Folk Lore Notes. Vol. I—Gujarat

by A. M. T. Jackson

In some villages, the office of the bhuvā is hereditary, and lands have been assigned to them in remuneration for their duty[80]. In addition to this religious calling, a bhuvā often follows some other profession as that of agriculture, weaving or spinning.[81]

The bhuvā generally belongs to some low caste and may be a Koli, Bharvād, Rabāri, Vāghri or even a Chamār. The bhuvās are also known as pothiās. One good qualification for becoming a bhuvā is to possess the habit of throwing one’s self into convulsive fits followed by a state of trance, especially on hearing the beating of a dānklān (drum). At such a time the mātā or devi is supposed to possess the person of the bhuvā and to speak out her wishes on being questioned. Some bhuvās are regularly possessed by some devi or mātā on every Sunday or Tuesday.[82]

A typical bhuvā has a braid of hair on his head, puts one or more iron or copper anklets round his leg or elbow, and makes a mark with red lead on his forehead. A bhuvā attending upon the goddess Meldi is generally[83] a Vāghri by caste and always wears dirty clothes. A Bharvād bhuvā has generally a silver anklet round his waist. A bhuvā has to observe a fast on all the nine days of the Nav-rātras. If a bhuvā happens to come across another bhuvā in convulsive fits or in a trance, he must need go into fits as well.

Generally speaking every bhuvā keeps an image of his favourite mātā in or near his own dwelling. Generally he erects a hut for the purpose and hoists a flag upon it. Near the image are placed a number of conch-shells and stones and brooms of peacock feathers. The deity is not systematically worshipped every day but receives adoration every Sunday and Tuesday. Sometimes the bhuvā has a disciple—a sevaka—who does the duty of dashing bell-metal cymbals at the time when the bhuvā throws himself in a trance.[84]

When a new bhuvā is to be initiated into the profession, he is made to sit before an image of the mātā, where he goes into convulsive fits while the dānklān vagādnārs beat the drums and loudly recite hymns in honour of the deity. Afterwards he is taken to a cemetery accompanied by the drummers and an expert bhuvā, where the latter marks out a square on the ground with the edge of a sword. The novice is asked to lie prostrate within the area thus marked out and to get up and lie again, doing the same four times, each time with his head towards each of the four quarters. The bhuvā who initiates the novice and who is thenceforth considered to be the guru or preceptor of the latter, ties a rākhadi (a piece of silk thread) round the elbow of the pupil.[85]

Every bhuvā is required to propitiate his favourite goddess every third year, the ceremony which is then performed being called Khad-Khadya-besādvi. This is performed either during the Nav-rātra holidays or during the bright half of either the month of Māgh or Chaitra. All the bhuvās in the village are invited on the occasion, when there is gānjā-smoking or bhāng-drinking, partly at night. After the supper which follows this party, all the bhuvās gather together and go into convulsive fits till they are almost suffocated. Cocoanuts are then dedicated and cracked before the mātā, and the kernel is distributed among those present. The party then break up.[86]

It is believed by some people that the spirit of a Muhammadan saint, living or dead, dwells in such trees as the Khijado, i.e., Shami (Prosopis spicigera) and Bāval, i.e., Bābhul (Acacia arabica). It is known by the name of chitharia that is, the ragged Pir. It is a common belief that if a mother fails to offer a rag or a piece of cloth to such a holy tree while passing by it, her children run the risk of falling ill. Women and ignorant people, therefore, make a point of offering rags to such trees whenever they happen to pass by them.[87]

According to another belief, travellers, in order to accomplish their journey safely, offer rags to such of the Khijado, Bāval or Limdo (Nim) trees as are reputed to be the residences of spirits, if they happen to be on their road.[88]

Some believe that both male and female spirits reside in the Khijado, Bāval and Kerado trees, and throw rags over them with the object of preventing passers by from cutting or removing the trees. Some pile stones round their stems and draw tridents over them with red lead and oil. If superstitious people come across such trees, they throw pieces of stones on the piles, believing them to be holy places, and think that by doing so they attain the merit of building a temple or shrine. A belief runs that this pile should grow larger and larger day by day, and not be diminished. If the base of such a tree is not marked by a pile of stones, rags only are offered; and if rags are not available, the devotee tears off a piece of his garment, however costly it may be, and dedicates it to the tree.[89]

Once, a child saw its mother offering a rag to such a tree, and asked her the reason of the offering. The mother replied that her brother, that is the child’s maternal uncle, dwelt in the tree. Hence a belief arose that a chithario (ragged) uncle dwells in such trees. Others assert that the chithario pir dwells in such trees, and they propitiate him by offering cocoanuts and burning frankincense before it.[89]