Under British rule, the notion took hold that the only legitimate priests in Hinduism are upper-caste sacred-thread Sanskrit-knowing Brahmins. This is absolutely not true. Hinduism has many groups and communities. Different castes and tribes have different gods. Each of these gods have different priests.
Bhopas from Bhil communities are priest-performers who sing the tale of Pabu-ji and invoke his presence in the deserts of Rajasthan. Guravs are traditional managers of shrines in many temples of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Jogammas and Jogappas carry images of Yellamma in the borderlands of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Across Himachal, the much-revered devatas of the mountains have their own hereditary pujaris and gurus, who do not belong to the Brahmin caste. The Potraj or Pota-raju of Maharashtra and Telangana are heralds of goddesses.
These local priests are being increasingly sidelined as academicians and authorities try to homogenise Hinduism. They are even being seen as “low” caste. Even impure. Even after independence, these traditional priests are not allowed to be spokesperson of Hinduism. A colonial hangover clearly. These priests of Hinduism will tell stories that may upset the apple cart of purity that drives Brahminism.
Once upon a time, an upper-caste girl discovered that her husband belonged to a lower caste but had deceived her into marriage by pretending to be a Brahmin. Enraged, she killed her children, burnt down her house, and beheaded her husband, transforming into a terrifying goddess. To appease her, it was decided that a man from the village would be chosen to dress in bright, colourful garments befitting the goddess. Though he would be the most virile man in the village, he would dress like a woman, dance for her, whip himself for her pleasure, lead processions in her honour, and offer young male buffaloes as sacrifices.
In another version, an upper-caste girl fell in love with a lower-caste boy. They married, but she died during childbirth. Neither community was willing to cremate her. In his grief, the boy buried her and chose to wear her clothes, worshipping her as a goddess who had died in childbirth. It is said that all who came to this shrine had their wishes fulfilled, while those who failed to show respect suffered from ailments and diseases. This is another explanation for the Potraj traditions of the goddess.
The first version speaks of inter-caste marriage as a crime that annoys the goddess. The second version speaks of inter-caste marriage as an expression of true love that evokes the goddess. Which is the true version? Which is likely to be promoted as authentic?
There are other versions. To appease the goddess of tigers, who is married to a god who rides bulls, a village woman offers a young male buffalo calf as sacrifice. Her son serves as the herald of the goddess, smearing his body with turmeric and vermillion, whipping himself, warning people about her great power. Here we see how buffalo sacrifice is legitimised as cattle sacrifice is banned. The goddess is a cow; her husband is a bull. The buffalo is sacrificed. It evokes India’s dairy industry, the beef ban, and the buffalo-slaughter that allows India’s beef/buff industry to thrive.
As efforts are made to sanitise Hinduism, there is a tendency to deny the existence of its cross-dressing rituals and animal sacrifices. Priests from ‘lower’ caste traditions worship goddesses who are often believed to be part of a group of seven sisters, accompanied by a single male deity. These deities are found across India, with the Potraj tradition being the most distinctive expression of this belief in the Deccan region.
Across the Deccan region, particularly among what are referred to as ‘lower’ caste communities in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, one finds rituals where a man is dressed in brightly coloured clothes like a woman, his body smeared with turmeric and vermilion. He moves through villages beating rattle drums and kettle drums, inflicting brutal wounds upon himself with a whip, all in praise of the goddess, who is known by various names, including Kadak Lakshmi and Mariyamma. When displeased, the goddess is believed to cause miscarriages, smallpox, cholera, and various other epidemics, especially among children.
To appease her, offerings are made, including her favourite foods. She is given clothes, lemons, and pungent vegetables such as chillies and peppers, as well as the sacrifice of a young male buffalo calf. Processions in her honour are led by special men designated to play the role of Potraj. Women carry pots filled with water, margosa leaves, and various other offerings to the goddess’s shrine. These rituals exist outside Brahminical traditions, a reminder that Hinduism is much wider than the Vedic way of elites.
