, Pearson Longman, pp. 257.
Maadesh 23
Chapter – 2
Kuruba Identity and Performance in Mailaralinga Jatre
A community is a group of people coming together to share things in common such as religion, norms, rituals, geographical place and even identity. One’s social ties become important to establish identity, practices and roles in social institutions. The sense of community belongingness and identity are inter-related.
A community is united through certain rituals and festivals which are celebrated on a regular basis. Annual, seasonal and periodic performances reinforce categories of identity such as caste, religion and ethnicity. In the article “Performance”, Deborah A Kapchan, talks about the structuring of individual and group identities based on the difference between the “habitual practices and heightened performance” (479). A collective festival or carnival such as
Mailaralinga Jatre which was once a habitual practice of the Halumatha Kuruba community has now become a space for heightened collective performance.
2.1 Impact of Performance on Identity
Every performance has a historical background and consists of familiar aspects of performance which people relate to as audience. Performances such as Mailaralinga Jatre are constituted by rituals which engage people across generations. When rituals are performed collectively, members relate to ancestral forms of worship and symbolically establish identities across time and space.
The Jatre is collective performance of different rituals in the same place and on different days before and after the Jatre. Along with people from a particular community who worship the
Lord as Kula Daiva (house deity), people from different communities and castes around the village Maadesh 24 share a sense of belonging to a particular group or a place and therefore, they form a collective identity. Collective Identities, as Melucci, observes the significant spaces for an analysis of social movements:
Collective identity as a useful analytical tool to explain social movements. It
addresses not only the processes within the system of the collective actor such
as leadership models, ideologies, or communication methods, but also external
relations with allies and competitors which all shape the collective actor.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_identity)
The Mailaralinga Jatre exemplifies the symbolic interaction of communities and identities through intra and inter – cultural collectives.
2.2 Goravappas: Chief Performers of the Mailaralinga Jatre
The Goravas were the active messengers of Lord Mailaralinga. There is no basis of caste or religion for a Gorava. Venkatesha M N highlights that “there are many devotes from Uppara,
Lamani, Besta, Holeya and Madiga castes, but most of the Goravas are from a shepherd caste named Kuruba. Goravappas from higher castes such as Brahmins are very few” (18). Goravas are minstrels who visit houses in the village and sing epics of Mailaralinga. Goravas generally beg on Sunday as a part of their ritual’s practices, but the Goravas are not beggars; many among them are landlords and some even work as labourers. Over the years, as the values of people have changed immensely, the nature of services have also begun to lose their importance. Now the popular meaning for the term Gorava is “beggar” according to the Kannada – English Dictionary
(F.Kittel). Not all devotees of Mailaralinga are Goravas. To become a Goravappa, the devotee must undergo the process of Hore Horuvudu (carrying load). Hore Horuvudu is a ceremony which Maadesh 25 makes a person mentally strong to perform the services to the deity. The load refers to the service done by them to the Lord all their life.
In Mailaralinga Jatre women are given equal importance as men except for the Karanika.
Goravammas travel with Goravappas to the temple and performs rituals along with them. During certain rituals, they stand beside their husbands or sons for support, mainly during the Pavada
Utsava. Apart from this the Goravammas give turmeric powder to the devotees and bless them.
Only in the Jatre of Mailara do women have costumes similar to that of men.
2.3 Initial Rituals of Mailaralinga Jatre
The Jatre of Mailaralinga has two main rituals which includes the Karanika (prophecy utterance) and Kanchavira or Pavada Utsava (magical self-punishment rituals). At the Jatre of
Mailara, devotees and pilgrims of several lakhs gather together from distant places to celebrate the Jatre. The number of people at the temple shows the popularity of the Jatre at Mylara. Even to this day, the habitual mode of transportation is through the bullock carts, along with other modes of transportation such as buses and cars.
Every year the Jatre begins on the day of Megha Suddha Saptami. The Jatre is inaugurated through the performance of boiling milk, and the overflowing milk, is considered as a symbol of auspiciousness. On this particular occasion, people from the nearby village bring milk and boil it at the Jatre. The devotees believe that the region indicated by the direction in which the milk flows down will receive good rain and provide good results in agriculture. Sugar, jaggery, and rice are added to the boiling milk and they distribute it to the devotees as prasada. In the evening, two groups of devotees engage in throwing Kadubu (modak) against one other and this ritual is called as Kadubina Kalaga, which is later followed by the Gugguri seve, this particular Habba (festival) Maadesh 26 is celebrated two days before the full-moon day in which the Huruli Kaalu (horse gram) is cooked along with five types of grains are offered to the horses. The Goravas drink this prasada thinking themselves as horses of Mailaralinga.
Maradi Kichadi Habba is a festival in which special food (kichadi) along with curd rice is prepared by the devotees near the temple welcoming all their relatives. The food is prepared at
Denchana Maradi, the mythical war field area. On the day of Bharata Hunnimme, three days after
Maradi Kichadi Habba, there are programmes conducted at the temple premises all night such as hosting of the flag of the Mailara when the offerings are made to the deity and worshipping of the trident.
Later, at 5.00 in the morning, the main diety is taken on a procession. During the procession, several thousands take part in the procession but with pin drop silence as though they are off to attack an enemy. This ritual is called the Mouna Gupta Savari, it is a symbolic enactment and dramatization of the myth which stimulates the memory of the attack of Mailara’s soldiers on
Mallasura. Towards the end of the procession, the Wodeyar (chief priest) fires three bullets skywards at the end of a silent procession to indicate the death of Mallasura and suddenly the crowd breaks the silence as a mark of the victory. Then the curtain covering the head of the
Mallasura idol is removed to symbolize his death and the priest worships the Sibara (the place where Mallasura is killed), Kanchaiviras sing odabu (folk songs of Mailaralinga) and the
Wodeyar sits on the mat to conduct a court meeting as if he was a king. The Goravas dance, others sing along and the scenario of a court is created. While returning Wodeyar meets the Karanika
Gorava who has followed a rigirous practice of staying in the field for nine days. And then finally the Wodeyar returns to the temple and the deity’s idol along with the Mallasura’s wooden head are retained at Denchana Maradi. Maadesh 27
2.4 Karnika Utsava
On the same evening of Mouna Gupta Savari, a procession is carried out around 5.30 in the evening the Wodeyar arrives in procession and invites the Karanika Gorava to the Karanika ground. Where the Karanika is uttered and lakhs of people wait silently to hear the year’s fortunes.
As lakhs of people attend the ritual people start assembling from afternoon around the circular fenced area to find seats to witness the Karanika.
On the day of Karnikotsava, the devotees come together to the temple chanting “elukoti elukoti elukotigo... changmalo changmalo” (Andenavaru, andenavaru.wordpress.com/sri-mylara- lingeshwara-temple-at-mylara/). Elukoti means seven crores commemorating the seven crores
Goravas who accompany Mailaralinga. Junjappa (Goravappa) when interviewed before the
Karanika said “by afternoon, a huge wooden bow, symbolic of that with which Lord Mailara slew
Mallasura, is brought and placed in the middle of a vast area called Denkana Maradi which is covered by the shade of Kari Halladha Maara (Banyan tree). The Karanika Gorava carries the bow from his tent and climbs up, stares from the top in the four directions, and then begins trembling as a sign of divine inspiration, and the pilgrims wait for his prophecy utterance. Gorava gazes skywards, before utterance of the annual divination. Soon after uttering the prophecy, the
Goravappa drops himself down from the bow, and the Goravas waiting around will catch him carefully. The devotees believe that the prophecy uttered is the divine truth.” (Personal Interview) Maadesh 28
Figure 6: Devotees waiting to hear the Karanika uttered by Goravappa (The Hindu)
Before uttering the Karanika the Goravappa bends down suddenly to touch the idol of
Mailara with his head and turns as if he is listening to the orders of Lord Mailara, the Goravappa who has been fasting from the past twelve days, climbs a twelve-meter bow. He utters a set of words which begins with Saddale (silence) and utters a euphoric prophecy regarding regional agriculture, animal husbandry, and the future of politics of the state and the country. At the
Karanikotsava, the Gorava's utterance is like a puzzle and people make their conclusions according to their needs. For example, farmers relate the utterance to the future of agriculture, the politicians think about the fate of the politicians and so on. It is generally believed that the sayings of the Goravappa indicate the future of the forthcoming year. Therefore, the Mailaralinga Jatre is celebrated at the beginning of the year because farmers usually start their cultivation after the
Mailaralinga Jatre, hearing the prophecy uttered by the Gorvappa. After uttering a specific coded sentence, the Gorava falls down. The devotees soon disperse to decode the Karanika. Bevinakatti
Manjunatha observes Karanika Utsava as:
Crouching on a long bow at the time of the fair, the Goravappa exhorts the oracle
by uttering the word, Saddle, to warn the public to maintain silence. This Maadesh 29
proclamation is called Karanika and it forms the most important part of the fair.
It foretells the prospects of the succeeding year with regard to seasonal rain,
crop, people and the world. The believers of Mailaralinga believe in their ups
and downs in the forthcoming year with utmost faith in interpreting the oracle.
Immediately after the soothsayer announces the oracle, thousands of people
gathered at the site maintain a pin-drop silence and they believe those words as
if they come directly from the mouth of Shiva. (41)
Figure 7: Goravappa uttering the Karanika
Live Karnataka (YouTube)
The bow on which the Goravappa climbs is a symbolic representation of the bow which Lord
Mailara had used to slay the demon Mallasura. As the Goravappa climbs the bow everyone maintains silence and listens to what is uttered and during this ritual, all the Halumatha Kurubas looks up to one person, the Goravappa. This ritual underline collective sense of belonging and shared identities based on common belief systems. Oring Elliott in “Folk narratives exists in
Multiple Versions” opines on the idea of how “the renovation of the past is made to speak in the present” (123). Goravappa being the man who is seen next to God as he utters the prophecy, people Maadesh 30 listen to him carefully and see him in the place of a God and therefore, there is a distance created between the Gorava and the audience. The position of Goravappa is much higher than the level of audience. Through this ritual the community identity of Halumatha Kurubas is reinforced and for people from other castes and religions it is a social interaction with the ritual as audience.
People in and around the village and also those who attend the Jatre listen to the Prophecy and carry forward the year with the words uttered by Goravappa.
As the ritual is performed it reinforces the community consciousness and it symbolically influences the performance and identity of Halumatha Kurubas at the Jatre. During the performance of Karanika the audience stand as witness. They take part silently in the ritual and witness everything that is uttered as a prophecy. Though they actively involve in the ritual they can just witness but not perform, as Karanika is a one-man performance by the Goravappa.
There are hundreds of meanings given to the particular utterance of Goravappa. After the
Karanika, the Goravappa, Wodeyar and the idols enter the temple in a procession. During this procession the big leather slippers of Mailara are carried from the temple. The crowd rushes to the
Karanika ground and they start building small structures using stones and mud thinking that whatever they pray and build in that particular region would be happening in reality. When asked to a lady named Lakshmi, who was very happily arranging stones one on top of the other said “it is an age-old practice followed by our ancestors and therefore even we do it. whatever we pray and construct with mud and stones materialize and so I am praying for my wishes to come true”.
Maadesh 31
2.5 Pavada Utsava
Pavada Utsava is the miraculous deeds performed by the Kanchaviras. Kanchaviras are from the Holeya and Madiga communities (Scheduled Caste and Dalits). Pavada Utsava is a self- imposed physical punishment which varies from fasting for a whole day to an intense way of piercing the body parts. “Basawanna insists that physical suffering is the best way of worship”
(Venkatesha M N 55).
During the ritual of Karanika audience remain as just the witness but during the Pavada
Utsava the audience actively participate in certain miraculous rituals and they have the feeling of belonging to the group. It is part of a person's self-conception and self-perception. Bhama, a thirty- two-year-old lady says that “we have always heard our ancestors saying that our body should undergo lots of physical strain to attain Moksha”. Many try different methods such as climbing the hills of pilgrim centers by foot, standing on the sharp thorns, walking miles to get blessings of the
Lord. Sastra Pavada (where the Kanchaviras pierce iron rods through their legs), Bayi Bigada
(locking mouth by piercing an iron rod through the cheeks) Urulu seve (rolling in the temple around the premise), Bettale seve (walking naked) is also an important service because it makes the mind strong as one cannot be naked in front of a huge crowd and many such services are served in the name of the God. Bettale seve is performed by the Goravappas in the Jatre of Mailaralinga whereas in other references on Bettale seve, it is generally performed by the women. These are certain Pavada Utsava performed by the devotees at Mylara. Maadesh 32
Figure 8: Devotee performing Bayi Bigada Pavada ritual (YouTube)
Figure 9, 10: Devotees performing the Sastra Pavada ritual (Piercing iron rod through the legs)
(YouTube) Maadesh 33
This particular ritual is celebrated on the next day of the Karanika. On the day of this ritual,
Lord Mailaralinga is taken on the procession to visit the temple of Lord Heggappa and then returns to the main temple. And then the Kanchaviras perform many miracles in the backyard of the temple. People from the Gorava (Kuruba) community also perform rituals of miracle. Some perform them to attain moksha and some perform because to give thanks for wishes which might have been fulfilled.
Figure 11,12,13: Miracle performances at the temple premises of Lord Mailaralinga
(Yashwanth M)
2.6 Gorava Kunitha
In the article “Facets of the Study of Indian Folklore”, Nishikant D. Mirajkar says that folklore is part of a culture that belongs to and is deeply influenced by the community. Through the same article he tries to tell the readers how the performance narrative becomes a resistance narrative (caste resistance) as well (13). Similarly, Goravara Kunitha or Gorava Kunitha is a traditional dance form of Kuruba community in Karnataka. Gorava Kunitha is popular in the Maadesh 34 regions of Mysore and Northern Karnataka. Men belonging to the community take deekshe (the process of initiation) to follow the tradition of Gorava. The men take deekshe usually before their marriage as they dedicate the rest of their lives for Lord Mailaralinga and perform the folk form
Gorava Kunitha during all the sacred rituals. These traditional Gorava devotees dance in a trance, sometimes barking like dogs as the Goravas considered themselves as the loyal dogs of Lord
Mailara. The dancers move in a clockwise zigzag, with no fixed choreography. The North
Karnataka Goravas wear yellow powder on their foreheads and give prasada to devotees.
Damaru, Venu, small bronze bells and cowbells (paarigante) are played during the performance.
Figure 14: The Goravas’ in their ritualistic costume at the Janapadaloka (Inrootz Team)
Goravara Kunitha being a traditional dance with religious implications is performed at festivals, local fairs and also upon invitation in houses of devotees of Lord Mailaralinga, at housewarming ceremonies. Devotees invite Goravas to their new homes and is called as mane seve or ogu seve. On such private occasion, a black woollen blanket is spread and a small bowl filled with milk is kept on the blanket along with bananas and traditional sweets. The offering
(prasada) is worshipped after which the Goravappas dance around it. They perform rhythmically accompanied by the sound of their anklets and the intoxicating beat of Damaru. During the performance, they sing the praises of Lord Mailaralinga and repeat paaraks (slogans of Maadesh 35
Mailaralinga) as they dance, and then sit and eat the offerings laid out in front of them as Prasada.
They lie flat on their stomachs and eat the offering without touching it with their hands like dogs which is a symbolic representation of the loyal dog which saved Lord Mailara from the demon
Mallasura. The Goravas bark and eat the Prasada like dogs which shows their loyalty to the clan.
Figure 15,16,17: Goravappas performing ritualistic dance around the offerings at
Veereshvarapura, Nagamangala District, Mandya Taluk (Prakash N)
2.7 Costume
The Goravas costume is unique. It is generally said that the Goravappas costume is the key attraction of the Mailara tradition folk-dance form. A yellow or white panche (dhoti) and white full-length jubba (kurta) are the basic costumes. The heads of the performers are usually covered with Rumala (headgear made using the skin and the hair of a Bear). They mark the eyes with red and white circles to create a scary look and their forehead is smeared with Vibhuti (ash powder). They hold a Nagabetha (wooden stick) in the right hand and a flute in their left hand. Maadesh 36
This particular costume is famous in the Mysore cult where the Lord is worshipped in the avatar of Maillikarjuna. Whereas, in the Northern Karnataka cult, the costume differs completely where the Goravas wear the costume of the black woolen rug, with a shoulder bag (made out of tiger skin). Some wear a black-coat and a white dhoti which is not a mandate to everyone from the community. The Goravas of this cult smear their forehead with the yellow powder, usually turmeric. They hold instruments like Damaru (percussion) sometimes Kolalu (flute) and a few others wear a small bronze bell on the shoulder hold cowbells called Paarigante. They also carry a small bowl behind their backs which is generally used to keep the Prasada or the Bandara
(colour powder). It is also used when they go for begging. Begging is a ritualistic tradition of the
Gorava community on Sundays. They cook and eat the rice offered to them on Sunday and consume that as prasada.
Figure 18,19,20: The Costume of Goravas carrying the black woolen blanket, the bell,
bag on the side and the bowl (Yashwanth M) Maadesh 37
2.8 Conclusion
B.K Sarkar’s “A Festival of the People” shows the complex web of Indian life and culture within historic backgrounds and the connection between performance and collective consciousness. Having shown that all utterances perform actions, the words uttered by Goravappa during the Karanika are followed by the audience who follow certain shared beliefs. Purushotham
Bilimale gives the example of Yakshagana in his article “From Sacred to Secular: Tale of Tensions and Contending Power Equation” says how an art form which initially starts as a sacred ritual later turns into a secular form. The Jatre of Mailaralinga has moved from sacred to secular, as the Jatre was initially celebrated only by the Halumatha Kuruba community, later the other Kuruba communities joined hands in celebrating the Jatre and today people around the world of all castes and religions attend the Jatre for various reasons. However, the main ritual – Karanika is performed by the Goravappa who belongs to the Halumatha Kuruba community.
The various rituals such as Karanika and Pavada Utsava performed during the Jatre of
Mailara celebrate the identity of Kurubas. During the performances, the dance form through which they connect to the audience and the costumes that they wear classify Mailaralinga Jatre as a folk tradition of Karnataka.
Maadesh 38
Works Cited
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mylara-lingeshwara-temple-at-mylara/.
Bevinakatti, Manjunatha. “Saddle (Silence) – A Study of Mylaralinga Epic.” Indian Folklife, 2003,
indianfolklore.org/journals/index.php/IFRJ/article/view/188.
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Kapchan, Deborah A. “Performance.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 108, no. 430, 1995,
pp. 479–508. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/541657.
“Collective Identity.” Wikipedia, 31 Aug. 2018,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_identity.
Figure 6. “The Gorava Utters the Mylara Karnika.” The Hindu, Feb 25. 2016,
www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/the-gorava-utters-the-mylara-
karnika/article8278300.ece.
Figure 7. “Mylara Lingeshwara Karnika at Mylara Lingeshwara Temple Bellary.” YouTube, Live
Karnataka, 2017, youtu.be/BpkRe6hPHxs.
Figure 8. Kate, Gururaj, director. “Sri Mailara Linga.” YouTube, SRS Media Vision, Oct 29. 2015,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiEm6wtm6NY.
Figure 9. Kate, Gururaj, director. “Sri Mailara Linga.” YouTube, SRS Media Vision, Oct 29. 2015,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiEm6wtm6NY.
Figure 10. Kate, Gururaj, director. “Sri Mailara Linga.” YouTube, SRS Media Vision, Oct 29.
2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiEm6wtm6NY.
Figure 14. “Goravara Kunitha – A Dance of the Shiva Cult.” Inrootz Team, Janapadaloka, 2018, Maadesh 39
www.janapadaloka.in/articles/7/Goravara-Kunitha--A-dance-of-the-Shiva-cult/.
Junjappa. Personal Interview. 9 Feb. 2018.
Mirajkar, Nishikant D. “Facets of the Study of Indian Folklore.” Indian Folklore, B.R. Publishing
Corporation, 2001, pp. 13 – 16.
Oring Elliott. “Folk Narratives.” Folk Groups and Folklore Genres, Utah State University Press,
1986, pp.121-145.
Rev. Kittel F. Kannada – English Dictionary, Basel Mission Book and Tract Depository.
Venkatesha M N. “Mailaralinga Jatre: Different Facets.” Mailaralinga Jatre – Reflections on the
Dynamics of Folklore, National Folklore Centre, 2007, pp. 55.
Maadesh 40
Chapter – 3
Globalization and New Collective Identities in Mailaralinga Jatre
According to Alberto Melucci, “collective identity is an interactive and shared definition produced by several interacting individuals who are concerned with the orientation of their action as well as the field of opportunities and constraints in which their action takes place” (Abby
Peterson 8). One identifies his/her identity as expressed through his/her group’s culture social customs and traditions. Collective identity refers to an individual’s sense of belonging to a group.
It is an idea through which individuals participate in various social activities, and a sense of belonging and in essence an identity that surpasses the individual. Collective identity is “an individual’s cognitive, moral, and emotional connections with a broader community, category, practice”. (“Collective” sociologyindex.com/collective-identity.htm)
3.1 Impact of Globalization
There is a huge impact of globalization on the collective identity of an individual. Through the development of social media and other technologies, carnivals such as Mailaralinga Jatre attract the wider range of audience from different religions and caste backgrounds from all over the world. “Cultural modernization, sponsored by the forces of globalization, is resented if it encroaches upon or does not promote the core cultural values of society, its language, social practices and styles of life”. (Dr. Kumar Sushil Singh, sites.google.com/site/drsushilseducare/clubs-activities/scholar-s-bow-/3-globalization-with- respect-to-its-impact-on-indian-culture) As the life styles of people changed over the time with the impact of globalization, they started expanding in various areas preferably in the areas of business, communication, travel and global networking. There is a huge impact of media in creating various Maadesh 41 platforms and audiences. Hence, the socialization of people gains momentum with improving business and financial activities across, under globalization.
3.2 Jatre and Sense of Community
A Jatre is a collection of multi-faceted performances. The performers are the audiences themselves along with the devotees. The devotees participate in a Jatre with various motives. The gathering is customary in the life of a joint family. As they tend to live together in the same house they might not share and enjoy every moment together and so they all gather together during the time of a Jatre and celebrate the moment.
Wang Ying in the article “The Impact of Festivals and Events on City Images: A Case
Analysis of the Ningbo International Fashion Festival” quotes Ros Derrett where he highlights that
“The publicity festivals and events can generate for a community not only have a cumulative impact on the location as a tourist destination but also feed into the image and identity of the community and assist with creating an appealing and consolidated sense of community”(12).
Initially, only the Halumatha Kuruba communities of Northern Karnataka started celebrating the tradition of Mailara. When the Halumatha Kurubas were celebrating the Jatre, with them came the other Kuruba communities who started believing and following the rituals of Mailara. The
Jatre “is theorized as a hybrid site for the ritual negotiation of cultural identity and practiced by people of different castes and religions” (Nurse Keith 621). People visit this place for various purposes, for example, business is one of the main reasons apart from being devoted to the Lord.
They carry forward businesses such as selling the turmeric powder, the ghee, oil, garlands, sughand, and various such commodities which are part of the ritual’s material aspects.
Maadesh 42
3.3 Trade and New Settlements of Kuruba Community
The place of Kuruba Jatre is famous for rough black woolen blankets and during ancestral times people used to weave in every house or buy them from the nearby weavers. But now black woolen blankets are very rare as many don’t use them on regular basis and they are available only in certain areas. Those who weave blankets carry them to these Jatre lands of Kuruba community.
The black woolen blanket is a symbolic representation of the Shepherd community. In the olden days the shepherds were not so rich to afford a blanket, hence they used to weave the blankets from the wool they collected from their sheep.
As people came there with the different business mindset and their business started developing eventually and people started settling down at Mylara and became the devotees of
Mailara even though they didn’t belong to the Kuruba community specifically. Hence the Lord has devotees from different castes and religions. People from Muslim community are also devotees of Lord Mailara. To this day, the rituals and the traditions are followed in the same way, but the number of devotees has increased over the years. There are visitors other than the devotees who visit the Jatre just in the name of tourism, or for the purpose of a research. Even though Mailara is not their family deity, they come just to witness the Jatre. Hence the Jatre of Mailara has become a socialized event or ritual.
3.4 Commercial Elements in Mailaralinga Jatre
During the initial days, people used to visit the shrine of Lord Mailara either on the days of the Jatre or on some special occasions and therefore, sellers used to put their tents only on that special occasion. But at present, there are visitors on an everyday basis because of which people have started day to day business near the temple and now there are permanent shops rather than Maadesh 43 tents. But on the day of the Karanika Jatre people from nearby villages put up tents to sell sweets, bangles, toys, turmeric and kumkum and flowers. As the tradition of Mailaralinga Jatre became famous over the years among the people of Karnataka, many people started migrating towards
Mylara for starting small business like Pettige Aangadi (small shop). Business people target all age groups, for example, toy shops for kids, sweet stalls and other snack stalls for the elders and bangle stores for ladies, juice stalls and coffee shops for thirsty devotees.
Figure 21,22: Small shops and tents for selling the commodities (Yashwanth M)
During the Jatre, it is natural that relatives of villagers from other places are invited. The
Wodeyar family members dress like Goravas with the traditional Goravappas costume and they bless all the relatives by giving turmeric powder along with some flowers or coins or fruits. With this gesture they utter the future of the person for which in return the devotees pay cash. With the arrival of a huge crowd, there is an advantage for people who provide parking area in the fields and collect money. Some sit wearing the Gorava costume inside the temple premises in order to perform certain rituals which on the other usual days they don’t and earn money. Maadesh 44
Figure 23,24: Goravappas predicting devotees’ future (Yashwanth M)
3.5 Impact of Animal Rights Activism
The Goravappas use the Rumala (headgear) and side bag made using Bear hair and tiger skin respectively. Using parts of animals like hair and skin are considered illegal today. Animal conservation is a global concern and the Halumatha Kuruba community has woken up to this global requirement. Hence at present, Goravappas generally wear a cloth turban instead of wearing the Rumala. But when the Karanika is uttered the Gorava is supposed to use only Rumala and not the cloth turban. These Rumalas are ones which have been preserved from the time of the ancestors. Similarly, the side bag in which the Goravas used to carry turmeric powder and coins that they collect from the devotees who visit the temple, were initially made using the tiger skin which is a symbolic representation of the loyal tiger on which the Lord Mailara traveled, generally known the Vahana (vehicle) of Mailara. But now since its illegal people use bags made with a cloth which has a tiger skin print on it or simply carry a small cloth bag if they are unable to afford the tiger print bag. Maadesh 45
Figure 25,26: The Gorava using a cloth turban and on the other hand, Gorava wearing a Rumala
for a ritual (Yashwanth M and Prakash N)
Figure 27,28: The imitation of a tiger skin bag sold at the Jatre and a Gorava using a simple
cloth bag (Yashwanth M)
3.6 Entertainment
The audience travels from a long distance to celebrate, participate and witness the Jatre.
Some visit days before the Karanika in order to celebrate the pre-jatre rituals and the Mailaralinga Maadesh 46
Jatre attracts a huge crowd because of which people have to put tents to stay and cook in the same place. As they stay over for many days in the same place, they need some entertainment. People start businesses in the name of entertainment by staging dramas and circus.
Drama and circus provide relaxation for the village folks who would have worked throughout the year and these activities provide a change in the atmosphere. Drama and circus companies have commercial links with the Jatre. They come few weeks prior to the commencement of the Jatre and set up the stage for performances. Mylara is a village which is very interior and a place which has not been developed yet. Therefore, there are no film theatres but people put tents even to this day in the night and show old films of Dr. Rajkumar and Dr. Vishnuvardhan. A wide array of games such as Giant-Wheel, Slides, Horse Riding, and other joy rides are set up at different places for children. Magic tricks such as the body of a snake with a human head and a two-headed child, and young dancers dancing to the tune of film songs are some of the special attractions for audiences at the Jatre. Beth Mary Oliver and Bartsch Anne in the article “Appreciation of
Entertainment: The Importance of Meaningfulness via Virtue and Wisdom” opines that “The concepts of enjoyment and entertainment are so closely related that it seems that the words go hand-in-hand. Enjoyment is generally understood to be the motivation for entertainment consumption, the yardstick by which quality entertainment is judged, or the primary audience response that encapsulates the entertainment experience” (3). Entertainment thus makes the Jatre a hybrid space where tradition and global modernity enable community participation and collective identification.
Maadesh 47
3.7 Modes of Transportation
The tinkling sound of the cowbells, along with melodious folk songs sung by the women who travel in the bullock carts bring joy and happiness around. Elukoti Elukoti Changa Melo is the famous slogan uttered by those traveling by foot towards Mylara. Carts were the main mode of transportation. With the change in time people have started using other modes of transportation but the nearby villagers still visit the Jatre on bullock – carts and some use alternatives such as tractors similar to the bullock - carts. The government of Karnataka provides special bus facilities during the time of the Jatre. The buses are crowded with passengers with some who are forced to travel sitting on top of the vehicles.
Figure 29,30,31: People traveling to the Jatre in different modes of transportation
(Yashwanth M)
As the temple is located in the interior part of the village there is hardly any accommodation available for the visitors to stay over for many days because people have such habits of visiting lodges or staying as paying guests or in hostels within the village itself. The people of the village give place in their houses for their relatives and strangers as well. The Brahmin residents of the Maadesh 48 village allow people of other castes to stay in their houses during the Jatre, which is usually not permitted. This signifies the changing dynamics of caste hierarchies in collective spaces such as the
Jatre.
3.8 Security at the Jatre
A large number of devotees are monitored by the state police. Security is tightened during the time when deities are taken in procession, for their easy movement, and for the security of the idol. During the time of Karanika performance, distinguished persons and devotees are only allowed inside the circular fence where the Karanika is performed. Generally, in a Jatre like this, there is no need for high security as people maintain silence by themselves immediately when the
Goravappa climbs the bow and utters the word Saadale (silence).
Figure 32: The Police Security at the entrance of the temple premise, Mylara (Yashwanth M)
People at Mylara believe that the deity Jagrata Daiva would punish anti-social activities.
But in recent days, the police say that though there is no need of security to maintain silence, in the presence of huge crowd the number of pickpockets has increased. These people do not just monitor the crime at the Jatre but they act as a help desk for the visitors. The presence of police and other security forces highlights the fact that traditional forms of social control are disappearing and, rituals Maadesh 49 and superstitions alone do not suffice in a Jatre which now has hybrid and glocal presence and participation. Modern forms of social control thus become imperative.
3.9 Impact of Social Media
Social media is the most effective in spreading the information rapidly to a broad audience.
With the spread of technology worldwide, social media is becoming more abundant. The availability of social media creates global connections. These global connections make it possible for countries to share new and old narratives seamlessly. According to Dr. Lakhendra Bala in the article “A Study on the Influence of Mass Media on the Culture and Tradition of Singpho Tribe in
Tinsukia district of Assam, India” highlights “the word culture which nowadays is used in so many peripheral contexts that its original meaning has been submerged. For example, we have a popular culture” (65), which implies different modes of collective participation.
The Jatre is recorded live by temple authorities, telecasted in the regional news channels and also featured in various regional and national newspapers. The Jatre has become world famous and has started attracting many audiences not just from the Halumatha Kuruba community, but people around the world.
In the past, old ladies and men sang songs narrating the story of Lord Mailara. They used to sing these songs in groups, upholding the age-old oral tradition as and when rituals were performed. The Goravas sing and go around the houses on Sunday for begging. In the film Sri
Mylara Linga directed by Kate Gururaj talks about the history of the Mailaralinga. The background music to this particular scene in the film is the folk song sung by a group of women.
The songs represent their collective community identity. They identify themselves with their community when they chant songs on special occasions with other members of the community. In Maadesh 50 the present generation, there are singers and musicians who record oral folk songs and ballads and adapt them to modern music.
There are singers who are the devotees of Lord Mailara who have sung a lot of songs by praising the Lord and narrating the history of Mailara. The songs are very famous as many people got to know the history of Mailara through the songs, and even to this day these songs are played and sung by the devotees. Many albums are made by different music companies and sung by different artists. “Mailaralingana Jaatrege Hogona” sung by Archana, Shamitha, Shankar,
Shanbhog, K Yuvaraj, “Yelukoti Odeya” sung by Manjula Gururaj, and published by Ashwini recording company, Baro Mylaarake juke box sung by Dr. Raj Kumar which is published by the
Aditya Music, Omkara Roopa Sri Mailara audio Juke by Vijay Urs and Mahalakshmi and recorded by Jhankar Bhakti are some famous examples.
Figure 33,34: Sri Mailaralinga song albums (Youtube)
Few famous songs from the above mentioned albums are:
“Loka Palaka Neenayya O Mailaralingayya” – Manjula Gururaj
“Yelu O Myalaara” – Dr. Raj Kumar
“Mailara Lingana Nodiro” - Vijay URS and Mahalakshmi Maadesh 51
“Bharatha Hunnimeyu” - Vijay URS and Mahalakshmi
“Shivane Avathara” - Vijay URS and Mahalakshmi
3.10 Mailaralinga Jatre on Google and YouTube
Mailaralinga Jatre in google, but with minimal reference to the tradition and the rituals.
However, once YouTube gained prominence, short videos of the Jatre are uploaded by different people who attend the Jatre. The videos of Karanika are available on YouTube. As people watched videos and images of the Jatre, they started writing about glimpses of the Jatre, the tradition of
Mailara and rituals performed at the Jatre.
Figure 35,36: The Article which appeared in ‘The Hindu’ dated on 25 February 2016 and the
Karanika video on YouTube uploaded in the year 2017 (The Hindu and YouTube)
Popular culture is recognized as vernacular or people’s culture. Bilimale Purushotham gives the example of Yakshagaana in the article “From Sacred to Secular: Tale of Tension and
Contending Power Equations” and observes how the practice has moved from being a sacred ritual to becoming a secular performance which can be learned and performed by anyone at any, place and point of time. Similarly, the Mailaralinga Jatre which was once a sacred ritualistic tradition followed by the Halumatha Kuruba communities and had smaller number of audiences visiting Maadesh 52 the Jatre has become secular and part of popular culture, attracting audiences from all over the world.
Figure 37: People from a nearby Village visiting the Jatre (Yashwanth M)
Maadesh 53
Works Cited
Beth, Mary Oliver and Bartsch, Anne. “Appreciation of Entertainment: The Importance of
Meaningfulness via Virtue and Wisdom.” American Psychological Association, 2011, pp.
3.
Bilimale, Purushothama. “From Sacred to Secular: Tale of Tension and Contending Power
Equations.” Folklore, Public Sphere, and Civil Society, Indira Gandhi National Centre for
the Arts, 2004, pp. 171-176.
“Collective Identity”. Wikipedia, sociologyindex.com/collective-identity.htm.
Figure 33. Mahalakshmi. Vijay URS. Omkara Roopa Sri Mailara, YouTube, Jhankar Bhakti, Sep
11. 2017, youtu.be/PEDU3J_Df2s.
Figure 32. Dr. Rajkumar. Baaro Mylaarake, YouTube, Aditya Music Kannada Songs, Nov 8.
2015, youtu.be/Gr_dKlxbZok.
Figure 35. Ahiraj M. “The Gorava Utters the Mylara Karnika.” The Hindu, Feb 25. 2016,
www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/the-gorava-utters-the-mylara-
karnika/article8278300.ece.
Figure 36. “Mylara Lingeshwara Karnika at Mylara Lingeshwara Temple Bellary.” YouTube, Live
Karnataka, 2017, youtu.be/BpkRe6hPHxs.
Gururaj, Manjula. “Yelukoti Odeya.” YouTube, Ashwini Recording Company, Feb 12. 2018,
youtu.be/ils48yB-3po.
Gururaj, Manjula. “Loka Palaka Neenayya O Mailaralingayya.” Sri Mailaralingayya Devotional
Songs, YouTube, Ashwini Recording Company, Mar 20. 2017, youtu.be/EdcgMHtyQ7w. Maadesh 54
Kate, Gururaj, director. “Sri Mailara Linga.” YouTube, SRS Media Vision, Oct 29. 2015,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiEm6wtm6NY.
Dr. Kumar, Sushil Singh. “Globalization with Respect to its Impact on Indian Culture.” Lovely
Professional University, sites.google.com/site/drsushilseducare/clubs-activities/scholar-s-
bow-/3-globalization-with-respect-to-its-impact-on-indian-culture.
Dr. Lakhendra, Bala. “A Study on the Influence of Mass Media on the Culture and Tradition of
Singpho Tribe in Tinsukia District of Assam, India.” Journal of Business Management &
Social Sciences Research (JBM&SSR), 2014.
Mahalakshmi. Vijay URS. Omkara Roopa Sri Mailara, YouTube, Jhankar Bhakti, Sep 11. 2017,
youtu.be/PEDU3J_Df2s.
Mahalakshmi. Vijay URS. “Mailara Lingana Nodiro.” Omkara Roopa Sri Mailara, YouTube,
Jhankar Bhakti, Sep 11. 2017, youtu.be/PEDU3J_Df2s.
Mahalakshmi. Vijay URS. “Bharatha Hunnimeyu.” Omkara Roopa Sri Mailara, YouTube, Jhankar
Bhakti, Sep 11. 2017, youtu.be/PEDU3J_Df2s.
Mahalakshmi. Vijay URS. “Shivane Avathara.” Omkara Roopa Sri Mailara, YouTube, Jhankar
Bhakti, Sep 11. 2017, youtu.be/PEDU3J_Df2s.
Mahalakshmi. Vijay URS. “Mailara Lingana Nodiro.” Omkara Roopa Sri Mailara, YouTube,
Jhankar Bhakti, Sep 11. 2017, youtu.be/PEDU3J_Df2s.
“Mylara Lingeshwara Karnika at Mylara Lingeshwara Temple Bellary.” YouTube, Live
Karnataka, Feb 18. 2017, youtu.be/BpkRe6hPHxs.
Nurse Keith. “Globalization and Trinidad Carnival: Diaspora, Hybridity and Identity in Global Maadesh 55
Culture.” Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, pp.661,
www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10./080/095023899335095.
Peterson, Abby. “Social Movement Theory.” Acta Sociologica, vol. 32, no. 4, JSTOR, JSTOR,
1989, pp. 419–426. www.jstor.org/stable/4200771.
Dr. Rajkumar. Baaro Mylaarake, YouTube, Aditya Music Kannada Songs, Nov 8. 2015,
youtu.be/Gr_dKlxbZok.
Dr. Rajkumar. “Yelu O Myalaara.” Baaro Mylaarake, YouTube, Aditya Music Kannada Songs,
Nov 8. 2015, youtu.be/Gr_dKlxbZok.
Wang, Ying. “The impact of festivals and events on city image: A Case Analysis of the Ningbo
International Fashion Festival.” IFFAIR NINGBO, Erasmus University, 2009, pp. 12.
Maadesh 56
Chapter – 4
Conclusion
4.1 Mailaralinga Jatre as Historiographic Resistance Narrative
Aesthetically, narrative is an integral and pervasive element in all forms of literary
and artistic expressions. It can be anything that tells or presents a story; be it a
text, a picture, a performance, or a combination of these. In other words, it is a
form of communication which presents a sequence of events caused and
experienced by characters in genres like novels, plays, films, comic strips, and so
on. Narrative is, therefore, an indirect way of representing a reality. Narrative can
be appropriated to represent the self or the identity in various discursive practices.
(Vijai Vineetha, ashvamegh.net/visions-of-resistance-impact-of-colonialism-on-
different-nations/)
Folklore traditions are usually considered as resistance narratives as they are different from mainstream rituals and so is the Mailaralinga Jatre. Mailaralinga Jatre evolved out of the inequality of power relations. In the earlier days, only people from the upper caste were allowed to perform rituals at the temples and people from the lower castes were not allowed to even enter the shrine. Slowly people from the lower backgrounds started performing poojas and rituals at their Kula Daiva (house deity) temples. Folk traditions have a long history and have been practiced outside of hegemonic rituals of temple worship over which upper caste traditions had a strong hold. In the process of being excluded and alienated from spaces, texts and contexts of
Brahmanical Hindu traditions, folk traditions such as Jatre have historically evolved as intense speech-acts of belonging and identity to one’s caste and community, thereby reinforcing performance as collective acts of resistance. Mailaralinga Jatre, through Karanika, Pavada Maadesh 57
Utsava and Goravara Kunitha gives visibility to the resistance narrative of Halumatha Kuruba
Communities.
As Myrsiades Linda opines, “Narrative is a corporealizing way of constructing unconscious and local experience that "plots" the confused particulars of both the everyday and its underlying unexpressed values” (101, 102). The Jatre thus consolidates the unexpressed values of the Halumatha Kuruba community and the politics of caste identity, experienced and lived on an everyday basis, within the larger caste hegemonies.
Wilfred Felix underlines “Historiographies of everyday life have reference to people and groups who refuse to be objects of history but want to be the active subjects in creating their own narratives” (80). Felix points out that this form of history is the uneventful history of everyday life.
Halumatha Kuruba community actively tries to be subjects in creating their own narratives through performances such as Karanika and Pavada Utsava during the time of the Jatre and some similar poojes on other days within their family backgrounds on occasions such as house warming ceremonies and Kula Daivatha pooje.
Figure 33: Goravappas performing the pooje for the house warming ceremony
(Prakash N) Maadesh 58
4.2 Contribution
The project contributes to the understanding of performance narrative in folklore. The researcher has classified Mailaralinga Jatre under folklore and performance narratives. The project re-examines the history of Halumatha Kuruba through the performance narrative of the
Jatre. This project underlines the dynamics of caste and the counter hegemonic discourse of Jatre.
Finally, the project has explored secular aspects of the Jatre through a close examination of inclusivity, heterogeneity and globalization.
4.3 Limitation
The project doesn’t focus on the varied rituals performed at the different temples of
Mailara in Karnataka. The researcher has not focused on the traditions and rituals followed at
Komuravelli of Lord Mallayya in Telangana and Khandoba tradition at Jejuri, Maharashtra, India
4.4 Scope for Further Research
The further scope for research is a comparative analysis of Mailaralinga Jatre and
Veerabadhra Jatre. It is believed that during the battle, between lord Mailaralinga and the demons
Mallasura and Manikasura. Lord Veerabadra, struck the earth with his long hair and the
Kanchaviras emerged from the earth. And the Kanchaviras who came out from the earth with the help of veerabadra confronted the demons and handed them over to Lord Mailara. Since Mailara and Veerabadra Jatres have narratives in common, there is scope for comparative research.
Further a comparative study between the traditions and Jatres of Karnataka (Mailaralinga),
Telangana (Mallayya) and Maharashtra (Khandoba) can be taken up to add to the canvas of
Mailara traditions as resistance folk narratives.
Maadesh 59
4.5 Conclusion
Research on Mailaralinga Jatre reveals the dynamic nature of folklore. The Jatre has evolved from tenth century to contemporary times, taking into account historical shifts, economic influences and the impact of a post-industrial, globalized world. As people from the community have migrated and with increasing multi-culturalism, it becomes increasingly important to document the cultural history of the community. Folklore, being an important historiographic narrative of cultural history, the researcher has attempted to define both identity and community consciousness among Halumatha Kurubas through their most significant folk performance, the
Mailaralinga Jatre. The dissertation integrates mythology, religion, caste and ritualized performance in its analysis of Mailaralinga Jatre as a folk narrative. As a historiographic discourse of collective consciousness, the Mailaralinga Jatre thus emerges as a dynamic space for divergence and convergences with main stream society and culture.
Maadesh 60
Works Cited
Myrsiades Linda. “Constituting Resistance: Narrative Construction and the Social Theory
of Resistance”. University of Nebraska Press, JSTOR, Vol 1, No. 2, 1993, pp.
101-102.
Vijai Vineetha. “Visions of Resistance: Impact of colonialism on Different Nations”.
Ashvamegh Team, 15 Dec, 2017, ashvamegh.net/visions-of-resistance-impact-of-
colonialism-on-different-nations/.
Wilfred Felix. “Alternative Historiographies: Changing Paradigms of Power”. The
Struggle for the Past: Historiography Today, Department of Christian Studies,
2002, pp. 80.
Maadesh 61
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i
APPENDICES
Appendix I
Personal Interviews
(Directly Translated from Kannada to English)
1. Interview with Goravappa (Junjappa)
Researcher: Namaste, sir. I have come here for my research. Please tell me about your experience at the Jatre of Mailara. Sir, what is your name? How old are you and where are you from?
Junjappa: My name is Junjappa. I am 52 years old and I have come from a nearby village, Haveri
Researcher: Sir, from how long have you been visiting the Jatre of Mailaralinga at Mylara?
Junjappa: From my childhood, I have been visiting the Jatre every year on Bharatha Hunnime.
My parents would come every year and now my family and I are following the same
Researcher: Do you wear the ethnic Gorava costume only on the day of the Jatre or on different occasions?
Junjappa: I wear this dress on the day of the Jatre and even on other festival days when we visit the temple
Researcher: Do you belong to Halumatha Kuruba community? And is this your house deity? ii
Junjappa: Yes, we belong to Halumatha Kuruba community and Lord Mailaralinga is our house deity
Researcher: What is your experience about the Jatre?
Junjappa: I feel very happy to be a part of this Jatre. We get together here once in a while. My family comes here two days in advance. We invite all our relatives and friends to the Jatre. When we come here, we don’t get rooms and place to stay, hence we bring our own tractor and bullock cart. When we travel, we enjoy the ride and when we come here, we put up tents near our vehicle and stay here overnight
We eat food from the temple (prasada). When we stay here people from different regions would have set up entertainments for every age group. From morning to evening we celebrate different rituals and bless the visitors. In the evening we all visit the drama or film tent or take children to play in the play area specially set up for them
Figure 1: Devotees having Prasada at Sri Mailaralinga Temple iii
Most of the guests arrive on the previous night and we put up tents near the temple premises for our family members. We all actively involve ourselves in the pooja rituals performed on the night before the Karanika Utsava. On the day of the Jatre, we prepare food for all the guests early in the morning and then we all walk towards the temple to take blessings of the Lord Sri
Mailaralinga. We all wear the Gorava costume, ladies and gents, and as we walk, we bless the devotees. When we see the devotees, the Lord makes us utter a prophecy about the person who stands in front of us and we utter those words along with giving turmeric powder to the devotees.
If they are interested, they give us money in return
Then we come back to our tents, eat food and walk towards the Denchana Maradi to hear the Karanika of the year. Though the Karanika starts only in the evening at around 5 PM, people start assembling at the Karanika ground right from 10 AM to sit closer to Goravappa so that they are able to hear the Karanika properly
Researcher: Do you return to your village on the same day or do you all stay back?
Junjappa: The guests go back but a few members from every family stay back and perform rituals on the night of the Karanika and then the next day we celebrate Pavada Utsava. If we have any arike (wishes), we fulfill the arike. Generally, arike would be in the form of Pavada rituals. Even if there is no arike some devotees still take part in the Pavada Utsava on this day iv
Figure 2: Devotees of different age groups performing the Pavada Utsava by Whipping
themselves (Yashwanth M)
Researcher: Is it mandatory for everyone in the family to perform the Pavada Utsava?
Junjappa: It depends on whose name the arike is made and that particular person needs to fulfill the arike to the God
Researcher: Thank you so much, sir, for spending your time and providing valuable information
Figure 3: Interview with Gorava Junjappa (Yashwanth M) v
2. Interview with Goravappa (Hanumanthappa)
Researcher: Namaste, I have come here to conduct research on the Jatre. I would like to know about you and your experience of the Jatre
Hanumanthappa: My name is Hanumanthappa. I am 74 years old, I have been coming here from the time I was eight, before which I was with my grandparents and my mother never used to bring me here as I had some health issues. But once I went back with my family to Hoovina Hadaghalli my mother always used to tell me that she didn’t have kids for many years and I was born with the blessing of Lord Mailaralinga. Mailaralinga was our house deity and my mother had taken arike to God that if she gives birth to a child then she would bring me here every year. Since I was away from my native village for seven years, only my mother came here every year and performed Urulu
Seve (rolling around the temple premises) on the day of Pavada Utsava
From the time I started coming here, my mother stopped doing the Urulu Seve. I come here every year and offer pooja to the God. I get milk, newly harvested paddy, ghee, and jaggery from home and cook here in large pots and distribute prasada to the devotees. Initially, my mother used to cook and I would distribute the prasada. After my mother’s death, my wife started to cook and at present my son and daughter- in -law are following the practice vi
Figure 5: Hanumanthappa and his wife (Yashwanth M)
Researcher: Do you invite friends and relatives or attend the Jatre only with family?
Hanumanthappa: During my childhood, my mother and father used to invite all their close relatives. Our family was a joint family of thirty-six members and all of us travelled by the bullock carts. Our family was the biggest in the village and we enjoyed coming to the Jatre for which we all waited eagerly. My father got new clothes for everyone in the family and we decorated the bullock carts. During the journey, my grandmother, mother, and aunts sang songs of Mailara. This is something I miss now, as my son works in the city and he brought us here in his car. During those days, as most of our relatives stayed close to the village, they came to the Jatre. But now almost everyone has moved to cities and no one is here at present vii
Even our big family is all scattered now and all my cousins have moved away as their children have settled down in Bengaluru. We do invite each and every one, every year and a few of them visit the Jatre if it falls on weekends or on some government holidays. But generally, its only my family that attends the Jatre
Researcher: Have the Jatre rituals changed over time?
Hanumanthappa: There are a lot of changes, during the olden days people traveled only by walk or on bullock carts. At present we hardly see people walking, as the Jatre is well-known worldwide, and the government is taking all possible steps to help the devotees and hence they provide special bus facilities at the time of the Jatre
Initially, only people from Kuruba community mainly from the Gorava families who belong to Halumatha Kuruba community and people from Golla communities visited the Jatre.
So, the first year I visited the Jatre, probably the crowd would have only been around thirty to fifty thousand people which was a huge crowd for us. Now, there are more than seven lakh devotees visiting the Jatre every year. People from different castes and religions are allowed to visit the temple
The current generation looks at the new face of the Jatre as development but for us, this is something we can’t digest. We have gotten used to this development and changed accordingly.
But with this development, crimes have increased immensely. Pickpockets and chain snatchers viii visit the Jatre as devotees and we aren’t able to differentiate between them and true devotees. I would anytime prefer the Jatre to be like how it was years back, restricted only to the Kuruba,
Golla and Kanchavira communities
Researcher: Thank you, sir for taking time and sharing your experience with me
3. Interview with Devotee (Bhama)
Researcher: Good Afternoon, Madam. I have come here to do my research and wanted to talk to you about the ritual that you just performed. I would like to know your name and age
Interviewee: My name is Bhama and I am 33 years old
Researcher: Ma’am, the ritual that you just performed looked very different from that of the others. What is the reason behind such arike?
Bhama: Madam, I was married at the age of eighteen and I didn’t have kids for about ten years.
People in the village considered me as a barren woman. We are from a Dalit community and right from my childhood I was kept away from most of the rituals in the village. My friends from other castes enjoyed all the Jatres and rituals but during those days we used to stand apart and witness the rituals or we just stayed back at home helping our mother in her daily chores
When I was married, I was happier than before as my husband’s family was living in the city which was more inclusive. I attended all the family functions and we used to visit the houses ix of my husband’s friends without any social barriers. There was no caste discrimination among his friends. I lived a happy life for the first two to three years after the wedding. But then after that started the major problem of my life and my family never used to take me out for any family functions and when I adamantly went, the questions that people used to ask me was very hurtful to me and my family. After few days, I eventually avoided going out. Then when all his friends had children, they started advising us a lot and so even my husband stopped taking me out and thought there was no happiness when I was around. I came back to my parents’ house but how long could I stay there? People there as well started asking me about children and that is when one of my mother’s sisters told me to do arike to Sri Mailaralinga. When I came here with my parents,
I saw people performing Pavada Utsava and so I made arike to God praying that if I am blessed with a child, I will perform the Pavada Utsava. After four years I was blessed with a healthy boy and from then on, I am performing this ritual
Figure 6, 7: Bhama performing Mandi Hejje Namaskara – Pavada Utsava (Yashwanth M) x
Researcher: Thank you very much for spending your time and sharing this personal information for my research
4. Interview with Devotee (Krishna and family)
Researcher: Good Afternoon, Sir. I have come here for my research and I would like to know about your experiences at Mailaralinga
Interviewee: Ma’am my name is Krishna and I have come from Haveri. This is my wife
Radhamma and my son Aloka
Researcher: Sir, I have been watching you from past fifteen minutes and you are asking your son to perform the Pavada Utsava. Why are you forcing this small boy to perform such rituals?
Krishna: Ma’am we are following this ritual from the time he was born. We didn’t have kids for almost five years and we were worried and so we got to know from one of my neighbours about the Mailaralinga temple. When we came here and spoke to the archakas about the problem that we were facing, they told us that Lord Mailara will help us. On our way back home, we met a devotee making their son perform this ritual and I was very curious to know why that small boy was asked to perform such ritual. That family told us that only after the arike at Mailara they were blessed with a son. Even we made the same arike to the Lord and after two years we were blessed with a boy child xi
Researcher: Sir don’t you think all this is just a superstitious belief?
Krishna: Madam for people like you who are educated and who see the world with scientific eyes, all these rituals may look like superstitious beliefs. For people like us who just live with the hope that God is always with us, we know that all these are not superstitions but miracles. All we know is that we are the children of God. So we believe in such rituals and from the time we were blessed with our son till he was three years old, I was performing this ritual. From the last four years my son has been performing the rituals. He holds the fire with the help of a lamp holder and takes three rounds around the shrine of Mailaralinga. We have taught him the ritual and he will be performing this ritual every year till the end of his life
Researcher: Sir, do you think that the kids of the present generation will continue to believe in such rituals? Do you think they will follow all this twenty or thirty year down the lane?
Krishna: Madam, I have no idea whether our kids will think like us in future but its our duty to spread the knowledge of such old traditions and about God. If we give up, the coming generations will forget God completely and they will all be stuck only with the world of science. India is known for different cultures and traditions and so these traditions and rituals must be kept alive for future and so it’s our duty to make our children believe in such rituals and traditions. It is up to them to take this forward or stop once they grow up
Researcher: Sir, are you from the Kuruba community? xii
Krishna: No, madam. We are from the Madiga community (Scheduled Caste) and I am proud to participate in one of the traditions of Mailara because unlike the other temples in villages they don’t discriminate us on the basis of caste. We are allowed to take part in the rituals and even I perform the Pavada Utsava
Researcher: What kind of Pavada Utsava do you perform and why?
Krishna: Madam, I perform the ritual that the Kanchaviras perform in front of Lord Mailaralinga.
We just stand in groups and perform this ritual of self-punishment. In this ritual we wear dancers’ anklets and dance in front of the God by performing Chauti Seve (whipping)
Researcher: Sir, if you don’t mind can I talk to Aloka briefly?
Krishna: Yes, Madam.
Researcher: Hi, Aloka. Do you enjoy coming to the Jatre?
Aloka: Yes, sister. I love coming to the Jatre as my parents get me new clothes. When we come here, we get to stay for two days and my dad gets me everything I ask for
Researcher: Do you enjoy doing this pooja?
Alok: Yes, sister.
Researcher: Why do you like doing this? xiii
Alok: My dad likes me doing this pooja and so even I am happy to do this. When I perform these rituals, my dad stays with me the entire day. Otherwise, he is busy with work
Researcher: Thank you
Researcher to Krishna: Thank you sir, for spending time with me and sharing personal information about your family beliefs
Figure 8, 9: A small boy performing Pavada Utsava at the temple of Sri Mailaralinga
(Yashwanth M)
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5. Interview with Devotee and stall owner (Geetha)
Researcher: Hi, Madam. I have come from Bangalore, I am doing my research on Mailaralinga
Jatre. Can you spend some time talking to me about your business and experience at the Jatre?
Interviewee: Yes, Madam.
Researcher: May I know your name and age?
Interviewee: My name is Geetha and I am forty years old
Researcher: Madam, are you from the same village?
Geetha: No, madam. We are from Tumkur district and we belong to the Kuruba community. My husband’s family used to visit the Jatre every year and they thought this would be the best place for business. My father-in-law slowly started the business (setting up stalls) at the time of the Jatre and our shop had everything that the devotees wanted during the Jatre and the shop was very famous
Later, my father-in-law came to this village and stayed in a small hut and put up a tent near the temple for the devotees who visit on a regular basis and our store became very famous. Now we have a permanent shop here and we sell everything including turmeric powder (which is very famous at Mailara), coconuts, banana, agarbathis (incense sticks) and ghee
Researcher: Madam, do you all work together in the shop every day? xv
Geetha: No, only my in-laws take care of the shop. We open the shop only for one hour in the morning and two to three hours in the evening on a regular basis and on Sundays, we keep it open all day long. On Sundays, my husband and son take care of the shop. But a week before the Jatre, we all get holidays and hence we all join hands and work throughout the day as this is the major business of the year. We all stay in the shop throughout the day and we have the prasada from the temple for lunch and dinner
Researcher: It is nice to see your unity and the way you all join hands even to this day to develop this business. But won’t your business get affected as there are many stalls here?
Geetha: We have regular customers from the past thirty years and they all visit only our shop.
Moreover, all the other shops sell select things but we sell everything that the devotees require at the time of the Jatre. Its business time for everyone so people from various nearby villages bring in their commodities and put up tents where ever they find place. But ours is a permanent shop and as we know people from the village well, other stalls won’t affect our business
Researcher: Thank you, ma’am for sharing information regarding your business. Nice meeting you xvi
Figure 10: Geetha’s family at their shop near Sri Mailaralinga temple (Yashwanth M)
Figure 11,12,13: Stalls, tents and women doing business at the temple entrance (Yashwanth M) xvii
Appendix II
Personal Experience
1. About the Miraculous Stones at the Entrance of Dodda Mailara
While we visited the Dodda Mailara for the second time after the Jatre there were very few people in the temple. Dodda Mailara even today is very famous like Chikka Mailara. When we were about to leave the temple, I saw a man near the entrance of the temple trying to lift a huge stone and I was surprised to see that because in all my visits to these two temples I saw that ritual for the first time. When asked, the person told me that it is a belief that they are following from their ancestors’ time. He said that when a devotee prays for something and tries to lift the stone, he or she will be able to lift it only if his/her wishes would come true.
Figure 14,15: The Miraculous stone at the entrance of Dodda Mailara (Yashwanth M) xviii
Figure 16: A devotee trying to lift the Miraculous stone (Yashwanth M)
Figure 17: The researcher lifting the miraculous stone (Yashwanth M)
xix
2. The Shiva Linga – Sri Mailaralinga
The main deity at Chikka Mailara is Mailaralinga and the main deity is not shown to every visitor. The deity is covered with the idol of the Lord and the Shiva Linga is hidden below the idol.
When interviewed, the archaka of the temple said that the main deity will not be shown to everyone. Only for certain main poojas and abhishekas (ritual of washing or anointing) they remove the idol and perform pooja to the Shiva Linga. As I was talking to the priest about my research, he showed us the main Shiva Linga, the main deity. The stone which is considered as
Mailara is covered with a silver plate in the shape of a Linga. The idol that is on top of the Linga is also made out of silver and the deity on top which looks like the main deity is built using mud.
Figure 18: Sri Mailaralinga - Shiva Linga (Yashwanth M) xx
Figure 19: Lord Mailaralinga as seen by devotees (Yashwanth M)
xxi
Glossary
Arike: Giving thank for the wishes fulfilled
Archaka: Priest
Bandara: Colour powder
Besta: OBC community of Karnataka
Cati: Whip
Cavuri: Fan made of a hair-like fiber that is usually used to fan people belonging to the royal status
Damaru: Hand drum; leather percussion instrument
Doni: Square-shaped bowl for meals
Elukoti: Seven crores
Goravas/ Goravappas: Minstrels of Lord Mailara
Goravammas: Female Goravas
Habba: Festival
Holeya: Scheduled caste of Karnataka
Jagratha Daiva: The God who protects criminal activities in the village
Jatre: Carnival/ Fair
Jubba: Men’s Kurta
Kari Haladha Mara: Banyan tree
Karadi: Bear
Karanika: Oracle or prophecy
Kinnari: A string instrument
Kolalu: Flute xxii
Kudure: Horse
Kula Daivatha: House deity
Kuri: Sheep
Kuruba: Shepherd community
Lamani: Nomadic tribes (generally known as Lambani)
Maddale: A drum like instrument
Madiga: A tanner outcaste (Dalit)
Mailara/ Mailaralinga: The avatar of Lord Shiva
Moksha: Salvation
Mylara: The place where the Mailaralinga temple is located
Nayi: Dog
Nagabetha: A wooden stick
Odabu: Song sung in praise of Lord Mailara
Pavada: Miraculous deeds
Paarigante: Cow bell
Prasada: Part of the offerings made to the deities are given to the devotees after worship
Rumala: Headgear
Sarapali: Chain
Sastra Pavada: Ritual where the Kanchaviras pierce iron rods through their legs
Uppara: OBC community of Karnataka
Vahana: Vehicle
Vibhuti: Ash Powder
Wodeyar: Chief priest