SCHRIFTENREIHE .,INTERNATIONALES ASIENFORUM "

Herausgeber: Detlef Kantowsky Alois Graf von Waldburg-Zeil

SCHRIFTENREIHE INTERNATIONALES ASIENFORUM

BAND 3

Recent Research on Nepal

Proceedings of a Conference held at the Universitat Konstanz. 27 - 30 March 1984

edited by Klaus Seeland

Weltforum Verlag Munchen · Koln · London

6

interrupt this isolation, to complete and correct data, and to make one rethink some of one's theories.

Every culture has its specific tradition, which has an impact on the way in which one member of this culture approaches another culture. This approach has been harmonized to a great eJd;ent through scientific field research methods and the principles of empirical work and cross-cultural comparison. Some differences, however, in experiencing an alien culture have probably re­mained even within the most scientific approach so that it was very interesting to find out how a phenomenon was seen by a colleague with a different cultural background. On the other hand, it was proved once more that science is an international platform and has a common basis. Although the field has been dominated by national research groups, this conference showed that it might be rewarding to think about international scientific copperation and common research.

i would like now to express my thanks to the many people from whose in­valuable help the conference and the preparation of this book have profited. Of these, however, I can mention only a few here. First of all there is the 'Gesellschaft der Freunde und Forderer der Universitat Konstanz, e. V .', who had generously given a grant . Furthermore , I am grateful to Helmi and Uschi Isele for typing the final manuscripts, to Denise F lowers Deissenber g for proof reading the English and to Helga Fendrich for the elaborate draw­ings . Harald Fritz and Rainer Olsen di(l their best to assist me in organizing the ·conference. There is also the library of the University of Konstanz, in whose conference room we had the pleasure to reside for four days . Finally, I am deeply indebted to the Fachgruppe Soziologie and in particular to Pro­fessor Detlef Kantowsky, who, although he could not be present at the con­ference itself, supported me with all that was necessary to make the con­ference and this publication possible and it is in his publication series that this colume is appearing.

Konstanz, November 1985 Klaus Seeland

PRELIMIJ:\ARY HEMARKS OJ:\ BALAJOGlS

OR ASCETIC-CHILDREN+

V~ronique Bouillier

7

My main research is devoted to the ascetic castes and to the theoretical prob­lem created by the merging of asceticism and life- in- the- society. Within this topic one finds the case of the biilajogis. As I did not find any mention of them in the normative or anthropological literature, I want to give here the little information I have, hoping it will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between ideology and reality of renunciation 1 .

The first balajogis I met were in the crowd gathering in the Kathmandu \"alley for the Sivaratri festival. They were two boys, about tweh·c years old, wear­ing the garment of· Shaiva ascetics: an ochre dhoti, an ochre shirt, a neck­lace of rud ra kii a beads, a small pot -kama l}r} a 1 u. But peculiar to them was the yellow scarf tied around their head. Their behaviour was not at all like that of the children-beggars of the Kathmandu streets. On the contrary they had the kind of aggressive pride the s ii d h us usually show. Like them, they were going from house to house and, standing in the courtyard, they waited for alms, singing devotional songs dedicated to K~~l)a or R!l.ma. They were playing a kind of lute with one string, ekta r.

After my first conta.ct with these two boys, I ml!l len other b5.lajogis, :ts th.:y call themselves, all bct,,·een twelve and nineteen years old. There were never more than three together. Like the firs t ones they looked more or le ss like junior Shaiva ascetics: ochre garments, r ud ri k 9 a necklace. Their life was hard; as wandering beggars, they knew what poverty and loneliness were.

Most of them are from the Biihun- Chetri villages of Central 1:\epal ( Pokhara and Nawakot Districts); they walked all around this part of the area. 1\,·o of them, for example, went from Pokhara to Bhairava, then to Gorkha, Kath­mandu, Jletauda, Birganj and Okhaldunga. Then they stayed two years in the

+) I wish to give my sincere thanks to C. Malamoud for his thorough r eading and precious comments on the French draft of this paper, as well as to M. Gaborieau.

8 V~ronique Bouillier

Terai (in Dang), working as cowherds for a K.anphata Jogi monastery. Where they go, how long they stay somewhere does not seem to be precise; that depends on the circumstances: they may travel with ascetics, go to certain pilgrimages or festivals .••. These provide the opportunity of getting more alms (the festivals always attract a huge number of beggars and mendicant sad h us) as these children have nothing else to live on, contrary to the ascetics who can have the support of the monasteries of their sect or the help of the Guthi Samsthan2. They don't have anything except their clothes , a few cooking pots, their "lute". At night, they stay near some temple; in the Kath­mandu Valley, they are usually in Pa~upatiniith, Surje Vinayak or the Dattatreya temple in Bhaktapur.

These biilajogrs do not belong to any sect or organization. They are by them­selves and stay together only if they are from the same village. With the others, they have occasional relationships. However five of them have contact with a guru; they don't stay with him but come to visit him. This man lives in a room in the compound of an ex-monastery dedicated to Siva Kirante§var, on the north-east side of the M;-gasthair hill. He stays alone, half-blind, pretending to be 35 but looking much older. He belongs to a Visnu order. His status is quite low in the ascetic community of Pa§upatinllth . Th~ relation between this guru and the biilajogrs is recent and, it seems to me, occasional. They join together because of their mutual loneliness and margin­ality. The sectarian affiliation does not have any importance, and when the guru have the balajogis a Vi~QU mantra and a t u 1 as i (basil, a symbol of Vi~\J.U) necklace, they just added it to the r u d r a k ~a necklace, and also with the sacred thread of the Brahmin! This giving of a mantra (mantra dine) was done in the guru's room. First he and his c he 1 as, wearing a new ochre d hot 1 , made a p u j ii to the Sivalil\ga, in the middle of the Siva Kirante§var courtyard. They bowed and put their forehead on the I in g a , then offered a few coins, flowers , vermillion, Indian saffron. The guru made a circumambulation around the 1 in g a , carrying a small oil-lamp. Then he put the tulasi necklaces on the linga to consecrate them. The same ritual was done in front of the Vi~t;tu and Hanuman statues, which is more in agree­ment with the Vaishnavite affiliation of the guru. After that, one by one, the c he 1 as went into the guru's room . Then, after a flower offering to the d i yo­k a 1 as (lamp and waterpot), the guru gave a t u Ia s i necklace to the c he 1 a and, both hiding their bead under a white cloth, whispered 108 times in each ear the mantra dedicated to Rlima and Naraya9a. At the end, all the c he 1 as bent in front of the guru, and washing his feet , sipped a few drops of the water.

The teaching of this guru is mainly devotional Vaishnavite songs. The c he 1 as learned new episodes of the Krsna' s or R.ama's stories and now they compare themselves to Rama and Lak~~~9a in exile in the forest.

For these children are not only beggars and roaming marginals. The.ir actual life is a dramatic consequence of a ritual moment, of a "detail" which most

Balajogis or Ascetic-Children 9

commentators regard as semblancc, parody, farce! To understand this ritual episode and its consequences, we have: to look at its place in the bra ta band ha process, asitisduringthis initiationceremony, bratabandha or barta­m an, that a "mistake" was made. The fate of the children was thus decided, they had to run away. Such was the beginning of their wandering. They were 8 or 10 years old.

1. UPANAYANA

The brat a band h a (Skt: v rat a band h a , "to be bound by a \'0\\' 11:1 J, tlw initiation ceremony as it is practised by the 1'\epalese high castes , is directly related to the Vedic and Brahmanic tradition of the up ana~· an a. Om• can not understand the actual unfolding of the '1\epalese ceremony without comparin~ it to the initial model - the up an a y an a as it i s e:-.voscd in the ~~fhy::siit ras-l.. The alterations and distorsions present in the '1\epalese cercnlllny tlwn become meaningful. This applies e\·en more to the case of the balajogis because what these children are living, is related to a very ancient tradition generally considered as having fallen into disuse.

The Vedic up an a y an a was the initiation rite to the state of bra h ma c ii ri, i.e . someone devoted to the study of the \'edas and submitting himself to a number of ascetic practices, the most important being absolute chastity5. The main clement of the up a nayana was the learning of the sacred mantra, the sav itri (also called gayat ri a s this verse dedicated to the god Sa\'itr . is said in the metre gay at ri ): this cons tituted the second birth of the student. Later on, in the Upani~ads, this condition of brahmacarr was included in the general theory of the four a§ ram a or stages of life through which e\'cry high caste man, specially every Brahmin, should pass. The stage of bra h m a­c ii ri was then necessary before leading the life of a householder or g r hast h a . The student generally spent twelve yeat·sli with his teacher, learning tlw \ 'l'das

and the way to perform the rites. He had to follow certain ascetic practices: chastity, begging for the guru, meditation, food restrictions etc . But he was not on the way to full renunciation. On the contrary, the stage of bra h m a­carr prepared him to be a householder and as such to perform sacrifices . The guru himse lf was married and his activities were concentrated on the ritual.

Schematically the main ritual s teps in a bra h mac a ri' s life were tlwse:

upanayana Preliminary rituals or "rites de s~paration" (bath, sha\'in:.;-, invocation of Ga9es etc.)

Giving of the clothes and symbolical items for the new stage: - loin-cloth and girdle

10 V~ronique Bouillier

-upper garment or sacrificial thread -animal skin, usually deer-skin -staff (of pal a~ a wood for Brahmin)

Symbolical performances - the guru takes charge of the c he 1 a - circumambulation around the fire - teaching of the gay at rr - feeding the sacred fire -begging for alms: the student goes round the people

present and begs alm for his guru

vedarambha or beginning of the Vedic studies: This rite was performed only in case of a delay between up an a y an a and the ar­rival in the guru's house

ke€anta the first shaving, performed around the age of 16. Also god ana or "gift of a cow" (symbolized by a few coins) to the guru

sam a v a r tan a " returning" (from the guru's house) marks the e oo of the studies, the end of the bra h mac a ri stage. It was per­formed twelve years after the upanayana. The essential was a bath (s nll. na) meant for cooling the ascetic heat of the b r a h mac ii r r and making him able to lead the life of a householder7. After this bath, in fact a sprinkling with water from eight water-pots, the young boy is given luxur­ious clothes and ornaments. Henceforth he is called a snl£taka (one who has bathed); he is ready for marriage.

In the ritual sequence described by the Gfhyasutras, the steps are well defined, the meaning is unambiguous. But, even if the initial canvass is the same , the actual practice shows some shortcuts or aggregations. Some parts of the ritual have disappeared, others are displaced in the sequence , acquiring a different meaning. Two main reasons can, in my opinlon, explain these modifications:

- The disappearance of the stage of bra h mac a r r. The twelve years of Vedic studies wit.h a guru are no more than a model of reference. As a result, the upanayana, the vediirambha and the samlivartana, or the be­ginning and the end of the Vedic studies, are joined together in a ritual per­formance of four days (or even one day).

- The trend to postpone the up an a ya n a till the eve of the marriage (usually for the non-Brahmin). The rites of sam a v art an a and the preliminary rituals of marriage are then confused.

Thus in spite of formal identity in the details , the global meaning of the upanayana is quite different. The religious and educational aspects have

Blilajogi s or Ascetic-Children 11

faded away in favour of a rite of integration into the caste. The twelve years of bra h rna c a ri with their initial and final rites are condensed in a simple "rite de passage" giving access to a full statusB. 1\Ioreo\·er a new element was introduced in the initiation ritual; this episode, unknown in the Gfhya­sutras, familiar to the modern initiation in India as well as in 1\epal, is usually called "travel to foreign countries" or also "going to Benares". This "travel" is the one to be performed by the balajogis and these are the only ones for whom this symbolic travel becomes reality.

2. BRATABAl\DIIA

In 1\epal , this name is given to an initiation rite which include>:; four ~a ri' -s k a r as ("purification rites" which mark the stages of the life -cycl e> l of the Brahmanic tradition: the u pa nayana , the vedarambha, the kc~anta or god !rna and the sa mllva rt ana.

It is performed for the young Brahmin since their eighth year. It can be col­lective; for financial reasons all the young boys of the same \'ill age join to­gether for the ceremony .

The preliminary and up an a y an a rituals are very similar to the description of the Gfhyasutras9. My purpose here is not to describe them but to give the schema of the ritual sequence in order to locate the so-called travel to Bena­res.

Preparing the sacrificial area or jag g e: the domestic priest draws a diagram on the groum wilh rice flour and sets the sacrificial fire in the middle . Offerings to the gods, fir st to GaneS Auspicious ~ radd ha to the fore'fatherslO

Giving of clothes and S}mbolicrU. items girdle made of muja grass (mekhala) loin-cloth (kaupina) in sanpll. t (hemp) leaves sacrificial thread (jan a i ) made of three cords deer- s kin (m r g a car m a), in fact three small threads of skin a yellow scarf a staff of p a 1 a~ a wotxl in the right hand and a stick with a bag in yellow

material fastened to it for puttin~ in the rice ~olten from lx.•ggin)!;

Guru and chela join hand s

Teaching of the g a ya t rT and p u j a to the sun

Round for alms: the young boy, helped by his maternal uncle carrying a

.· - .._ ___ . ~ m::::.:::t=-- ·~ ¥-.....: ... Jm:cz::t .. --..... ~,.,, _u ._-;,- ... ·~····

12 V~ronique Bouillier

basket, goes begging for alms three times around the sacrificial area. Every time he starts begging from his mother. He offers then the collected alms to his guru.

Pouring out clarified butter into the sacred fire: this part is considered as the v e d li ram b h a •

God11n (of five lna i.e. 20 paisa)

The sam 1I v art ana is performed just afterwards. The boy sprinkles him­self with water from eight ka 1 as as the guru utters the proper mantra. He takes out his brahmacarr clothes and puts on those of grhasta. He also receives a pair of shoes, an umbrella, a flower necklace and a bamboo staff,

Then comes the de~ ii n tar gam an 11 episode, or "the going away to a farther place", more simply called "K ii ~ r jane ", "going to Be nares". The young boy claims his will to go far away, to Ka§r or to Ka§mir and to become a j o gi. The guru gives his permission: "gh u m n a j ll i1 ! " "Go" . At once the boy goes running towards the north or the east12 as far as the village limits. These limits are, according to the case, either a river, or a Ganes templel3, or a line drawn on the ground with rice flour. His maternal uncle· runs fast behind him and must catch him . By force and by persuasion -he promises to arrange his marriage or even to give him his daughter as a wife 14 -he takes his nephew back to the sacrifical area. The boy bends and touches his mother's feet and gives her a few rupees : this marks his return after his "long journey"15 .

The bratabandha ends with a last offering to the fire, a last dak~i~a (sacrificial payment) to the priest and a feast,

3, DdANTARGAMAN

It seemed interesting to me to give here the translation I made of the passage concerning "the travel to foreign country", from a Nepalese ritual text-book, the Bratabandha paddhati by K.P.BHATTARAI(pp.264-274). This book gives a very detailed account of the rites, the 'w.ay to perform them, and of the mantras that the priest has to pronounce, Its account of the "travel " and of the verses r ecited is quite useful.

"Then the young boy, having taken off the shoes he had just put on for a while, is made to put some money (depeooing on the case a gold coin or a few rupees) at his mother's feet and to bend in front of her16, The boy (who has put his shoes on again) is requested to announce publicly (even if he is not willing to go away, but only to make people believe he will do it) that, after taking leave

Bfilajogis or Ascetic Children 1:1

of his father and mother, he will go to some "foreign country ' ' (another place -first Ka§I) for studying the Vedas or for wandering. He has to mount a horse or to take a few steps towards the east or the north, and he is taken to some sacred place a bit farther . At that time the young boy's maternal uncle who followed him, says: "You have to take the stage of householder, I will find you a bride, do not think of going far away, stay studying at home, etc." and thus charming him, he takes him back . They are again near the jagge and the priest read's the following Puranic verses to make the boy understand and remember the troubles of a journey abroad.

Puranic verses about thl?. "foreign country" episode,

Va~i~~ha17 says: At the age of eight, the son, after the brat a band h a , Bends in front of his father and his mother and goes to"·ard!i

The son:

The mother:

The son:

The mother:

The father:

The son:

The mother:

The father:

The son:

a foreign placc:>. Listen to me, mother , I am going to the fore stl8 There I will pray and implore the goddess Saradal9. After serving my guru in th.e beautiful place of Ka~mir , After acquiring know ledge, I will come back home. Since you were a little child, my son, I ha\'e cared for you

and I have taken troubles . He is old, my son ! I brought him up. Leaving what is necessary, why do you go to the forest? Having fulfilled the vow of brahmacarya, having scr\'cd my

guru, Having bathed in all the t i r t h as 20 , I return a oo come

back home. He brings liberation to seven lineages the one who goes to

pilgrimage. Then I shall come, o mother, I shall come after twelve years. In the r emote countries there are only sufferings, troubles,

fears, dangers. The air and even the sun are icy and one suffers from hunger

and thirst. To cat roots and fruits, to s leep on the ground: In the forest the life is very hard, come now and stay at home. Happy are the father and mother whose son made a \ 'OW,

He gives liberation to ten generations, ten ascending and ten descending.

In these remote lands full of sufferings, troubles, dange r s , don't go!

Impassable are the r ocky mountains , impassable is the Himalaya.

Full of tigers, bears, thieves and robbers is the forest. It i s frightful. I will not let you go alone a nd hungry. I am born in a Brahmin family and lineage, fathe r !

14

The mother:

The father:

The son:

The mother:

The father:

The son:

The mother:

The father:

The guru:

Vl!ronique Bouillier

Fulfilling the vow, I obtain the liberation of the ancestors. Ten months I carried you in my womb, bearing everything ,

hunger and sleep. And you will perhaps go far away, such is my fate! See, my son, how painfully I brought you up And you will perhaps go far away and s uch is my fate! Five years I stay, free from passions, in the forest, Thus I fulfill my vow, surely I bring li.beration to the an-

cestors. The hills are impassable, impassable is the Himalaya. Impassable the goddess' place, impassable the forest. It is hard to go to Ka~mir, it is still more difficult to get

the knowledge. It is hard to serve one's guru, it is still more difficult to

fulfil one's vow. You are leaving me, your father! Don't go now that you are

a young boy. · Without you my lineage will die out. I shall serve my guru during twelve full years I s hall go back home after fulfilling my vow. The dharma is at home, and the karma and the vow and

the self-control also The lmowledge, Lakl_lmi, the service of the guru, are all in

the house 21, Your father, your mother are your guru, all your parents

are your guru If you don't keep your promise to them, they wlll cry bitterly. Your father, your mother, all cry; you say you go to the

forest, Leaving such a great burden, why do you go, my son ? All your relatives cry, saying: "o my son! o my child!" They cry, your guru, your family and even the servants. In your house your father and your mother cry, and cry also

the ancestors in heaven. Would you be glad to make them cry! Your mother is like a pilgrimage to the Ganga, your father

is like a pilgrimage to Pul_lkar And your guru is a pilgrimage to Kedar and your e lder bro­

ther also. The mother, the father and the r elatives, they arc all like

pilgrimages, And the guru, when respected by famous guests, is also like

a pilgrimage. What I said is through kindness for you Be glad, my child! You behave well staying at home.

Va~i~~ha:

The son:

~..... ..· ~ ..

D.'ilajogis ot· Ascetic Childrl'n 15

Thus the mother is happy and the father gabbles with joy, All the family is happy and the servants play a gay music. Various kinds of foods have been prepared A feas t is given to the child back home. You gave me very good food to eat, fathe r ! I bend at your feet. The guru gave me the knowledge of all the sacred books To make him happy, I want to give him a d a k ~ i!] a During twelve years I kept fully t he vow o f bra h mac a r ya For my well-being, give a cow as dakey i ~a. The one who, humbly studying, follows the dharma, nC'\"Cr

gives any trouble to others The one who docs not touch for his own pieasut-c another's

wife, is never in trouble . The mountains are not a burden, neither the se\'cn oceans, The burden is to deceive one's teacher, to betray his trust.

4. PLACE OF TJIIS RITUAL I:\ THE BRATABAJ\DIIA SEQUEJ\CE

In most of the desc riptions of the up an a ya n a, the so- called journey is performed just afte r the samavartana, as I describe it here (for ex­ample, for Gujarat, S.STEVEJ\SOJ\, 1971:41, for Nepal, K.P. BIIA'fTARAf, 2030:264 and L . BENNETT, 19!13:70). Yet it does not seem \'Cry lohrical that this episode which suggests the breaking off from family tics, should come just after the ritual celebrating the return in the family and thl' end of the period of austerit ies.

It would be more plausible if it were situated just after the r ound for alms, before the initiate took out his bra h mac ii ri clothes . Such is the opinion of R.B.PANDEY (1969:139): he places this "mimic performance" , this "comedy of going on educational mis s ion to Bcnarcs or Kashmir" " after the ceremonial begging"22,

Another account, in J. A. DUBOIS (190G: 221-2), takes t his journey as a part of the marriage ceremony. Once the preliminary rituals ended , the bride and bridegroom , beautifully dre ssed, arc seated near the sac rificial fire . The bridegroom "then dresses himself up as a p ilgrim and makes all pre­parations as if he were really going to take a long journey, announcing that he is going to start on a holy pilgrimage to Kii!;i, that is, Benares . He leaves the house" (222). But his fu ture father- in-law meets him at the outskirts of the village and offers him his daughter in marriage . Can we sec in this example the primal meaning of the rite: a last possibility gh·en to the bridegroom to choose between marriage or ascetic life ? Later

,.:

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16 V~ronique Bouillier

on, the practice of celebrating at the same time up an a y ana and marriage has induced to include that mimic journey in the up an a y an a: it is more related to the symbolism of this ceremony. However, DUBOIS is the only author, so far as I know, to mention the "journey to Be nares" as a part of the marriage ceremony itself.

One can be surprised by this apparent confusion , this unsettled successive order in the ritual. Probably, we have to think, with A.M.HOCART, that the order of a sacrificial sequence is modified because the meaning has changed: "the rite ( ... )has got misplaced because the theory has been forgotten ( ..• ). The old meaning (.,.)was lost and thus a different motive was allowed to as-sert itself" (1969: 8 2) . ·

5. MEANING OF THIS RITE

Inthe de~antargaman episode , inthe "Bratabandha P addhati", the matter is about a journey to a foreign or remote country, about the troubles and dangers involved in this journey. There is no direct reference to the state of renunciation. The P add hat i, according to the Vedic orthodoxy, mentions only the vow of bra h mac arT. However this state of bra h mac a r i seems very similar to the ascetic state: life in the jungle, wandering, eating wild roots and keeping celibacy so that the father is afraid his lineage will die out. The opposite temptation, that will be victorious at the end of the ritual, is the life of householder. The stage of bra h mac ii r I is then no more a pre ­liminary to marriage . It is an alternatl ve from which the parents try to turn the young boy away. This change of meaning appears clearl y in the comments of the people: to go far away means to go to Benares and one goes to Benares to become an ascetic. Very often the rite is called: j ogr hun u (to be a jogf) or jogr cho;ne ("to let go as a jogr", cf. G. CAMPBELL, 1978:236).

Among the Gujarati Brahmin, according to Mrs.STEVENSON (1971:41), "the preceptor makes seven lines of water across the road to r epresent the seven oceans ( ••• ). The teacher asks (the boy) if he is quite determined to go to Kli~r ( Benares) and warns him metaphorically of the dangers and diffi ­culties that he will have to overcome , assuring him that there are seven oceans (i.e. great rivers) in the way". The seven oceans are in no way rivers, they are , in the Indian cosmology, the oceans that surround the seven islands and constitute the limits of the earth. " En gros , la Terre est le monde du sacrifice et de la transmigration, les renon~ants reprEI.sentent l'au-delll du sacrifice" (M. BIARDEAU, 1981:11,481). To cross the seven oceans means metaphorically to enter into the world of r enunciation.

A polarization has taken place from which the actual brat a band h a is the

BiilajogTs or Ascetic Cildren 17

result. The two opposite conditions of g r hast h a and san n yn s i are the only models still existing. The bra h m; car i and the van apr as t h a (the third a§ ram a: life in hermitage) a re no more taken as autonomous stages . Everything which in the Vedic ritual was a symbol of the brahmacarT state , is actually no more differentiated from the s late of renounce r2:l.

The actual performance of the bratabandha appears as a kind of symbolic play, a staging in very precise and limited time and location, of the dialectical opposition between householde r and renouncer. The possibility is gi\'en there> to the man to embrace once in his life both conditions at the same t ime. This "comedy of going to Benares" is in no way meaningless or ridiculous ; it has the same function in the individual life as the festival on the collectivl' le,·el. The same ritual sequence encompasses the inversion of values and the retu rn to ordina ry social order24. The bratabandha is not only the initiation to the social values of the life in the world (or even to the orthodox rel igious values: learning of the Vedas, learning to perform the rites); it represents also the integration of the values of renouncement in the man- in-the - world 's experience.

6. TilE BALAJOGlS' BRAT ABANDHA

But it happens that the symbolic machinery gets out of order. The play suddenly becomes reality.

We saw that the brat a band h a is performed inside a special space bounded by a line on the ground, a river, a temple. These limits enclose a sac red space in which the "comedy" of embracing the ascetic li fe is acted out. The ordinary process of time is interrupted: the s tag<:>s of life mix together, the r oles contrndict one anothc r, the opposite options come into ag r ccmcnt. Within the protection of the sacred enclosure everything is possible without risk. But what happens if one crosses the limits? And then the play stops . The rules peculiar to the world of the ritual arc no longer app ropriate . One has to face the reality in which choice is a necessity , in which one's acts involve consequences.

When the guru says "Go!" to the young initiates who c laim to start for Bena­rcs, they run " like mad dogs" (a s one of the onlookers says). They look like they are possessed . They are taken by the play and the y run away as fast as possible . Their maternal uncl e has to catch them and to take them back; for that he needs all his strength . Now, in the case of the biilajogis, the brat a ­band h a was collective (from twelve to twenty boys); probably less attention was given to the individuals. Most maternal uncles were "made" so (m iim1i ban a e k o) for the occasion25; the re was no real one and a neighbour or an -

18 V~ronique Bouillier

other relative played the part. Or the true uncle was too old or too weak to hold his nephew by force. Anyhow, by negligence, unwillingness or incapacity, the young boy is not held back and crosses the real or symbolic limit which surrounds the village.

Outside the sacred space it is not possible to pretend any more. The boys are back on this side of the mirror, in reality. When, tired of running, they want to come back, it is no longer possible. The domestic priest stands on the inner side of the limit and forbids the boys to come in.

This is what happened at the bli.lajogTs' brat a band h a . In spite of their tears, in spite of the weeping of everybody around (so they say), they were ex-pelled from the village and they were forbidden to go back and even to meet their parents for twelve years ! Apparently this prohibition was respected ns some of the bli.lajogTs have been gone for eleven years and have never gone back to their village nor met any member of their family (except a brother for one of them).

We are here in direct relationship with the old tradition of bra h mac a ri . The brat a bandha would recover his initial function: to be an initiation to this period of twelve years devoted to a hard life of studies. However the ex­periences these children have lived through are very different from the de­scriptions of the brahmaca r'i stage given in the Vedic texts. They do not stay in a gu1·u•s house, they do not serve him, they do not feed his domestic fire, they do not learn anything, and if they beg for alms, they keep the alms for themselves. They started alone and they have since then been be the m­selves, They have no place to stay, they wander and 1f, by any chance, they have contact with a guru, he is always an ascetic and his eventual teaching is in no way related to the traditional learning of the ritual performance. Brahmacliri, here as in the bratabandha ritual, does. not have a proper meaning anymore; it designates a kind of renouncer. And these wan­dering children are no more distinguished from the ascetics: they are even called jogi or jogT -children.

At the end of the twelve years, the young boys must go back to their village. They have two possibilities then, depending on the attitude of their family and on their own wish.

They can be welcomed. The young boy bows before his mother and she asks him to stay. If he wants to settle in the village and to marry, he has to per­form again the rite of bratabandha and, this time, to take it to its normal conclusion26.

But 1f the boy is not welcomed, his mother gives him some alms. He is thus considered as a mendicant and accepted only on a temporary basis, He is thrown out of the village community and he usually becomes a renouncer for life, sannyisi, He mayalsostayasa brahmacarr, thatmeanstostay as a celibate Brahmin without being initiated as a san n ya s i, He keeps his

Balajogis or Ascetic Children 19

sacred thread and his topknot on. He is then called b iii a-bra h mac arT (brahmacarr since childhood) or naisthika-brahmac:arr (perpetual studcnt)27 and his garments and his way df.life do not differ from those of a san n yii s i . It is also possible that his family builds a small hermitage (kuti) for him in the village and takes care of him.

The boy's destiny does not only depend upon his parents' attitude. His wishc::; matter , Most of those I met wanted to go back home and to marry, but some: prefer to lead an independent life without social responsibilities .

7. COI\CLUSIOI'\

Is this temporary exclusion of some children a way to get rid of them'? Could this ritual be seen as a disguise for socio-economic motives? Some of these children are indeed orphans, dependant on a paternal uncle, others are from poor families. All of them belong to a large family with many c hildren and arc at least the third son. Some bli.la-brahmacarTtold me they ha\'C been dcpri\'cd of their inheritance. It seems thus quite possible that some clements e:\.ternal to the religious symbolism were involved but it is not sufficient to account for it. Some children are perhaps induced to go away because of family reasons, but that does not change the symbolism of the ritual nor the reality of the boundary out of which there is no return possible.

It seems to me that all the brat a band h a ceremony gets its me ani n~ from the episode of the "journey to Benares", generally considered as a funny comedy, Far from being a simulacrum, it implies a dramatic risk: to fall from a symbolic play into reality. The wandering of the b1ilajogis is n tribute paid by the society to ideology.

Notes:

1) But Axel Michaels did research on the balajogrs at the same time as myself. As we worked independently, our results support each other; cf. his article II Der VerstoBenc Sohn. 1\epalische b a I yogis und de r de§antara-Ritus willlrend der Initiation (upana yn na).

2) A state organism in charge of the administration of religious proper­ties,

3) In Sanskrit, v r a t aha n d h a qualifies any kind of \ 'Ow. In l\cpali, the ac­ception is more limited; the word is used only for the vow of bra h m a-

;

.-. -.~~·

20 VE!ronique Bouillier

c li rT made during the initiation ceremony, and by extension for the cere­mony itself .

4) Mostly the Gobhila and the Hiranyakesin Gfhyasiitras. 5) Cf. J. Gonda: "Literally the term means: 'applying or devoting oneself

to brahman, walking with brahman, cultivating brahman, faring in har­mony with brahman' . The frequent translation 'study of the Veda' stresses one aspect of the concept, the paraphrase 'state of continence and chastity, unmarried state' another which however has ( .•. ) always been central" (1965:284). On the duties peculiar to the brahmacarT !rlrama, see P.V.Kane {1941:II,1, 304-308).

6) Some texts -mention twelve years of study for each Veda, which means a period of brahmacllryli of forty-eight years (cf. P.V.Kane, 1941:1I, 1, 274). On the necessity of learning the Vedas, see C. Malamoud (1977: 24 ff. ).

7) Cf. R.B.Pandey (1969: 150): "The body of a student was heated with the fire of austerity and penance, hence for the comfortable life of a house­holder, it required a cooling influence, which was symbolized by bathing and indicated by the verses associated with it." A bath is generally re­quired at the beginning and at the end of any sacrifice. The stage of brahmaclirT may be considered as a long sacrifice, which shall end, as any sacrifice, by a bath inducing a separation with the sacredness (cf. W. C.Kaelber, 1981:84-85).

8) The traditionalists deplore this state of fact. R.B.Pandey (1969: 116) writes: "In the latest development of the samkiira its educational sense has departed altogether. The word upanayana is used in a sense of a cere­monial farce which is performed sometimes before the marriage of a twice-born. In this sense it is called "janeoo", that is a ceremony in

which a boy is invested with the Sacred Thread . What a mockery of fate!". 9) Cf. the ritual textbook of K.P . BhaHariii, "Bratabandha Paddhati" and also

L. Bennett (1983: 59-70). 10) § r add h a is the name given to any ceremony performed for the benefit

of deceased ancestors. As everything related to death, it is generally un­auspicious and requires that the performers of the ritual let the sacred thread hang from the right shoulder. In case of s r add h a made during auspicious ceremonies, like upanayana or marriage, the normal posi­tion of the sacred thread is not reversed: it hangs from the left shoulder.

11) On the meaning and connotations of the word 1 de~ ant a r a ', "other place, foreign country", see the interesting analysis of A.Michaels (forthcoming, pp.10-ll), Paradoxically, the classical view ofthe "deslintara" as a remote, hostile and dangerous place is, in the case of this ritual, applied to India, the holy land of Ka~r and Ka~mlr!

12) I thank C. Malamoud for having drawn my attention to the superposition here of two types of space representation: on one side, the Vedic and Brahmanic pre-eminence of orientations, the auspicious va.lue of the north, the east and the north-east ; on the other side, the importance given by

::-:;:·-;;:-~.-->A.~-~~·~·-·

Balajogrs or Ascetic Children :.!1

post-Vedic Hinduism to precise locations, to a ritual geography of pilgrim­age places. In this combination, the real localization of l"epal is not perti­nent: the young boy runs away towards the north or the east, to r each Benares (in the south) or Kasmlr (in the west). Moreover, in the verses recited at this occasion (see following pages), it is said that the boys has to cross the Himalaya to reach his destination!

13) The Ga~e§ temple represents here symbolically the wholeness of the vil­lage. Cf. A. W. MacDonald and A. Vergati-Stahl (1979:39): "Ga~es' role is a special one. lie is invoqued in every ritual and each and every quarter of the town ( Bhaktapur) has some form of Gat;~es in a sanctuary: this often bears the name of the locality".

14) If s uch a marriage is allowed. The Nepalese high castes are ~enerally for­bidden to marry inside seven generations on the paternal side and five on the maternal side. The Thakur only do not respect these rules, they can marry their matrilateral cross-cousin .

15) In the G;hyasutras, a departure for a journey is mentioned , which takes place just after the sam av art an a, but it is done in a very different spirit from the des lin ta rg am a n. The young boy, dressed in llL'mrious clothes, gets into a chariot and "having driven (some distance) in an easterly or northerly direction, he turns round from left to right and comes back (to his teacher)" (Gobhila G;hyasiltra, Ill,4,33) . When he is back, he is welcomed with a mad h up ark a, a honorary offering of honey etc. reserved for very respected guests , and among them the s nat aka . In the Vaikhanasasmartasutra (I I, 15), the confusion is made between the rrtadhuparka offered to the snataka and the one offered to the son­in-law. After the sam a v art an a , the young boy goes into a chariot or rides a horse or an elephant towards the east or the north and goes after­wards to the house of his bride. His father-in-law gives him then a mad h up ark a. The de§ lin ta rg am an episode finds perhaps its starting point in this journey.

16) Note of the Nepali text: "some make the boy bow (in front of his mother) only after he is back from his journey to a foreign country" .

17) Author's spelling for Virsistha, one of the rsi, the seers who had the r evelation of the Vedas. '' ' •

18) N: ban, the forest or the jungle, a s it is the opposite of the cultivated space of the village. On the jungle as a metaphor for renunciation, see C.Malamoud (1976: 3-20),

19) Epithet of Durga or Sarasvati. Skt sa rada, autumnal, mature. 20) Cf. B.Sarasvati (1983:41): "The vedic word tirtha, from ter, tarate,

means ford, steps to river, place of pilgTimage . In course oftime its mean­ing and s cope were extended to all things held to be pure and holy " . And even, as it is mentioned in our Nepali text: "Places where one ' s teacher stands or where a chaste housewife dwells or whe re a fa ther and a worthy son dwell are tirthas" (p.41). But a pilgrimage to the Ganges brings so much merit that "by bathing in the Ganges and drinking its water, one

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22 V~ronique Bouillier

purifies one's family up to seventh ancestor" (p. Gl) . 21) Cf. Manusmfti, II, 228, 229: "He (the religious s tudent) should do what is

pleasing to those two (the parents) and to the preceptor; on these three being satisfied, all austerity becomes completed. The service of these three is declared to be the highest austerity ; until permitted by them, one should not perform any other meritorious act".

22) In her "Chants villageois du pays bhojpuri", C. Champion gives also the " logical" sequence: begging, so-called journey to KJi{;T, samavartana: "Apr~s le rite du Bhiklj!a mangnii vient celui du Kll.~i jane k1 teyarT (tobereadytostartforBenares) . Le baruva (localformof bra h mac II ri) est suppos6 se rendre a Klisr (Be nares) pour des 6tudes religieuses. Apres un voyage fictif, on tetera son retour (sam a v art a­n a) tout en chant ant ce jane u (name given to the songs of the up an a -yana): le baruvli revientdeKasT ... " (1983, I,199).

23) Evidence i s given of this polarization in an article by P.M. Toomey (1976: 40-45). He considers the upanayana-samiivartana sequence as a ritual introduction to both conditions which constitute the wholeness of a twice-born's life. "The initiation ritual outfits the youth for both the householder and ascetic roles that he must fulfill. He must perform his role as householder in a righteous manner before proceeding to the final stage of renouncer" (p. 44). But the author mixes here the o ld Brahmanic theory oft he lis ram a and the modern practice where the bra h m a c a r I stage does not exist anymore. W. 0. Kaelber (1981:77 -99) , in a well-informed and subtle article, thinks of the brahmacari life as partaking of asceticism and of sacrificial performance.

24) L.Dumont (1966: 342) sees in the renunciation "la soupape de surct~ ( ••• de) l'ordre brahmanique". It is "l'individu extramondain ( • •. qui) avec sa n~gation du monde, son asc~tisme ( •.• ) repr~sente de renverse­ment des valeurs que nous attendions de la f~te ". The brat a band h a allows precisely to live at least once this "renversement des valeurs" . The r enunciation does not work only as a potentiality on the ideological level.

25) The maternal uncle has a very important but ambivalent role during the brat a band h a ; he is on the side of the renunciation when he helps his nephew during the begging for alms but he is also the one who keeps him back, who induces him to follow the dharma of householder. He is then on the side of social order; as r eprese nting the category of affines , he asserts his rights .

26) A.Michaels (forthcoming, p.14) mentions that the sacred thread given during the up ana yana proper ls considered as pt·ovisory. The perma­nent one is given at the end of the ceremony, after the coming back from the des an tara. And indeed the balajogi told me that they did not have a complete janai and that they have to perform the bratabandha again in order to get this new thread,

Iliilajogis or Ascetic Childl'l'n

27) On the s ituation of the nai~~hika-brahmacarr, sec :\Ianusmrti II, 244 ; w. Cal and ( Vaikhanasasmartasut ra , p. 186); C .1\Ialamoud (1 !)77: 3i

and 4!J) .

Bibliography

~:;

Bennett, L . , Dangerous Wives anti Sacred Sisters . Social and S~1nbolic Holes of lligh-cnste Women in 1\epal, 1\ew Yot·k, Columbia Uni\'ersity Press , 19S:l.

Bhanarai, K. P., Bratabandha Paddhati, Kathmandu, ~epal rlijkiya prajt:a prati~~han, :w:lO.

Biardcau, M. , "Te rre ' ' , in Dictionnairc des l\l)thologies , ed. Y .13onncfoy. Paris, Flammarion, 1981.

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Campbell, J . G., Saints and Householders. A study of llindu ri tual and m~th among the Kangra Rajputs, Kathmandu, Ratna Pustak l3hamlar, 197ri . Consultations wi th IIi malayan Gods , Columbia Cni\·ersity ( Arm Arbor Un. microfilm international), 197 6.

Champion, C., Chants villageois du pays bhojpuri. Litt~rature orale de l'IndL' du 1\ortl, Paris, Un.dc Paris III, 1983 .

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Dumont, L . , Homo Jlicrarchicus , essai sur lc syst~me des castes, Paris , Gallimard, 1966 .

Gonda, J ., Change and Continuity in Indian Re ligion, Th~ Hague, :'llouton, 1%5 . Grihya-Sutras (The), Part II, Gobhiln , lliranyakesin , Apastamba , trad. 11.01-

dcnberg, eel. F .!\lax 1\lullcr, Delhi, 1\Ioti l al nanarsida ss , l!liii' (The Sac red 13ooks of the East).

Kaelbcr, W. 0 . , The "Dramatic '' Element in Brahmat:Ic Initiation: S),nlJol s o f death, dange r and difficult passage, History of Religions , 18 , 1 ( l !l7t') : 54-7 6 . The Drahmaciirin: homology and continuity in Brahmnt.tic Religion, llistor y o f Religions , ~ 1. 1 (1!l81): 77 -!J!l .

Kane, P. V. , llistory of Dharmasiistn\ , Poona, Uhandarkar Oriental Hc >'ea n:h Insti tute, 19:10-U.Hi:!, 5 ,·ol.

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Malamoud, C. , \'illagc et foret dans l'id6ologic de l'Indc brahm.ani (!UL' , Ar­chives Europ~cnncs de Sociologic , X\'11 (197\i): :l - 20 . Lc Svii.dhyaya , recitation pe r sonnelle du \'eda , Taittiriya .:\;r ya naka,

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24 V~ronique Bouillier

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