Devadasi
Devadasi (in
Sanskrit "servant of god") is a religious practice still found in some Hindu communities, especially in southern India, whereby at young girls are "married" to a deity or a temple.
Devadasi proper should not be confused with
rajadasis and other types of dancers. The institution of devadasi-like professions are also known by various other local terms. Usually dalit women are forced by forward caste people to prostitute by name of god. Several examples drawn from different regions and languages are:
*
Andhra Pradesh:
bogams and
sanis*
Goa and
Western India:
bhavins or
bhavinis - meaning 'beautiful wanton women'
*
Kannada:
basavis and
jogatis*
Maharashtra (other than the coastal area):
muralis,
jogatis,
jogtinis, or
aradhinis*
Marwar:
bhagtanis or
bhagtan*
Tamil Nadu:
devaradiar or
dasis - meaning 'servants of God'
*
Travancore region:
kudikkars - meaning 'those belonging to the house'
This list is far from exhaustive. Other parochial terms for Devadasis include:
Nayakasani,
Rangasani,
Gangasani,
Muttukattikondavlu,
Davara Sule,
Kasabi,
Patradavalu,
Jogti.
Devadasis are sometimes referred to as a
caste; however, some question the accuracy of this usage. "According to the devadasis themselves there exists a devadasi 'way of life' or 'professional ethic' (vritti, murai) but not a devadasi
jati sub-caste. Later, the office of devadasi became hereditary but it did not confer the right to work without adequate qualification" (Amrit Srinivasan, 1985). Women who belonged to the
Isai Vellavar (also known as 'Isai Vellaalar')
caste would often become Devadasis at the age of 3.
An important point that may be noted is the difference between the Devadasi system and the Jogin/Basavi system. The Devadasi system is not confined to a particular caste. Unlike Jogins, the Devadasis are not treated as
untouchables. The doors of every
temple are open to them. They have, in fact, been honored in the public in the past, and even offered seats alongside the figures of royalty. Devadasis confined their activities to the boundaries of temples (especially great traditional temples), whereas Jogins/Basavis participated in dances before chariots of gods and goddesses during processions in village festivals. Jogins/Basavis are not allowed to dance inside the great traditional temples, and their activities are limited to small traditional temples in the villages. Jogins/Basavis are also called upon to dance at funeral processions, at the annual festivals, assorted village rituals during the harvest. However, the differences between these two different systems gradually became diluted and the so-called 'traditional devadasi system' disappeared along with the kingdoms and royal patronages. In the later stages (modern times), these Jogins/Basavis adopted the name
Devadasi. The term 'Devadasi(s)' was used hereinafter to denote all local variants.
Devadasi has a long history, and, like many Hindu practices has evolved into a number of forms. Evidently the first Devadasi were celibate temple dancers, who eventually fell out of favor and some were forced into prostitution.
Ancient and medieval history
Originally, devadasis were celibate all their life. Reference to dancing girls in temples is found in Kalidasa's "Meghadhoot". It is said that dancing girls were present at the time of worship in the
Mahakal Temple of
Ujjain. Some
scholars are of the opinion that probably the custom of dedicating girls to temples became quite common in the 6th century A.D., as most of the
Puranas containing reference to it have been written during this period. Several Puranas recommended that arrangements should be made to enlist the services of singing girls at the time of worship at temples.
There can be no denial of the fact that by the end of 10th century, the total number of devadasis in many temples was in direct proportion to the wealth and prestige of the temple. During the medieval period, they were regarded as a part of the normal establishment of temples; they occupied a rank next only to
priests and their number often reached high proportions. For example, there were 400 devadasis attached to the temples at
Tanjore and
Travancore.
Local kings often invited temple dancers
devadasis to dance in their courts, the occurrence of which created a new category of dancers,
rajadasi's and modified the technique and themes of the recitals. A devadasi had to satisfy her own soul while she danced unwatched and offered herself (surrendered) to the lord, but the rajadasi's dance was meant to be an entertainment.
The rise and fall in the status of Devadasis can be seen to be running parallel to the rise and fall of
Hindu temples. Invaders from West Asia attained their first victory in India at the beginning of the second millennium A.D. The practice that probably started around 6th century A.D. seems to have reached its pinnacle around
10th and 11th century A.D. The destruction of temples by invaders started from the northwestern borders of the country and spread to the whole of the country. Thereafter the status of the temples fell very quickly in
North India and slowly in
South India. One may possibly say the same about the status of Devadasis in India. As the temples became poorer and lost their patron kings (and in some cases temples were destroyed), the Devadasis were forced into a life of
poverty, misery, and, in many cases, prostitution.
Colonial Era
Toward the end of the 19th century, there was a spurt of social movements in India.
Nationalism and search for national identity led to social movements relating to Devadasis. These movements can be classified into two categories: Reformists/Abolitionists and Revivalists.
Reformists and Abolitionists
Reformists and Abolitionists, under the pressure of the European Christian priests and missionaries, conceived of the Devadasi practice as a social evil and considered every Devadasi to be a prostitute. The first anti-nautch and anti-dedication movement was launched in 1882. "Their main aim was to do away with this system. Reform lobbyists were drawn mainly from
missionaries,
doctors,
journalists and
social workers. They urged the abolition of all ceremonies and procedures by which young girls dedicated themselves as Devadasis of Hindu shrines. They organized seminars and conferences to create a public opinion against the Devadasi system. In the later part of 1892 an appeal was made to the Viceroy and Governor General of India and to the Governor of Madras. This appeal also defines the position of the anti-nautch movement" (Jogan Shankar, 1990).
For the reform lobbyists—
Christian missionaries, doctors, journalists, administrators and social workers— strongly influenced by Christian morality and religion, it was precisely these features of the devadasi institution which were reprehensible in the utmost. The publication of the devadasi system as "prostitution" sought to advertise the grotesqueness of the subject population for political ends. For those who supported imperialism on the grounds of its 'civilizing' function, programs of reform it must be remembered were not without their ideological rewards. The movement urging the abolition of all ceremonies and procedures by which young girls dedicated themselves as devadasis to Hindu temples, was articulated in the first instance as Anti-Nautch campaign.
Some journals and newspapers like
The Indian Social Reformer and
Lahore Purity Servant supported the Reformist or Abolitionist movement. The movement initially concentrated on building public opinion and enlisting members to refuse to attend nautch parties as well as to refuse to invite Devadasis to festivities at their homes. It was around 1899 that the anti-nautch and purity movement turned its attention to stopping dedications. The anti-nautch movement paved the way for anti-dedication movement.
The social reform movements, spearheaded by
Ram Mohan Roy,
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar,
Govind Ranade,
Dhondo Keshav Karve, and other prominent social thinkers, questioned the practice of Devadasi system and pleaded for its abolition.
Revivalists
The revival movement consciously stepped outside the requirements of state electoral politics and western scientific traditions. The movement received strong support from
Theosophical Society of India, whose anti-official stance and strong interest in Indian Home Rule bound them with the revival of the dance and music.
Pioneers like
Madam H.P. Blavatsky and Colonel H.S. Oclott, the founding lights of
Theosophical movement had undertaken an extensive tour of South India and propagated the revival of devadasi institution and the associated art of
Sadir. They gained support from all sections of the native elite by their public denouncement of western Christian morality and materialism. In 1882, Theosophical Society of India had set up its headquarters in
Adyar, Madras with the set goal of working towards the restoration of India's ancient glory,
art,
science, and
philosophy.
The support later given to revival of Sadir as Bharatnatyam by Theosophical Society was largely due to the efforts of
Rukmini Arundale, an eminent
theosophist herself.
Annie Besant and the elders of the Theosophical hierarchy as the chosen Vehicle for the World Mother groomed her. She took up the cause of evolution of Sadir into
Bharatnatyam.
The Theosophical Society provided the necessary funds and organization to back her as the Champion for India's
renaissance in the arts, especially Bharatnatyam. The revivalists tried to present the idealistic view of the institution of devadasi. According to their view, it was the model of the ancient temple dancer as a pure and
sacred, chaste women, as they were originally.
They even stressed that in absence of immorality the dance of devadasi was a form of '
natya yoga' to enhance an individual's spiritual plane. The revivalists wanted to preserve the traditional form of Sadir dance by purifying it. As a consequence of purification, some modifications were introduced into the content of the dance. The revivalists mostly belonged to Brahmin dominated Theosophical circles. Many Brahmin girls started to learn the dance from Devadasis.
The reformists presented Devadasis as "prostitutes" in order to abolish dedication of girls to temples, and the revivalists sketched them as
nuns in order to defend and legitimize the institution. Still others claim that a Devadasi was neither a prostitute nor a nun: "She was a professional artist who did not suppress or deny her feminine skills. Devadasi women kept classical dance forms, like Bharatnatyam and Odisee, alive for centuries."
Legislative initiatives
The first legal initiative to outlaw the Devadasi system dates back to the 1934
Bombay Devadasi Protection Act. This Act pertained to the Bombay province as it existed in the British Raj. The Bombay Devadasi Protection Act made dedication of women illegal, whether consensual or not. According to this Act, marriage by a Devadasi was to be considered lawful and valid, and the children from such
wedlock were to be treated as legitimate. The Act also laid down grounds for punitive action that could be taken against any person or persons, who were found to be involved in dedications, except the woman who was being dedicated. Those found guilty of such acts could face a year's imprisonment or fine or both. The 1934 Act had provided rules, which were aimed at protecting the interests of the Devadasis. Whenever there was a dispute over ownership of land involving a Devadasi, the local Collector was expected to intervene.
In 1947 (the year of independence) the Madras Devadasi Prevention of Dedication Act outlawed dedication in the southern province now known as
Karnataka.
The devadasi practices have considerably changed over the last centuries. The account of the contemporary Devadasi practice in
Tamilnadu by
Amrit Srinivasan is interesting: "Traditionally the young devadasi underwent a ceremony of dedication to the deity of the local temple which resembled in its ritual structure the upper caste Tamil marriage ceremony. Following this ceremony, she was set apart from her non-dedicated
sisters in that she was not permitted to
marry and her celibate or unmarried status was legal in customary terms. Significantly, however she was not prevented from leading a normal life involving economic activity,
sex with individual of her choice and childbearing. The very rituals which marked and confirmed her incorporation into temple service also committed her to the rigorous emotional and physical training in the classical dance, her hereditary profession. In addition, they served to advertise in a perfectly open and public manner her availability for sexual liaisons with a proper patronand protector. Very often in fact, the costs of temple dedication were met by a man who wished thus to anticipate a particular devadasi's favours after she had attained
puberty. It was crucially a women's 'dedicated' status which made it a symbol of social prestige and privilege to maintain her. The devadasi's sexual partner was always chosen by 'arrangement' with her
mother and
grandmother acting as prime movers in the veto system. Alliance with a
Muslim, a
Christian, or a lower
caste was forbidden while a
Brahmin or member of the royal elite was preferred for the good breeding and/or wealth he would bring into the family. The non-domestic nature of the contract was an understood part of the agreement with the devadasi owing the man neither any householding services nor her offspring. The children in turn could not hope to make any legal claim on the ancestral property of their father whom they met largely in their mother's home when he came to visit."
Reasons for dedication in modern times
Even though the majority of the girls dedicated in the past few years or decades come from families with no history of Devadasis, all of them come from communities with a strong history of the practice. For example, a village named Yellampura in Karnataka, 95 percent of households of Holers practice Devadasi cult, which is the highest in the village followed by Madars.
The system has an obvious economic basis. The sanctions provided by social custom and apparently by religion, combined with economic pressures have pushed girls from poor families into becoming the wives of deity. The three factors (religious, social, and economic) are interlinked.
Asha Ramesh in her study carried out in May 1993 gives the following reasons:
"Dedication to the Goddess or God was justified on the following grounds:
(a) If the parents were childless, they vowed to dedicate their first child if it happened to be girl.
(b) If there were no sons in the family, the girl child was dedicated and could not marry as she becomes a 'son' for the family (earning the family's livelihood).
Yet another economic reason contributed to the dedications. If the girl's family had some property, the family ensured that it stayed within the family by turning the girl into 'son' by dedicating her."
Dedication process
From the late medieval period until 1910, the Pottukattu or tali-tying ceremony of dedication was a widely advertised community event requiring the full cooperation of the local religious authorities. It initiates the a young girl into the Devadasi profession and is performed in the temple by the priest. In the Brahminical tradition marriage is viewed as the only religious initiation (diksha) permissible to women. Thus the dedication is a symbolic "marriage" of the pubescent girl to the temple's deity.
In the sadanku or puberty ceremonies, the Devadasi-initiate consummates her marriage with an emblem of god borrowed from the temple as stand-in '
bridegroom'. In practice this often means that the priest will have
sexual intercourse with the Devadasi in addition to the other nuptial rites that are performed at a typical Brahmin wedding. For instance, auspicious wedding songs celebrating sexual union are sung before the 'couple'. From then onward, the devadasi is considered a
nitya sumangali: a woman eternally free from the adversity of widowhood and in that auspicious capacity.
Then she performs for the first time her ritual and artistic duties in the temple. The puberty ceremonies were an occasion not only for temple honor but also for community feasting and celebration in which the local elites also participated. The music and dance and public display of the girl was meant to attract patrons.
Life after dedication
A Devadasi's life after dedication was obviously very different centuries ago. Nowadays, "After dedication of a girl to the temple, she has to take
bath every day early in the morning and should present herself at the temple during morning worship of
Yellamma. She is not allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum. But she will bow to the deity from outside. Thereafter she sweeps compound of the temple. Every Tuesday and Friday she goes for yoga along with senior jogatis(yoga teachers). During this period she learns innumerable songs in praise of Yellamma and her son Parashurama. If she shows some aptitude to learn playing instruments she will be given training by her elder jogatis. In Yellampura and other villages Devadasis do not dance but this is performed by eunuch companions. The main functions of Devadasis would be singing and playing stringed musical instruments and Jagate. They form a small group and go for joga, from house to house on every Tuesday and Friday" (Jogan Shankar, 1990).
These religious duties are uncontested and are a widely celebrated part of the life of the Devadasi temple servant.
Sexual Slavery
The sexual rituals that accompany dedication are now considered by many Hindus to be exploitative and not mandatory. Nevertheless this practice continues unabated in some places. In those temples, a Devadasi will usually acquire a "patron" after her
deflowering ceremony. "Patronship in a majority of cases is achieved at the time of the dedication ceremony itself. The patron who secures this right of spending the first night with the girl may maintain a permanent liaison with the girl by paying a fixed sum of money or he can maintain the relationship for a fixed period of time on payment or he can simply terminate the liaison after the deflowering ceremony. A permanent liaison with a patron does not bar the girl from entertaining other clients, unless he specifies otherwise. In case the girl entertains, other men have to leave the girl's house when her patron comes" (Jogan Shankar, 1990). Thus, these girls are a source of revenue for the temple -- a ritualized form of prostitution, and is known to be condemned by the majority of the Christian priests and monks.
Human Rights Watch has called for a greater abolishment of dedication abuses and closer regulation of these temples. Estimates for the number of new indentured Devadasi prostitutes range from 5000 to 15000 per year [
1].
Social Status
Traditionally, no stigma was attached to the Devadasi or to her
children, and other members of their caste received them on terms of equality. The children of a Devadasi enjoyed legitimacy and in fact, Devadasis themselves were outwardly indistinguishable from married women of their own community.
Furthermore, a Devadasi was believed to be immune from widowhood and was called
akhanda saubhagyavati. Since she was wedded to a divine deity, she was supposed to be one of the especially welcome guests at weddings, and was regarded as bearer of fortune. At weddings, people would like to get a string of the 'tali' (wedding lock) prepared by her and she threaded on it a few beads from her own
necklace. The presence of a devadasi on any religious occasion in the house of an upper caste member was regarded as sacred and she was treated with due respect and was presented with gifts.
Statistical data
Government of Orissa intimated to NCW that (except one Devadasi in a Puri temple) there are no Devadasi in the state and the system is not prevalent in Orissa. Similarly Government of Tamil Nadu wrote that this system has been eradicated and now there are no devadasis in the state. In Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka,
Department of Social Welfare and
Department of Women and Child Welfare of the respective states had conducted surveys to identify and enumerate Devadasis. The data as sent by the respective State Governments to NCW is as follows.
* Andhra Pradesh - 16,624 (total number of Devadasis identified)
* Karnataka - 22,941
Maharashtra Government did not provide the information as sought by the Commission. However, the State Government provided statistical data regarding the survey conducted by them to sanction 'Devadasi Maintenance Allowance'. A total of 8,793 applications were received and after conducting a survey 6,314 were rejected and 2,479 devadasis were declared eligible for the scheme. At the time of sending the information, 1,432 Devadasis were receiving this allowance.
In Andhra Pradesh, Devadasi practice is prevalent in fourteen districts—
Karimnagar,
Warangal,
Nizamabad,
Mahaboobnagar,
Kurnool,
Hyderabad,
Ananthapur,
Medak,
Adilabad,
Chittoor,
Rangareddy,
Nellore,
Nalgonda, and
Srikakulam. In Karnataka, the practice has been found to exist in six districts— Raichur, Bijapur, Belgaum, Dharwad, Bellari and Gulbarga. In Maharashtra, the Devadasi cult exists in ten districts— Pune, Sholapur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Mumbai, Lathur, Usmanabad, Satara, Sindhudurg and Nanded.
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*
A comprehensive and free 52-page e-book on the devadasis, *
History of sacred Hindu temple dancers*
Photo Gallery of devadasi prostitutes and prostitution in India Nepal by photographer Thomas Kelly(Anti-prostitution activist site)
*
A Historical review and analysis of the Devadasi culture*
Muthukannammal - the last surviving Devadasi in Viralimalai
