Ritual obsessions: Sydney Writers' Festival
newsLocal News16 May 10 @ 10:00am by Michelle Loh
Hari Das is a well builder and a prison warden. He also happens to be
the living incarnation of a Hindu god.
Das is a Dalit or "untouchable", and for the most part, his caste
condemns him to performing the dirty, backbreaking tasks that other
castes in Indian society would never do.
For nine months of the year, Das battles the casual bigotry and
systemic discrimination that comes with being a Dalit, and though he
digs wells, he is not allowed to drink from them.
However, for three months of the year, Das allows his body to be
possessed by a Hindu god in a fascinating ritual known as Theyyam.
Devotees paint their bodies in vivid colours and perform a mesmerising
dance, invoking the gods, and telling their stories.
Das sees Theyyam as a sort of tolerated rebellion. Though he is a
Dalit, his incarnation as a Hindu god allows him to be worshipped by
upper caste members, and Das argues that in this way, Theyyam can be a
form of political resistance.
Das will be coming to Sydney for this year's Writers Festival, and
Sydneysiders will have the rare opportunity to watch the ritual being
performed.
Das and his role in Theyyam, is but one of the fascinating characters
in William Dalrymple's new book Nine Lives.
There is also the wealthy Jain nun who has vowed to slowly starve
herself to death, the Buddhist monk who took up arms against political
oppression, and the Devadasi or temple prostitutes who have dedicated
their lives to the Indian goddess Yellamma.
Nine Lives looks at the changing role of religion in India, and
Dalrymple introduces us to nine people whose lives tell of their
struggle to make peace with the world around them. Nine is something
of a sacred number with Hinduism, and Dalrymple says that the Nine
Lives in his book refers to the nine Rasas or temptations.
"Religion, much more than in the West, is very closely integrated into
Indian society," he said. "Every social group has its own deity, and
its own religion. It determines a huge amount about your life.
Globalisation hasn't quite eliminated the complexity of human
behaviour, and often in the most advanced parts of India, it's still
possible to be extraordinarily surprised by people's beliefs".
Sydney Writers' festival runs from May 15 to 23.
Nine Lives: An Evening of South Asian Devotional Music and Spiritual
Transformation will be held on Wednesday, May 19, 8pm at the Opera
House.
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