HistoriCity: Enigmatic Bastar a mix of ancient tribal culture, Hindu influences
An ongoing security campaign in Chhattisgarh's Bastar remains underreported, and lately, overshadowed by the India-Pakistan conflagration. Being an ignored sidebar of Indian history, however, is not new for this forested region bordering Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra.
Bastar is a geologically rich area known for massive reserves of bauxite, iron ore and coal. Its ecology is diverse, dependent on primitive forests, and topography tough with numerous hills and hundreds of seasonal streams and rivers, making this region one of the least assimilated in mainland India. Coveted for timber and minerals, the Bastar region, roughly spread over nearly 7000 square kilometres, is populated by indigenous tribes such as Marias, Gonds, and their subdivisions; the Bastariya identity today also comprises Hindu castes and communities. Over the last several centuries and particularly since the colonial period, it has remained a region mired in enigma and indigenous struggles for equality.
The history of tribal cultures in Bastar is a rich resource in itself; however, as is the case elsewhere, it has to be extracted out of oral stories as well as mainstream Hindu histories. This is a difficult challenge, since the continuous process of interaction between the two makes it hard to establish chronology and causation.
The bare facts internalised in most accounts, tribal and non-tribal, are that in the 14th century, Annam Deo (1313-1358 CE) a member of the Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal, pacified the region by defeating the Nagavanshi chiefs (Barsoor is believed to be their capital) and declared himself king. The Kakatiyas belonged to the non-elite castes i.e., Brahmin and Kshatriyas. Over the last seven centuries, while being recognised as rulers, they have remained on the fringes of royalty in India.
Bastar region is believed to be the Dandakaranya forest, of the epic Ramayana, where the trio from Ayodhya suffered hardship, and from where Sita is abducted by the Ravana.
Danteswari, Manikeswari and Mawli
About 350 kilometres from Raipur, lies Dantewada, in south Bastar. In popular imagination, it evokes images of armed conflicts between security forces, and cadres of the banned group CPI (Maoist). However, it is home to the Danteswari temple, which the Puranas tell us is the site where the tooth of Sati, Shiva's consort, fell. While the king as god, imbued with the divine right to rule, is a well- known template across the world, in Bastar, the kings have been titular priests of goddess Danteswari, giving them divine sanction and legitimacy to rule.
The temple precedes the 14th century arrival of the Kakatiyas. According to inscriptions recovered at Jatanpal, the local Nagavanshis, built the temple in reverence to goddess Manikeswari in the 11th century. Subsequent to their victory, the Kakatiyas co-opted the local deity and remoulded the tradition according to Hindu Puranic lore of Sati and her Shakti Peethas.
However, Goddess Manikeswari too seems to have been an avatar of a local tribal deity, known as Mawli (meaning Mother), and whose non-human or unanthromorphised shrines can still be found across the region. Sundar wrote: 'A Barsur inscription speaks of the Nagas as worshippers of Manikyadevi or Manikeswari, who was an incarnation of Durga or Mahisasuramardini. Hira Lal (noted historian) argued that the Kakatiyas merely adopted the same Goddess and renamed her Danteswari'.
Celebrating Dussehra in Bastar
Dussehra, which is celebrated across India as Durga-Puja or Navratri, is a nine-day festival in the lunar month Asvina (September-October) that culminates on Vijay Dasami (victory day). This 10th day traditionally commemorates Ram's victory over Ravana, or goddess Durga's defeat of the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. In Bastar, however, the local goddess Danteswari replaces Durga as the central deity, making Dussehra the state's most important festival.
Bastar's celebration features distinctive elements: the worship of professional tools such as weapons, throughout the festival, ceremonial processions on the ninth day, and animal sacrifices, particularly of buffaloes. The 10 days historically marked the beginning of military campaigns, timed with the end of monsoons. The festival centers on elaborate royal assemblies and processions where the king entrusts the kingdom's welfare symbolically to the goddess, in the form of a sceptre or sword, ensuring prosperity and protection.
These rituals evidence a complex blend of pan-Indian and high-Hindu traditions with Bastar's unique local customs, creating a multi-layered celebration that encompasses religious, political, and cultural significance.
HistoriCity is a column by author Valay Singh that narrates the story of a city that is in the news, by going back to its documented history, mythology and archaeological digs. The views expressed are personal.
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