RANCHI: As
Hindus across the world observes Durga Puja or
Navratri, a small group of
tribals in
Jharkhand are in mourning. While most celebrate Goddess Durga slaying the Demon King, the Asur tribe from Jharkhand and
West Bengal
will observe Mahishasur Martyrdom Day on Mahanavami and remember how an
"outsider" used trickery and illusion to kill their ancestor.
Asurs believe they are descendants of 'Hudur-Durga' -- the Santhal name
for Mahishasur -- and do not worship any god. They say that the Devi
Mahatmya story of the Markandeya Purana, which describes the birth of
Durga and her nine-day battle with Mahishasura, is biased. According to
them, the birth of Durga from the conjoined powers of Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva was a "crooked conspiracy".
The tribals now have help
from experts and academics to bring their perspective to the forefront.
Started three years ago in Kassipore area of Purulia district in West
Bengal to search for tribal roots of Indian mythology, an organization
called 'Shikar Dishum Kherwal Veer Lokachar Committee' has gone from
strength to strength and now invites tribal counterparts from
neighbouring states to Purulia later this month to help out with their
mission.
A team from Jharkhand -- comprising Sushma Asur,
Vandana Tete, Ashwining Pankaj and other new-age activists researching
tribal literature -- are set to participate in the programme this year.
Sushma, a member of the primitive tribe group (PTG), features
prominently on a Facebook page titled 'Asur Aadivasi Documentation
Initiative'. She urged other communities - particularly those in the
power corridors from 'Akhra', a platform for tribals to promote their
art, culture and literature -- to stop celebrating the assassination of
their ancestor with "such grandeur".
"Ravan and Mahishasur are
our ancestors and the celebration of their killing by trickery must not
continue the way it has for centuries," she said. "The so-called upper
caste always had a grip over documentation of Indian mythology and that
is the reason why the tribal perspective never got highlighted."
The tribal belief is part of an oral tradition. Vandana Tete, who has
been documenting unwritten tribal folklore, said: "Tribal tales are
mostly in oral form and from various Santhal, Asur and Porku folktales
we have figured out that Mahishasur was a king and he was killed by
Durga. The incident has never been revered in our community. Civilized
society should give equal place to all perspectives."
Admitting
that comprehensive research has not been done to look into the real
history of mythological events, Tete said
the ritual of Durga Puja was
sponsored by the erstwhile East India Company for the zamindar families
of Bengal to create a socio-religious divide among the tribals and the
upper caste. Today, few Asurs, especially the younger
generation, know who Mahishasura was and what he means to their
community and the activists hope to change that. Soon after the
gathering in Purulia, the tribals will congregate at
Jawaharlal Nehru
University in New Delhi on October 26 to raise their voice against the
"centuries-old systematic repression of their culture and religion".
