Devadasi: Encyclopedia II - Devadasi - Devadasi practices

Devadasi - Devadasi practices

The devadasi practices have considerably changed over the last centuries. The account of the contemporary Devadasi practice in Tamilnadu by Amrit Srinivasan is interesting: "Traditionally the young devadasi underwent a ceremony of dedication to the deity of the local temple which resembled in its ritual structure the upper caste Tamil marriage ceremony. Following this ceremony, she was set apart from her non-dedicated sisters in that she was not permitted to marry and her celibate or unmarried status was legal in customary terms. Significantly, however she was not prevented from leading a normal life involving economic activity, sex with individual of her choice and childbearing. The very rituals which marked and confirmed her incorporation into temple service also committed her to the rigorous emotional and physical training in the classical dance, her hereditary profession. In addition, they served to advertise in a perfectly open and public manner her availability for sexual liaisons with a proper patron and protector. Very often in fact, the costs of temple dedication were met by a man who wished thus to anticipate a particular devadasi's favours after she had attained puberty. It was crucially a women's 'dedicated' status which made it a symbol of social prestige and privilege to maintain her. The devadasi's sexual partner was always chosen by 'arrangement' with her mother and grandmother acting as prime movers in the veto system. Alliance with a Muslim, a Christian, or a lower caste was forbidden while a Brahmin or member of the royal elite was preferred for the good breeding and/or wealth he would bring into the family. The non-domestic nature of the contract was an understood part of the agreement with the devadasi owing the man neither any householding services nor her offspring. The children in turn could not hope to make any legal claim on the ancestral property of their father whom they met largely in their mother's home when he came to visit."

Devadasi - Reasons for dedication in modern times

Even though the majority of the girls dedicated in the past few years or decades come from families with no history of Devadasis, all of them come from communities with a strong history of the practice. For example, a village named Yellampura in Karnataka, 95 percent of households of Holers practice Devadasi cult, which is the highest in the village followed by Madars.

The system has an obvious economic basis. The sanctions provided by social custom and apparently by religion, combined with economic pressures have pushed girls from poor families into becoming the wives of deity. The three factors (religious, social, and economic) are interlinked.

Asha Ramesh in her study carried out in May 1993 gives the following reasons:

"Dedication to the Goddess or God was justified on the following grounds:
(a) If the parents were childless, they vowed to dedicate their first child if it happened to be girl.
(b) If there were no sons in the family, the girl child was dedicated and could not marry as she becomes a 'son' for the family (earning the family’s livelihood).
Yet another economic reason contributed to the dedications. If the girl's family had some property, the family ensured that it stayed within the family by turning the girl into 'son' by dedicating her."

Devadasi - Dedication process

From the late medieval period until 1910, the Pottukattu or tali-tying ceremony of dedication was a widely advertised community event requiring the full cooperation of the local religious authorities. It initiates the a young girl into the Devadasi profession and is performed in the temple by the priest. In the Brahminical tradition marriage is viewed as the only religious initiation (diksha) permissible to women. Thus the dedication is a symbolic "marriage" of the pubescent girl to the temple's deity.

In the sadanku or puberty ceremonies, the Devadasi-initiate consummates her marriage with an emblem of god borrowed from the temple as stand-in 'bridegroom'. In practice this often means that the priest will have sexual intercourse with the Devadasi in addition to the other nuptial rites that are performed at a typical Brahmin wedding. For instance, auspicious wedding songs celebrating sexual union are sung before the 'couple'. From then onward, the devadasi is considered a nitya sumangali: a woman eternally free from the adversity of widowhood and in that auspicious capacity.

Then she performs for the first time her ritual and artistic duties in the temple. The puberty ceremonies were an occasion not only for temple honor but also for community feasting and celebration in which the local elites also participated. The music and dance and public display of the girl was meant to attract patrons.

Devadasi - Life after dedication

A Devadasi's life after dedication was obviously very different centuries ago. Nowadays, "After dedication of a girl to the temple, she has to take bath every day early in the morning and should present herself at the temple during morning worship of Yellamma. She is not allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum. But she will bow to the deity from outside. Thereafter she sweeps compound of the temple. Every Tuesday and Friday she goes for joga along with senior jogatis. During this period she learns innumerable songs in praise of Yellamma and her son Parashurama. If she shows some aptitude to learn playing instruments she will be given training by her elder jogatis. In Yellampura and other villages Devadasis do not dance but this is performed by eunuch companions. The main functions of Devadasis would be singing and playing stringed musical instruments and Jagate. They form a small group and go for joga, from house to house on every Tuesday and Friday" (Jogan Shankar, 1990).

These religious duties are uncontested and are a widely celebrated part of the life of the Devadasi temple servant.

Devadasi - Sexual Slavery

The sexual rituals that accompany dedication are now considered by many Hindus to be exploitative and not mandatory. Nevertheless this practice continues unabated in many places. In those temples, a Devadasi will usually acquire a "patron" after her deflowering ceremony. "Patronship in a majority of cases is achieved at the time of the dedication ceremony itself. The patron who secures this right of spending the first night with the girl may maintain a permanent liaison with the girl by paying a fixed sum of money or he can maintain the relationship for a fixed period of time on payment or he can simply terminate the liaison after the deflowering ceremony. A permanent liaison with a patron does not bar the girl from entertaining other clients, unless he specifies otherwise. In case the girl entertains, other men have to leave the girl’s house when her patron comes" (Jogan Shankar, 1990). Thus, these girls are a source of revenue for the temple -- a ritualized form of prostitution.

Human Rights Watch has called for a greater abolishment of dedication abuses and closer regulation of these temples. Estimates for the number of new indentured Devadasi prostitutes range from 5000 to 15000 per year [1].

Devadasi - Social Status

Traditionally, no stigma was attached to the Devadasi or to her children, and other members of their caste received them on terms of equality. The children of a Devadasi enjoyed legitimacy and in fact, Devadasis themselves were outwardly indistinguishable from married women of their own community.

Furthermore, a Devadasi was believed to be immune from widowhood and was called akhanda saubhagyavati. Since she was wedded to a divine deity, she was supposed to be one of the especially welcome guests at weddings, and was regarded as bearer of fortune. At weddings, people would like to get a string of the 'tali' (wedding lock) prepared by her and she threaded on it a few beads from her own necklace. The presence of a devadasi on any religious occasion in the house of a upper caste member was regarded as sacred and she was treated with due respect and was presented with gifts.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Devadasi practices", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki