Evidence From Across Geography And Times: Why Rishab Shetty Is Right In Saying Bhootha Kola Is Hinduism

Recently, a movie called Kantara came out and struck a chord with a large chunk of the masses, breaking geographic and linguistic barriers. 

One of the things that caught the attention of the people was the climax, where an extensive sequence involving the Bhootha Kola tradition of Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka was featured. 

Since then, a bizarre attempt has been made by certain sections of the Dravidianist media to claim that the tradition has nothing to do with Hinduism. 

Leading the charge was actor and activist Chetan Kumar, who tried to chastise actor director Rishab Shetty for saying that Bhootha Kola was indeed Hindu. 

What made it rather amusing for me was the thought that came to my mind when I started reading these claims. Have we seen a Christian theyyam ritual? Is an invocation of such nature even done by taking the name of any Abrahamic God, who castigates such people to hell for praising ‘false gods’? Why are temple grounds the site where such traditions occur? 

Inconvenient questions aside, this is not an isolated incident though. Such activists and news portals have consistently tried to claim the exclusiveness, and the tribal and subaltern nature of the Bhootha Kola, also known as Theyyam in Kerala.

Of particular interest was the attempt to justify the reasons why some Muslims were responsible for building a shrine to Maari. Of course, there was an attempt to obfuscate the bigoted reality of Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. A better claim to the same would have been to talk of Ali Theyyam, a tradition of a Mappila being held reverent. 

That story reveals more than what people claiming subaltern status would want you to know:

“Ali Mappila (the Malayalam term for Muslim) settled in Arikkady village as a rice trader. As the legend goes, with his prowess both in martial arts (kalari) and black magic, he enjoyed free rein for catering to his own vicious interests, particularly lustful assault on women.

The fact that he could not be killed as he wore an amulet with magical power to protect himself from premature death had left the village under ever-lasting danger. But the Goddess Chamundi swung into action. Disguised as an enticingly beautiful woman, Chamundi moved to a pond and began to take bath. The lustful Ali followed her to the pond and dashed down the water by accepting her invitation to have jalakreeda (water sport) with her.

Obeying her, he removed the protective amulet from his body; the same moment she transformed herself back into the ferocious Chamundi to vanquish him. Before the final act, the Goddess made him repent for his atrocities. His repentance was rewarded by offering him a place for worshipping Chamundi, the chief deity of the Arikkady shrine, as her obedient devotee.”

The uniqueness of such traditions also needs to be put in the proper context. 

This claim of subalternism does not fit well for traditions which may have strands of diversity but are woven in the same larger tapestry called Sanatana Dharma. 

For someone from Jammu and other hill states and an ardent devotee of Vaishno Devi, the above discussion would reveal parallels to the story of Bhairon Nath:

As time passed, MahaYogi Guru Goraksh Nath ji who had a vision of the episode between Lord Rama and Vaishnavi in the retrospective time frame, became curious to find out whether Vaishnavi has been able to attain a high level of spirituality or not. He, therefore, sent his most able disciple 'Bhairon Nath' to find out the truth. 

Bhairon Nath on locating the ashram started observing Vaishnavi secretly, and realised that though a 'Sadhvi' she always carried bow and arrows with her, and was always surrounded by langoors (apes) and a ferocious looking lion. 

Bhairon Nath was enamoured by Vaishnavi's extraordinary beauty, and losing all good sense he began to pester Vaishnavi to marry him. 

Meanwhile a staunch devotee of Vaishnavi, Mata Sridhar organised a Bhandara (Community meal) in which the whole village and Maha Yogi Guru Goraksh Nath ji along with all his followers including Bhairon were invited. 

During the course of Bhandara Bhairon Nath attempted to grab Vaishnavi but she tried her best to daunt him. On failing to do so, Vaishnavi decided to flee away into the mountains to continue her Tapasya undisturbed. Bhairon Nath however chased her to her destination.

The goddess after halting at (present day) Banganga, Charan Paduka, and Adhkwari, finally reached the holy cave Shrine. When Bhairon Nath continued to follow her despite the goddess trying to avoid a confrontation, the goddess was compelled to kill him. 

Bhairon Nath met his ultimate fate when the goddess, just outside the mouth of the cave, beheaded him. The severed head of Bhairon fell with a force at a distant hilltop. Bhairon Nath upon death realised the futility of his mission and prayed to the deity to forgive him. The almighty Mata (Mother Goddess) had mercy on Bhairon and gave him a boon that every devotee of the goddess would have to have the Darshans of Bhairon after having the Darshans of the Goddess and only then would the yatra of a devotee be complete.

The stories of Kantara Find Resonance Up North

It was rather interesting to see the story of a stone being worshipped, as narrated in Kantara. 

My mother’s village had a tradition of worshipping Daula and Kaula, associated with Baba Balak Nath of Deotsidh. Daula and Kaula were worshipped in the form of stones, representative of the places where their heads fell after a battle. 

When one sees the parallels further with the Baavan Veer traditions of these regions, whose ballads see them being blessed by ‘Brahminical’ deities into deitidom, one wonders how and why these traditions are seen as something subaltern and not part of the umbrella of Dharma. 

For that matter, the syncretic adoption of the local deity has been well accepted for Hindus. 

An example of the same is seen in the way Hidimba, a demoness in the Mahabharata, attained Devi status in the Kullu belt. 

The story clearly emphasises that it is your karma, and not your birth-status, that determines your destiny. 

Fully within the ‘Brahminical’ fold, there is total acceptance for the deity. She has as much importance, if not more, as the ‘Brahminical’ Manu Bhagwan after whom Manali is named. 

She is Kuladevi of the Kullu Royal Family too. The titular head of the family always bows to Her, even when She is communicating through the Guur, because he believes that the Guur in that moment is the Kuladevi, showing how the whole theory of subalternism of such traditions stands on weak ground.

And this is not an isolated example, there are larger patterns of similarities between the traditions of North Kerala, Tulu Nadu and the higher hills of Himachal-Jammu-Uttarakhand region. 

The Guur/Chela/Jagar traditions of the hill states bear uncanny resemblance to the Theyyam/Bhootha Kola traditions. While the costumes are not necessarily as elaborate, one must realise that Guur refers to the dress worn by the man much like Theyyam is reference to the getup. 

The person who serves as the Shamanic medium is a man with a lifestyle dictated not by the Brahminical ideas but by the divine will as instituted on him by the deity in question. 

The training process in both (Guur and Theyyam) are significant - learning the right mantras, the right ritual processes, and even things like ensuring animal sacrifices. 

Many of these traditions have a strong rooting in the traditions of the various sampradayas, especially where the Shakta traditions or Mimamsa darsana are strong. For that matter, even the Vedas talk of animal sacrifices. So the very idea of classifying such traditions as subaltern without referring to the Vedic tradition is rather odd.

Curiously, the same gets repeatedly flashed to somehow prove that beef was eaten in the Vedic times, but we digress. 

The common cultural-religious practice discussed above is also seen in the Gondhal tradition of Maharashtra and the Konkani regions of Goa and north Karnataka. Such traditions of Shamanism have always existed, and it is no surprise that they have been part of Sanatana Dharma, which does not see itself as a fixed entity and in a time- and space-boundary like the Abrahamic notions. 

These are rather traditions integral to a paganistic culture (Oracles of temples of ancient pagan Greece and Rome, for example). 

Such mediums are seen even today in the Shinto traditions of Japan and in the old religions of Korea on a smaller scale, where the will of the deity gets communicated by the deity through the chosen one. 

The Deities are Family and Guide, Their Word Remains Final

Such deities are not there merely to provide succour to the local populace. They are like family members, and even their selection can not have any ‘Brahminical’ interference, fearing the wrath of the deity. 

Many such deities in places like Himachal, Jammu and Uttarakhand have been identified with Rishis, with elements of nature, with the Nagas of Hindu itihasas. For that matter, even Duryodhana is a devata in a temple in the Tons Valley region of Uttarakhand, curiously finding a parallel in North Kerala. 

Their word is final, because it is not their word, but the word of the deity, and the deity’s word is final in Sanatan Dharma in the way karmaphala and niyati are seen. 

Heck, even the Telegraph, a British paper holding no sympathy for Hindus, could not help but agree about the finality of the decision:

Plans for what would have been India's first international ski resort in the Himalayan foothills have come unstuck after a group of Hindu gods ruled that it was environmentally unsound.

This of course was a result of a unique moment that occurred in 2006. Maybe, this Down to Earth story from the time is self explanatory:

On February 16, 2006, 'gods' came together at the Jagati Patt temple inside Hotel Castle in Naggar village, district Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. Local gods were there to discuss a proposed ski resort in the area. Based on these divine proceedings, the traditional king of Kullu, Maheshwar Singh gave a final verdict -- not an inch of land should be given for the resort. The refusal to give land was because it was supposed to belong to the gods.

Singh said this 'message' from the gods would be passed on to the government. This was not what the spokespeople for The Himalayan Ski Village (HSV) Pvt Ltd had expected. It had also 'consulted' two local goddesses before going ahead with its proposal. 

HSV, which is headed by Alfred Brush Ford, grandson of Henry Ford, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Himachal Pradesh on December 9, 2005. A draft MoU had however been leaked, which provoked the most powerful god, Jamlu or Jamdagni Rishi of Bhatar village, to get in touch with his pujari, Ludramani and sent a message to the king that consultation (jagati poonch) was required. 

Such meetings are usual in the area and are used by people to voice concerns that affected the community. The dev bhumi has around 365 gods and they often make their voices heard through representatives: gurs, pujaris and kardhars. A date was set for the meeting. Along with gods' representatives, came people from the villages and the media.

What followed next might be difficult for a non-believer to comprehend. The representatives were seated in rows and the king went around asking each to speak his or her mind. This prompted the representatives to go into a trance, after which the gods spoke through them. God after god spoke and made it clear that they did not want the ski village in the area since it would desecrate holy places.

What has surprised people, especially the ones with this incident in their memory, was the similarity of the incident with the plot of the movie Kantara. 

But, in a way, is that not how all societies work? Do they not consult their elders? And in India, are the deities not treated as family, to be loved and respected like elders, and feared for their anger much like one fears a family elder? Why is it seen as something out of the blue?

Not Out of the Blue - There Are Great Parallels With the Navarasa Theories of Classical Dance

For those who have studied Indian theatre and arts, there is also great resonance of these traditions in Indian folk arts; not to mention the similarities with the classical arts in terms of structure and other fundamental principles. 

As M L Varadpande talked about the theatre of religion in his 1987 volume 2 of History of Indian Theatre:

What is a ritual? It is an established or prescribed procedure for a religion, magical or other rites, a system or collection of religious or other rites, and observance of set forms in public worship. 

Varadpande then went ahead to explain how there has been continuity in the traditions, with reference to Shatapatha Brahmana and the Rig Veda talking of rituals with respect to Urvashi and Pururava. 

He even mentioned how texts like the Silappadhikaram from the Sangam era refer to these rituals of the Bhuta theatre, and highlights how these traditions can be seen all over the ‘Brahminical’ texts like Maharabharata, Ramayana, even Manusmriti. 

One of the most interesting aspects in discussing this Bhuta ritual theatre is the brief discussion on Panjurli. 

Contrary to the kind of appropriation theories used as a slur, Varadpande wrote:

“It is interesting to note as to how the pig-faced Panjurli Bhuta became Varaha…under Brahmanic influence. Even the recitation of the Sanskrit shlokas became a part of the Bhuta ritual…..The constituents of Hindu rituals like ‘Homa’ (fire-sacrifice) and ‘Dhyana’ (meditation) also freely entered the Bhuta rituals and a few spirits even went vegetarian……This cultural synthesis presents an interesting scenario of interaction and mutual exchange of concepts and ideas, beliefs and superstitions of communities living together.”

In fact, Varadpande also pointed, with reference to Karnataka’s cultural strains of similar kind, to the concept of ‘nartana seve’ or dance worship to serve the Naga spirits that are worshipped in the coastal regions especially. 

The concept of ‘nartana seve’ has always existed in the Agama Shastras, a higher form of which was the Devadasi tradition which had seen severe mangling over the centuries. 

Even when one compares the kind of range of emotions on display from an artistic view in a Bhoota Kola/Theyyam/Guur puch, we see the navarasas of Bharata Muni’s Natyashastra being on full display. 

In fact, in a distinct parallel, one sees the Shanta rasa being absent from the ritual, which is in the words of the late Dr. R Nagaswamy, essential for the actor, otherwise he would just be standing on the stage and doing nothing.

Another interesting angle to highlight the continuity comes from the meaning of ‘abhinaya’ in the classical sense in fact. 

As Adya Rangacharya had pointed out in his introductory book on the Natyashastra, the word ‘abhinaya’ denotes not merely acting, but all that it takes to express. 

Carrying the meaning to the audience, the use of the body (angika), sound (vacika), appearances (aharya) and grace (sattvika); evidence to all of which can be traced in the manner in which such ‘acts’ take place.

Clearly, the attack on Kantara by the Dravidianists and their kith and kin across southern India is not surprising. Not only is the dissociation attempt false, it is malicious. From a cultural, anthropological or even artistic point of view, we see a continuity in culture. 

This continuity has perpetuated itself in India and Sanatana culture in a unique continuum that has varying shades present across the geography. The critics have no stage to stand on, and Rishab Shetty is absolutely right in identifying Bhootha Kola with Sanatana Dharma, the eternal timeless civilisational conduct.