Reading Devadasi Practice Through Popular Marathi Literature.

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Female person Erotic Men and Male person Ascetic Women: Goddess Yellamma and Her Agents / Victims

Advances in Sciences and Humanities
Book 7, Result 4, Dec 2021, Pages: 143-151
Received: Jul. 18, 2021; Accustomed: Sep. 28, 2021; Published: Dec. 31, 2021

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Writer

Sushmita Gonsalves, Scottish Church Higher, Academy of Calcutta, Kolkata, India

Abstract

This article is a study of the cult of the Goddess Yellamma and women/men/eunuchs called devadasis who derive a sense of agency through their worship of the mother Goddess. I take conducted a participant ascertainment of the devadasis in and around Kolhapur; this piece of work is an indepth report of their lives and their struggles. The word devadasi, every bit defined by the Encarta dictionary means a Hindu temple dancer, a member of a hereditary class of women dancers in a Hindu temple. In Kolhapur today, information technology is a very well known fact that a bulk of these devadasis are Dalit women. Sheer poverty and destitution force them to accept this lifestyle, which inevitably culminates in the oldest profession of the world – prostitution. Order and culture has worked mitt in manus to ensure that these devadasis are degraded to a dreaded existence and gradually they succumb to the dictates of faith and patriarchy. Rather for a devadasi, being as a woman is secondary to her existence equally a devadasi. She is first a devadasi, only and so is she a woman. This is the manner in which, her denigration is complete. My interviews at Saundatti and Kolhapur (with its temple complexes) have revealed interesting conclusions about the system of dedication. The devadasi arrangement is one that is yet persisting, despite all kinds of prohibitions on the exercise. Information technology is an evil nexus of priests, administration and the local people. Inspite of all this exploitation in various aspects of their lives, they are non losing hope. Devadasis are agents of the Goddess -this gives them a social prestige. The bureau of women in "religious prostitution" can exist articulated - the fact that the Goddess to whom they are dedicated blesses them and communicates her wishes through them has endowed them with a huge sense of authorisation in their everyday lives. Human agency being that inherent capacity in each person to think, make choices and human action, within and based on the socio-economic, political and cultural forces around them, in order to improve themselves and their families and communities; the devadasis are showing a groovy deal of agency in making visible efforts to improve their lives. In Kolhapur today, they are realising that their children shouldn't be subjected to this degradation anymore and while possible, trying to brand choices, acting inside and trying to mould the socio-economic, political and cultural forces around them.

Keywords

Religious Prostitution, Devadasis, Goddess Yellamma, Agency, Kolhapur, Exploitation

To cite this article

Sushmita Gonsalves, Female person Erotic Men and Male Ascetic Women: Goddess Yellamma and Her Agents / Victims, Advances in Sciences and Humanities. Volume seven, Issue iv, Dec 2021 , pp. 143-151. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20210704.fifteen

Copyright

Copyright © 2021 Authors retain the copyright of this article.
This commodity is an open access commodity distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted utilise, distribution, and reproduction in whatsoever medium, provided the original piece of work is properly cited.

References

[one]

Anagha Tambe (2009) Reading Devadasi Practice through Popular Marathi Literature in Economic and Political Weekly, April25, 2009, Vol. XLIV No. 17, p. 92.

[2]

Anagha Tambe "Unlike Issues/Unlike Voices – Organization of women in prostitution in Bharat" in Rohini Sahni, V. Kalyan Shankar and Hemant Apte (2008) (ed) Prostitution and Beyond – An Analysis of Sex Work in India New Delh: Sage p. 73.

[3]

Lakshmi Vishwanathan (2008) Women of Pride – The Devadasi Heritage New Delhi: Lotus Collection, p. 1.

[4]

In order to find out the entire gamut of words that are used to refer to prostitute, please see Hemant Apte and Rohni Sahni, "What does a language have to say? Words for Prostitution in Marathi vocabulary" in Rohini Sahni, 5. Kalyan Shankar and Hemant Apte op. cit, pp. 302-311.

[v]

Anupama Rao (2010) The Caste Question – Dalits and the politics of Modern India New Delhi: Permanent Black/Orient Blackswan, pp. 61-63.

[6]

For a detailed history of the Goddess Renuka Yellamma see William Dalyrymple "The daughters of Yellamma" in Aids Sutra Untold Stories from Bharat (2008) Random House Bharat pp. 221–222.

[seven]

K. C. Tarachand (1991) Devdasi Custom: Rural Social Structure and Flesh Markets New Delhi Reliance Publishing Firm p. 69 DELETE THIS REFERENCE.

[8]

William Dalyrymple "The daughters of Yellamma" in Aids Sutra Untold Stories from India (2008) Random House India p. 223.

[9]

See William Dalyrymple "The daughters of Yellamma" in (2008) Aids Sutra Untold Stories from Republic of india Random House India, pp. 240-241.

[10]

Anagha Tambe (2009) Reading Devadasi Practice through Pop Marathi Literature in Economic and Political Weekly, April25, 2009, Vol. XLIV No. 17, p. 88

[xi]

Vakulabharanam Lalitha (2011) Women, Religion and Tradition – The Cult of Jogins, Matangis and Basvis Bhopla, Rawat Publications, pp. 176.

[12]

Anagha Tambe (2009) Reading Devadasi Practice through Popular Marathi Literature in Economical and Political Weekly, April25, 2009, Vol. XLIV No. 17, pp. ninety-91.

[13]

Karin Kapadia, "Dancing the Goddess – Posession and Caste" in Subhadra Mitra Channa and Joan P. Mencher (ed) (2013) Life as a Dalit Views from the Bottom on Caste in India New Delhi Sage, p. 194.

[fourteen]

Jenett Diane A Million Shaktis Rising: Pongala, a Women's Festival in Kerala, Republic of india in Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Volume 21, Number 1, Jump 2005, pp. 43.

[15]

Vakulabharanam Lalitha (2011) Women, Religion and Tradition – The Cult of Jogins, Matangis and Basvis Bhopla, Rawat Publications, pp. 34-35 and p. 23.

[xvi]

K. C. Tarachand (1991) Devdasi Custom: Rural Social Structure and Flesh Markets New Delhi Reliance Publishing Firm p. 86.

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Source: https://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo?journalid=323&doi=10.11648/j.ash.20210704.15

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