In India, a gathering of ghost busters

[Guest guest]

In India, a gathering of ghost busters

Shuriah Niazi

Asia Times Online

Mar 5, 2008

 

[Entirely off topic, but well-written

and interesting.]

 

BHOPAL

Last week in the village of Malajpur in India's Madhya

Pradesh province, an ancient and unique ritual concluded its

yearly three-week run. It's an otherworldly event - part

supernatural carnival, part mental health clinic - known as

the bhooton ka mela, or " the fair of the ghosts " .

 

From its ominous opening night under the full moon of the

Indian month of Magh until Vasant Panchmi, the Hindu

festival for Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, which is

celebrated on the first day of spring - the spiritual bazaar

may constitute the largest gathering of ghost-busters in the

world.

 

As many as 10,000 afflicted " patients " will arrive to receive

exorcisms; to save themselves or loved ones from evil

spirits, curses and ghosts. Villagers travel to Malajpur from

across the

 

 

 

sub-continent, especially from the rural states of

Rajasthanm, Gujarat and Maharastra, where old beliefs run

deep. The bhooton ka mela is believed to be the only fair of

its its kind in India, and its fame has been fanned by both

centuries of word-of-mouth and, more recently, the media.

There is no fixed fee for an exorcism; people pay as they

can and many simply offer donations of jaggery - an

unrefined brown sugar made from palm sap - at the temple.

 

In rural Indian society ghosts and tales of the supernatural

have played an important role for many centuries. Despite

the advent of modern technology, they continue to do so

today. Because of long-held belief systems passed on from

older generations, and a dearth of education, many rural

Indians continue to attribute abnormal behavior and mental

illness to spiritual possession, evil spirits and ghosts.

 

There is a religious component as well. Some Hindus

believe a person must live through 8,400,000 reincarnations,

with one of them being a ghost. Ghosts and bodiless spirits

are thought to be souls that refuse to be " recycled " because

they have unfinished business to complete.

 

In some Indian villages, change can be difficult and modern

practices are non-existent. Although television and movies

have reached some, old traditions and superstitions persist.

The " ghost fair " of Malajpur is yet another salient example

of India in intense transition - a country striving to balance

the ancient and the ultra-modern.

 

Ghost busters bazaar

The temple in Malajpur is a shrine to its founder, Guru

Maharaj Deowiji, a legendary cleric from the 18th century

believed to have the ability to exorcise ghosts. The devout

believe that his power has been passed on to the temple's

priests until today.

 

Guru Maharaj Deoji, it is said, performed miracles.

According to local histories, he turned water into ghee, the

clarified butter with which Indians cook, and once made

candy out of dust to charm village youths. One legend has it

that he threw open the village grain storehouse and fed

birds. When villagers complained, he told them to take what

they needed from the one remaining sack of grain. However

much they took, the sack never ran out.

 

He is said to have given sight to the blind. In colonial times,

legend holds that a cocky British officer told the guru to tote

his bags for him. The offended guru threw the luggage into

a tree and it stayed suspended overhead. The legends say

Guru Maharaj Deoji had no shadow.

 

In his early days, the guru had no attendant priests for the

temple so he chose four " soldiers " , who he trained in the art

of exorcism. Today's priests are the descendants of those

" soldiers " - and the skills of exorcism have been handed

down from generation to generation.

 

Festival-goer Shailendra Yadav is a longtime devotee. She

believes in the miraculous powers of Guru Maharaj Deowiji

and claims that not only could he turn water into ghee, but

also could transform sand into jaggery. " People come here

with lot of expectations, " said Shailendra Yadav.

 

This year, Shrikali Singh made the long trek from her

remote Gorakhal village along with her sister Bhagirath.

Both sisters were believed to have been possessed by

ghosts. Shrikali's husband Santosh Singh said, " She is

possessed by a ghost. You could find her weeping and

shouting at home. She needs to be cured. We have come

here for the first time. I believe she will be cured here at the

temple. "

 

Singh's brother-in-law Kunal says his wife is also suffering

from these symptoms of spiritual possession. Bhagirathi

suddenly started to cry when Asia Times Online spoke to

her husband. " We face a lot of problems because of her, "

Kunal said of his wife. " She is possessed by a ghost and we

want her to be free from evil spirit. " Neither sister has been

taken to a medical doctor as their relatives believe this not a

medical problem.

 

To start the exorcism, the family joined hands and began to

encircle the temple. According to custom, those who come

for treatment circle the temple in one direction, while those

who come to offer obeisance circle it in the opposite

direction. A large number of childless couples make the

pilgrimage to Malajpur. It is believed their wishes for

childbirth can be granted here.

 

After the worshipful procession, the young couples are

brought before the high priest, who promptly asked Shrikali,

" Who are you? " She replied, " I am a ghost. "

 

Taking this in, the priest then set about beating the woman

mercilessly with a long-handled broom. During and after the

thrashing, the priest recited mantras and sprinkled holy

water on Shrikali. After a sufficient period, the priest

announced, " The ghost has left her. You can take her, " he

concluded and called her sister forward.

 

Beating the " possessed " heaps insult on injury. Being beaten

with a broom is a great dishonor in Indian culture and

brooms are considered " untouchable " . But, interestingly, it

is the ghost that is threatened with the shame of the beating,

not the person whose body it has possessed. The " ghost "

leaves the body to avoid humiliation.

 

Sanjay Arya, who comes to the ghost bazaar regularly, told

Asia Times Online, " No one returns from here disappointed.

Whatever be your wish, it is fulfilled. Besides, you don't

have to give anything here. When your wish is fulfilled you

may come here and offer only a kilogram of jaggery. "

 

He points out that it is the ancient guru's magic that keeps

houseflies and ants from the piles of jaggery given as

offerings. It is his miracle, Yadav asserts.

 

Jagdish Nayak has been coming from Maharashra's

Nandurbar for many years, and first came seeking treatment

for himself. " Several years back, ghosts had possessed me, "

said Nayak. " I had already received different treatments but

didn't benefit from any of them. Once a Malajpur priest

visited my village. He asked me to come here. I stayed here

for 15 days and after that I was totally cured. Now I come

here every year. "

 

Most pilgrims come with little, if any, knowledge of modern

health care or the psychological sciences. In India it's

common to find people claiming to be possessed by evil

spirits. It is believed that, in general, women are more

susceptible to malevolent or mischievous spirits.

 

Ram Charan Malviya, a retired teacher, told Asia Times

Online it's easy to distinguish between a person possessed

by spirits and a truly insane person. " Once a person is

obsessed by some evil spirit, then that person starts

behaving like an abnormal being, forgetting her real

personality, and does whatever the evil spirit wants her to

do. Such a person may not recognize her relatives even.

Some get full of supernatural energy and show irrational

behavior. These [people] who are obsessed by some evil

spirits behave like mad women. Look at how many such

women can be seen in this fair shaking their head up and

down with great energy. This is the evil ghost inside of

them. "

 

Mental health experts groan

Psychologists spoken to by Asia Times Online described the

ghost fair as nothing more than superstition. According to

Gyanendra Gautam, professor of sociology in Barkatullah

University, many people who come to the fair may be

suffering from actual mental disorders. " These people

should consult doctors first, " he said.

 

Gautam is of the view that psychological factors contribute

to so-called spiritual possessions and ghost sightings. People

exaggerate their own perceptions, he said, either when

visiting a place they believe to be haunted, or when visiting

a site where unpleasant historical events have occurred.

 

Other Indian psychiatrists have expressed fears that many of

the " possessed " who come here seeking to be exorcised are

in fact suffering from medical conditions, such as epilepsy,

or psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia or clinical

depression. But in the rural villages, no one has heard of

such conditions and possession by a ghost is the assumed

diagnosis.

 

There is another theory. As the British Broadcasting

Corporation reported in 2005, a very high proportion of the

" possessed " , as much as 90%, are women. According to the

report, some psychologists have suggested this stems from

the powerlessness of most women in Indian village society,

where women are relegated to household chores, and are

often largely ignored. In a desperate bid for attention, they

refuse to do the housework, or start to behave strangely. The

men believe that they have changed because they have been

possessed by a ghost.

 

The head of the department of psychology at the Bhopal-

based Barkatullah University, K N Tripathi, has an

explanation for the large annual turnout at Malajpur.

Tripathi told the BBC, " The majority of clients are rural

women. They often feign being haunted by ghosts to abuse

their husbands and in-laws. This is almost an outlet for their

pent-up frustrations. Being possessed is also a form of

attention-seeking. Once possessed, you are cared for. Your

wayward behavior becomes excusable. "

 

Local government officials in Madhya Pradesh are more

pragmatic. " If people have faith in something, who are we to

interfere? " said one district official.

 

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JC05Df01.html