Wāghya
Wāghya,[1] Vāghe, Murli.—An order of mendicant devotees of the god Khandoba, an incarnation of Siva; they belong to the Marātha Districts and Bombay where Khandoba is worshipped. The term Wāghya is derived from vāgh, a tiger, and has been given to the order on account of the small bag of tiger-skin, containing bhandār, or powdered turmeric, which they carry round their necks. This has been consecrated to Khandoba and they apply a pinch of it to the foreheads of those who give them alms. Murli, signifying ‘a flute’ is the name given to female devotees. Wāghya is a somewhat indefinite term and in the Central Provinces does not strictly denote a caste. The order originated in the practice followed by childless mothers of vowing to Khandoba that if they should bear a child, their first-born should be devoted to his service. Such a child became a Wāghya or Murli according as it was a boy or a girl. But they were not necessarily severed from their own caste and might remain members of it and marry in it. Thus there are Wāghya Telis in Wardha, who marry with other Telis. The child might also be kept in the temple for a period and then withdrawn, and nowadays this is always done. The children of rich parents sometimes simply remain at home and worship Khandoba there. But they must beg on every Sunday from at least five persons all their lives. Another practice, formerly existing, was for the father and mother to vow that if a child was born they would be swung. They were then suspended from a wooden post on a rope by an iron hook inserted in the back and swung round four or five times. The sacred turmeric was applied to the wound and it quickly healed up. Others would take a Wāghya child to Mahādeo’s cave in Pachmarhi and let it fall from the top of a high tree. If it lived it was considered to be a Rāja of Mahādeo, and if it died happiness might confidently be anticipated for it in the next birth. Besides the children who are dedicated to Khandoba, a man may become a Wāghya either for life or for a certain period in fulfilment of a vow, and in the latter case will be an ordinary member of his own caste again on its termination. The Wāghyas and Murlis who are permanent members of the order sometimes also live together and have children who are brought up in it. The constitution of the order is therefore in several respects indefinite, and it has not become a self-contained caste, though there are Wāghyas who have no other caste.
Wāghya mendicants
The following description of the dedication of children to Khandoba is taken from the Bombay Gazetteer[2]. When parents have to dedicate a boy to Khandoba they go to his temple at Jejuri in Poona on any day in the month of Chaitra (March-April). They stay at a Gurao’s house and tell him the object of their visit. The boy’s father brings offerings and they go in procession to Khandoba’s temple. There the Gurao marks the boy’s brow with turmeric, throws turmeric over his head, fastens round his neck a deer-or tiger-skin wallet hung from a black woollen string and throws turmeric over the god, asking him to take the boy. The Murlis or girls dedicated to the god are married to him between one and twelve years of age. The girl is taken to the temple by her parents accompanied by the Gurao priest and other Murlis. At the temple she is bathed and her body rubbed with turmeric, with which the feet of the idol are also anointed. She is dressed in a new robe and bodice, and green glass bangles are put on her wrists. A turban and sash are presented to the god, and the guru taking a necklace of nine cowries (shells) fastens it round the girl’s neck. She then stands before the god, a cloth being held between them as at a proper wedding, and the priest repeats the marriage verses. Powdered turmeric is thrown on the heads of the girl and of the idol, and from that day she is considered to be the wife of Khandoba and cannot marry any other man. When a Murli comes of age she sits by herself for four days. Then she looks about for a patron, and when she succeeds in getting one she calls a meeting of her brethren, the Wāghyas, and in their presence the patron says, ‘I will fill the Murli’s lap.’ The Wāghyas ask him what he will pay and after some haggling a sum is agreed on, which thirty years ago varied between twenty-five and a hundred rupees. If it is more than Rs. 50 a half of the money goes to the community, who spend it on a feast. With the balance the girl buys clothes for herself. She lives with her patron for as long as he wishes to keep her, and is then either attached to the temple or travels about as a female mendicant. Sometimes a married woman will leave her home and become a Murli, with the object as a rule of leading a vicious life.
A man who takes a vow to become a Wāghya must be initiated by a guru, who is some elder member of the order. The initiation takes place early on a Sunday morning, and after the disciple is shaved, bathed and newly clad, the guru places a string of cowries round his neck and gives him the tiger-skin bag in which the turmeric is kept. He always retains much reverence for his guru, and invokes him with the exclamation, ‘Jai Guru,’ before starting out to beg in the morning. The following articles are carried by the Wāghyas when begging. The dapdi a circular single drum of wood, covered with goat-skin, and suspended to the shoulder. The chouka consists of a single wire suspended from a bar and passing inside a hollow wooden conical frame. The wire is struck with a stick to produce the sound. The ghāti is an ordinary temple bell; and the kutumba is a metal saucer which serves for a begging-bowl. This is considered sacred, and sandalwood is applied to it before starting out in the morning. The Wāghyas usually beg in parties of four, each man carrying one of these articles. Two of them walk in front and two behind, and they sing songs in praise of Khandoba and play on the instruments. Every Wāghya has also the bag made of tiger-skin, or, if this cannot be had, of deer-skin, and the cowrie necklace, and a seli or string of goat-hair round the neck. Alms, after being received in the kutumba or saucer, are carried in a bag, and before setting out in the morning they put a little grain in this bag, as they think that it would be unlucky to start with it empty. At the end of the day they set out their takings on the ground and make a little offering of fire to them, throwing a pinch of turmeric in the air in the name of Khandoba. The four men then divide the takings and go home. Marāthas, Murlis and Telis are the castes who revere Khandoba, and they invite the Wāghyas to sing on the Dasahra and also at their marriages. In Bombay the Wāghyas force iron bars through their calves and pierce the palms of their hands with needles. To the needle a strip of wood is attached, and on this five lighted torches are set out, and the Wāghya waves them about on his hand before the god.[3] Once in three years each Wāghya makes a pilgrimage to Khandoba’s chief temple at Jejuri near Poona, and there are also local temples to this deity at Hinganghāt and Nāgpur. The Wāghyas eat flesh and drink liquor, and their social and religious customs resemble those of the Marāthas and Kunbis.
[1] This article is partly based on a paper by Pandit Pyāre Lāl Misra, ethnographic clerk.
[2] Vol. xx. pp. 189–190.
[3] Bombay Gazetteer; vol. xxii. p. 212.