Indian folk religion
Indian folk religion called non-uniform religious phenomena and practices in India , which roughly from currents of Hinduism as the Brahmin Sanskrit -Hinduismus and founder religions as different Vishnuite or Shivaite groups or gurus differ donated modern groups, though it between the religion of the people and the so-called high Religion there are also many similarities, mixes and overlaps. The exact characteristics of the folk religion and their differentiation from other Indian forms of religion are not presented uniformly in science, but folk religion is mostly related to regional and local phenomena.
Big and small tradition
In Indology , the distinction between the so-called large and small tradition is common. The Sanskrit and Brahmanical Hinduism, which is spread throughout South Asia and appear uniform in large part, is called the great tradition while folk religion is called little tradition. Sometimes sects are also counted as part of the small tradition. In India itself there is also this kind of distinction, in that a distinction is made between Shastric and lukewarm Hinduism. Shastra refers to the Brahmin religion, while laukik is derived from Loka, place, and thus refers to local forms of religion. However, the division into such distinctions is not uniform and there are many different approaches to what is assigned to which tradition. A possible hidden evolutionism is also seen as problematic . In these concepts of the distinction between high religion and popular religion, these are not to be regarded as absolutely separate because both are only variants that influence and complement one another. The advantage of such a distinction, however, is that the overemphasis on written Hinduism is limited here.
Features of Indian folk religion
Indian folk religion is generally seen as a local or regional religion , in contrast to Brahmanic Sanskrit Hinduism, which is spread all over India. It usually has no universal claim, no elaborated theology , cosmogony , anthropology or ideas of the afterlife that go beyond the cult of ancestors , but mythology . The folk religion of India has many elements that ward off evil and demons ( apotropaic acts ), as life-threatening conditions are directly in front of the eyes and directly motivate the religious act. The deities appear more this world and demand veneration and sacrifice , but are not legislative. The Hindu folk religion is polytheistic and partly animistic , has its own priests, and the texts of this form of religion are often vernacular and oral. (See also Adivasi .)
The deities are usually only worshiped regionally and their mythology is related to the place of worship. Villages and cities each have their own deities, the Gramadevatas . The pantheon usually also includes ghosts and deified heroes. The deities that are worshiped are very different, but what they have in common is that they are viewed as powerful and their power relates to areas that directly affect daily life in rural India. Since the people in rural India are highly dependent on nature, the religious acts of the folk religion are mostly directly related to life: to satisfy hunger and thirst, to allow the harvest to succeed, to banish diseases or to keep death away.
In the Indian folk religion there are many local or regional deities, which are often also sound deities. These deities are often located in stones, trees, springs and rocks and are worshiped there. Often they need to be appeased so that they do not bring evil. There are also deities that are more common, such as B. Vana Durga , who protects the villages from the dangers of the forest or Bata Mangala, "the healing woman of the way", who protects the travelers from the dangers of the road. Her name is to be seen as a euphemism, as she is the author of the calamities that can occur on a journey. These kinds of calamities can be averted by trying to appease the goddess with sacrifices. Their shrines can be found on many arterial roads, country roads and on pass heights.
There are also a variety of other deities who have certain areas of activity. For example, the goddess Shitala ("coolness"), shown riding a donkey, is one of the goddesses of illnesses who can heal the dangerous disease of smallpox (compare also Mariyamman ). The serpent-shaped goddess Manasa , who is the mistress of snake venom, is also venerated . The worship of the goddess Shashthi , "the mistress of the sixth day", is particularly important with newborns, as it determines the life or death of the child within the first six days.
Ancestral spirits and ancestor worship also play an important role in Indian folk religion. They are ritually given food and drink offerings so that they contribute to the prosperity and happiness of the family. In Indian folklore, neglecting these rites leads, for example, to vengeance on the bereaved through illnesses and the destruction of the harvest. Ancestors who are venerated can also be deified heroes or gurus , for example . In addition, Bhuts are worshiped, the spirits of the dead mediating between man and god. The yakshas are seen as even more powerful beings because they dominate the landscape and penetrate the elements, and their effects can extend beyond regional borders. This can be seen, for example, in the deity Yaksha Kubera, who lives in the north and is regarded as the king of the Yakshas. The Nagas ("snakes") are particularly important . They are close to the great gods of Hinduism, Shiva and Vishnu , for whom they serve as jewelry and throne, and have their own realm in the underworld, Patalaloka. The Nagas are also revered as a symbol of fertility. In addition, they represent a rebirth symbol, whereby the shedding of the snake skin is seen in analogy to the soul and its leaving the body.
Shaktism in popular religion
The Shaktism , the worship of goddesses in Indian folk and tribal religions very popular. The goddesses of the folk and tribal religions, however, differ greatly from the Hindu devis and these cults are mostly associated with shamanic practices. At the same time, these goddesses are often viewed as the earth that is worshiped as a mother. The people and tribal goddesses are z. B. not anthropomorphic and lovely wives of male gods, but they mostly appear as old, dark and ugly and are represented by Shilas, dark stone rings. These goddesses of folk religion are also considered deities by Christians, Muslims or Adivasi in the village community , as they are viewed as the mothers of the communities. A caste of priests does not exist in these cults, often pujaris, non-Brahmin priests, come from the lowest classes and in the religions of the Adivasi there are male and female spiritual specialists, healers and oracles who seek trance states and practice obsession rituals , a practice that occurs in most of these cults. On the part of the Brahmins and governments, these cults are often viewed as popular superstitions, so there are attempts to suppress them, but this form of Shaktism is still widespread among the Indian population.
literature
- Heidrun Brückner: Princely festivals: texts and rituals of the Tuḷu folk religion on the west coast of South India. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1995 ISBN 3-447-03660-5 .
- Denise Cush, Catherine Robinson, Michael York (Eds.): The Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Routledge, London 2007 (English).
- Roland Jansen: The Bhavani of Tuljapur: Religious-historical study of the cult of a goddess of the Indian folk religion. Steiner, Stuttgart 1995 ISBN 3-515-06774-4 .
- MacKim Marriott: Village India: studies in the little community. University of Chicago Press, Chicago a. a. 1969 (English).
- Eveline Masilamani-Meyer: Guardians of Tamilnadu: Folk deities, folk religion, Hindu themes. Halle 2004, ISBN 3-931479-61-7 (English; doi: 10.11588 / xabooks.358.499 ).
- Axel Michaels : Hinduism. Beck, Munich 2006 ISBN 978-3-406-54974-8 .
- Heinrich von Stietencron : The Hinduism. Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-44758-9 .
- Henry Whitehead: The Religious Life of India - The Village Gods of South India. 2nd, expanded edition. Oxford University Press, London a. a. 1921, pp. 29–33, 115/116 and 161 (English; a Right Reverend , Bishop of the Anglican Church ; online at archive.org).
- Paul Younger: Playing Host to Deity: Festival Religion in the South Indian Tradition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-803221-8 (English; Extract in the Google Book Search).