Katherine Coppe's List: bhil religion

• hough the object of cattle rearing in seldom milk, of course, some Bhils (as in Juna Rajpipla) do use milk as food and also prepare ghee from it and sell it to outsiders. They acquire cattle for social ambition also. They give cows to their daughters at the time of marriage. Cows are also tied to a dead man's pyre for some time before lighting it to show that he was a great man.

  • Naik, T. B. Thakorlal Bharabhai), 1922-

• • Naik, T. B. Thakorlal Bharabhai), 1922-
• The attitude of the Bhil towards his cattle varies from an intense affection and interest to a ritualistic veneration as in the worship of the cows. The festival of Divali is especially the day when the horns of the cattle are painted red and their trough worshipped. The animals are not yoked for that day. Beef is taboo to all the Bhils. A Bhil will never manhandle his oxen and he will be very angry with anybody who does so; he will not sleep peacefully so long as his ill calf or cow does not become well.

• • Nath, Y. V. S..Bhils of Ratanmal: an analysis of the social structure of a western Indian community
• The procedure and even the musical instruments employed at a mela, are all mild and conducive to a pleasant atmosphere. In an anabolkam on the other hand, everything tends to maintain an atmosphere of harsh violence. For instance, the very musical instruments used are Karkas—a variety of rasp, and dhak, a small drum like instrument with a friction surface at one end and a percussion surface on the other. The sound produced by the latter is very harsh and is heard for miles around on a clear night

  • Nath, Y. V. S..Bhils of Ratanmal: an analysis of the social structure of a western Indian community
• • Nath, Y. V. S..Bhils of Ratanmal: an analysis of the social structure of a western Indian community
• Nothing that is used in a ghost-ritual may be taken back into the village-except the sacrificial sword. The sacrificial meat and liquor should be consumed in silence outside the boundary of the village. No part of it may be left unconsumed. Even the skin is scorched in fire and eaten and the bones are broken up and burnt. Only the head of the animal is left in the □hīkru and abandoned there. Not even the greatest man would dare touch it, for it is an offering to the malignant spirits.

  • Nath, Y. V. S..Bhils of Ratanmal: an analysis of the social structure of a western Indian community
• Further, so long as the sacrifice is not over, pollution attaches to the entire village. No domestic work may be started till then. No hearth fires are lit. No woman stirs out of the house, and the cattle are not let out or the shed  [Page 214]   leaned. After the sacrifice is offered and the ritual has ended, the women come out and set about their daily activities. The cattle are let out and the cattle slied is thoroughly cleaned. Then they go out to the river and wash all their vessels and clothes, take a bath and bring fresh water to their homes. Then the flooring of the house and of the cattle shed, is freshly plastered with cow-dung and earth. The hearth fire is lit at last and the food is prepared. However no man takes food at home that day. They get drunk and spend the rest of the day happily in singing and dancing. At least for the time being they are secure from the anger of the malignant spirits and ghosts and that in itself is a matter for rejoicing.

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• The rituals of pleasing Waghdev in Toranmal are very interesting. The villagers buy a goat, go to Waghdev's place, which is generally a stone outside the village, and there the Punjaro waves some grains over the animal, sprinkles water over it from head to tail and tying a rope round its neck, tethers it fast to a pole. Then some one hacks its head at a single stroke. Using more than one stroke in this is considered as a bad omen.

  • Naik, T. B. Thakorlal Bharabhai), 1922-. The Bhils: a study

• This is a mythological story of the Bhil tribe that is settled in parts of Central India, primarily in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra,and Rajasthan. The Bhils live in a highly arid and drought-prone part of India. Thus, farming cannot be their primary occupation. Traditionally, they have been hunter-gatherers and engage in animal husbandry. The Bhils are quite economically backward. I found this story interesting because it is being passed on through generations in the Bhil community, the elders explaining to the new generation why they are so poor and why they cannot engage in farming. This story also illustrates the importance of animals, especially domesticated animals, in helping tribal people achieve prosperity.

  • http://www.biodiversityofindia.org/index.php?title=Bhils_of_Central_India_and_Parvati's_curse

• As the story goes, once Parvati and Lord Shiva were sitting in their abode in the Himalayas having a discussion about the mortal world. Suddenly, Parvati realized that her brothers were coming to meet her. Parvati greeted her brothers with great joy and spent some time chatting with them. When the time for them to leave came, she asked Lord Shiva to give them a parting gift. Lord Shiva said, "I'm just an Aghori Sadhu! I dont have any material possession to give as gift to your brothers. I'm sorry". Hearing this, the brothers felt sad and left. But Parvati insisted and Lord Shiva, unknown to the brothers, placed a silver pot in their way. But the brothers failed to notice the pot and walked away. 

  Parvati felt sad. She thought, "If my brothers failed to notice a gift from God, how will they achieve any success in their life?". She went to Lord Shiva again and asked him to give her brothers a valuable gift that can help them learn and achieve success. Lord Shiva said, "Alright! I will give your brothers my precious bull (Nandi).

• Parvati was happy. She said to her brothers, "Oh my dear brothers! Take good care of this bull and you will become rich and prosperous." The brothers were very happy and took the bull to their home. 

  However, after reaching home, the brothers started to get very impatient. They thought that since Parvati asked them to take care of Nandi, there must be something valuable in it. One of them suggested that they kill the bull and see if there's any treasure inside. Another brother resisted but in the end, all of them became greedy and agreed to kill the bull.

• When Parvati heard that Nandi had been killed by her brothers, she grew very angry. She confronted them and said, "You fools! Nandi was the most powerful and the most sacred bull in all the three worlds. You could have used him for tilling your barren land and for farming, however, you gave up this opportunity and instead killed him." So she cursed her brothers - who belonged to the Bhil community - and their descendants that they will never be able to farm again. And so the story goes for why the Bhils do not (cannot) farm on their lands. 

  Such stories also pass on an important lesson of respect towards the natural world to the younger generation.

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• Another tale from the same source associates them with the Goddess Parvati, consort of Mahadev, and relates how these foresters once went to visit their kinswoman at the abode of Mahadev. On their return, Mahadev gave them successively gifts of a silver stool, which they carelessly did not see and later, his bull Nandi with an injunction not to miss the wealth in its hump—meaning thereby, that it should be put to the plough. But the greedy foresters took him literally and the moment they reached their place, killed the bull to get at the wealth and found only blood and bones. The irate Goddess cursed them that they and their descendants would never be good cultivators and would always remain poor.²³

  • Nath, Y. V. S.. Bhils of Ratanmal: an analysis of the social structure of a western Indian community

• The Bhils are the third-largest (after the Gonds and Santals)  and most widely distributed tribal group in India

  • BhilBy Angelito Palma
• While the original Inka homeland was the Cuzco Valley of south-central Peru

  • InkaTamara Bray, Sarah Berry, and John Beierle
• “Bhils” as covering a number of subtribes  that include the Barelas, Bhagalia, Bhilalas, Dhankas, Dholi, Dublas, Dungri, Gamits or  Gamtas, Garasias, Mankars, Mavchis, Mewasi, Nirle (Nilde), Patelia, Pathias, Pavadas, Pawra,  Rathias, Rawal, Tadvis, Talavias, Vasavas, and Vasave.

  • BhilBy Angelito Palma
• Most Andean villages contained fewer than 100 families
• The areas inhabited by the  Bhils remain some of the more remote and inaccessible parts of India today. Their unique  scattered settlement pattern has hindered government efforts to provide services as has  their general distrust of government officials.

  • BhilBy Angelito Palma
• he Blackfoot were nomadic hunter-gatherers who lived in tipis.The bison was the mainstay of their life, providing food and the raw material for shelter and other aspects of the material culture. Much of the ceremonialism focussed on the importance of bison for survival.
• n traditional times the bison was the primary source of food as well as hides for tipi covers, bedding, parfleche containers, and shields, and sinew for sewing.
• There was a strict division of labour based on sex.
• The Bhil erect their houses on the tops of the hills with their fields  surrounding them, thereby allowing them to maintain constant security over their crops

  • BhilBy Angelito Palma
• Kin terms were of the Hawaiian type. The term "clan" is used by the Blackfoot to refer to a level of sociopolitical and kinship organization which integrates nuclear families.
• As hunters and gatherers, the Bhils traditionally  relied primarily on the bow and arrow, although spears, slings, and axes were also used

  • BhilBy Angelito Palma
• he subsistence base of the Inka Empire (TAWANTINSUYU) was agricultural and production was tightly controlled by the state
• n the Inka Empire, taxes were paid in the form of labor rather than in kind. Each community was required to cultivate the lands appropriated by the state in their district.
• raditional Blackfoot understand that human beings coexist with spiritual beings who live in the sky, on earth, and under the water. The holy (sacred) bundles, and the ceremonies which featured them, are manifestations of human links to these other beings.
• n Inka society marriage was obligatory at the age fixed by law -- eighteen to twenty for girls and twenty-four to twenty-five for men
• The Bhils' history of interaction with the British imperial  government is characterized by alternating periods of submission and of sporadic, isolated  rebellion.

  • BhilBy Angelito Palma
• The Bhils have traditionally been  classified as animists; this classification is reflected in the 1901 census, wherein 97.25  percent were labeled as animists and the remainder was associated with the Hindu faith.

  • BhilBy Angelito Palma
• One of the key factors in the rapid rise of the Inka state was the military
• Within Andean society, ritual was an essential aspect of daily life. People engaged in private acts, such as the sharing of coca or praying to the snow-capped peaks (APU), that expressed deeply held religious beliefs everyday. Public ceremonies of the Inka were elaborate, highly formal affairs.

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