Handmaiden of God banished from temple, society

NIRMALA BALAKRISHNAN

India is home to some of the deepest unsolved mysteries even to the present day. And there are many religious and traditional practises that don’t abode well with a modern India. One such tradition is the custom prevailing in the Devadasi community of the Southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

A Devadasi, as the name suggests, is a ‘Servant’ of God. It is life-long sacrifice of a woman from a very young age. A female member belonging to the Devadasi community is given away in marriage to the deity of the village temple.  This is considered an honour amongst the illiterate people of this particular community.

As much as Indians are proud to say that as a developed nation India is on a par with the rest of the world, it is appalling to watch one section of society still encouraging such outdated rituals? Pre-independent India saw the abolishment of Sati (the act of immolating oneself in the funeral pyre of one’s husband) by Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

It’s a matter of great pride that Indian women are rubbing shoulders with their male counterparts in practically every field or even in the world stage. Indra Nooyi, Soumya Swaminathan and Gita Gopinath are such bold women on the world stage. Still the Indian society turns a blind eye towards such heinous acts as the dedication of Devadasis to temples.

Even though social activists have been fighting against this practice, little has changed. There had been innumerable number of symposiums, debates, street plays and demonstrations to bring awareness among the people of the community. Such heinous acts are so deep rooted in our society that people have learnt to coexist with it even in the modern times.

In a study ‘Exploitation of Women as Devadasis and its Associated Evils’ for the National Commission for Women by Dr. V. Bharathi Harishankar, Professor and Head Department of Women Studies, University of Madras and by Dr. M. Priyamvadha, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminology, University of Madras wrote: “The figure of the devadasi in the Indian imagination has changed in different historical periods. True to her name, a devadasi was held in respect and social standing because she was the “handmaiden of God”. However, the Social Reform Movements sought to abolish the Devadasi system as it foregrounded a morally reprehensible social practice. The clarion call coincided with the withdrawal of royal patronage and temple subsidies. This economic factor forced the devadasis to take up other occupations. Prostitution and begging were adopted in a large scale because they were approved and sanctioned occupations within the Devadasi system. The figure of the devadasi in contemporary India is a corroded version, which does not display her artistic and intellectual accomplishments. So, there is an ‘ideal’ courtesan, like Amrapali or Madhavi, and the ‘real’ prostitute and beggar, both of whom are connoted by the name ‘devadasi’.”

Reformists and abolitionists launched the first anti-Nautch and anti-dedication movement in 1882. For the reform lobbyists it was precisely the above mentioned features of the devadasi institution that were. The portrayal of the devadasi system as ‘prostitution’ sought to advertise the grotesqueness of the subject population for political ends. For those who supported imperialism on the grounds of its ‘civilising’ function, programmes of reform had ideological rewards. Due to the devadasi being equated to prostitutes, they also became associated with the spreading of venereal disease in India.

The Hindu revival movement consciously stepped outside the requirements of state electoral politics and western scientific traditions. The movement received strong support from the Theosophical Society of India, whose anti-official stance and strong interest in Indian home rule bound them with the revival of dance and music.

The support later given to a revival of sadir as Bharatnatyam by the Theosophical Society was largely due to the efforts of Rukmini Devi Arundale, an eminent theosophist, and E. Krishna Iyer. Arundale sought to re-appropriate the devadasi dance traditions and bring them into a context which could be perceived as respectable. She changed the dance repertoire to exclude pieces perceived as erotic in their description of a deity. She also systematised the dance incorporating the extension and use of space associated with dance traditions such as ballet.

The product of this transformation was Bharatnatyam, which Arundale then began to teach professionally at a school she established in Chennai called Kalakshetra. Bharatnatyam is commonly propagated as a very ancient dance tradition associated with the Natyasastra. However, in reality, Bharatnatyam as it is performed and known today is a product of Arundale’s endeavour to remove the devadasi dance tradition from the perceived immoral context of the devadasi community and bring it into the upper caste performance milieu.

The revivalists mostly belonged to Brahmin-dominated Theosophical circles and many Brahmin girls started to learn the dance from devadasis.

Devadasis lost their place in temples as dancers and were banished to the nook and cranny of society. Today, only some pockets of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have temples where young girls are dedicated as Devadasis. Most from the community face poverty due to poor education and extreme backwardness. The National Commission for Women estimate that there are 48,358 Devadasis currently in India.

In modern India, devadasis are nothing more than sex slaves or child prostitutes who are dedicated to temples when they are as young as four or five years old. The Devadasis of are largely concentrated in parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. They are called Mathangi in Maharashtra, Jogini or Mathamma in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and Devadasi in Karnataka. The children are forced into becoming Devadasis by their own parents, because these girls are their only source of income in most cases. A lot of these families aren’t even allowed to enter or stay in the villages. They are ostracized because of their caste. Hence, inevitably, all of them are either illiterate or have received very little education, with no means for a stable income. The only jobs they can get are those of street cleaners or sewage collectors. Parents are therefore forced to act as pimps for their daughters and dedicate them as Devadasis in the hope of finding a means of survival.

There are a handful of organisation working for the emancipation of these unfortunate women. One such is Vimochana Devaadasi Pnarvasati Sangh, which works for the eradication of temple prostitution, rehabilitation of devadasi and their children, through arranging health care services and education. B.L. Patil, the founder of the organisation, in an interview had said that although the dedication ceremonies are banned, the practice was still prevalent, as families and priests conduct them in secret.