Religion in Gopalpur
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- Gods and their works are a continuous part of present reality in Gopalpur. Gods attend and take part in almost every ceremony. Sometimes a pries, sometimes even a perfectly ordinary person, begins to tremble. His arms shake uncontrollably; his legs move violently in response to the drumming. Sometimes the affected person screams and falls to the ground. The face goes rigid. Suddenly, the body is still and the voice of one of the gods speaks through his mouth. The god may make predictions, answer questions or give orders concerning the manner in which a particular ceremony is to be conducted.

- The order of god is, in many ways, parallel to the order of men. There are high gods, bearing such names as Shiva, who are worshipped by vegetarian priests. These gods, concerned with the higher-ranking jatis, are generally beneficent. Hanumantha and Bhimarayya are specifically charged with protecting villages, arranging successful marriages, and ensuring that married couples bear children. In a general way, these gods resemble the higher-ranking government officials. They are generally kindly but it is difficult to obtain an interview with them.

- Worship of the high gods requires that all members of the community participate, and that their manner be joyful and friendly. At such times, the quarrels between the two parties are forgotten, and no-one is turned away from any man"s door with an empty stomach.

- Below the male gods are non-vegetarian goddesses. The function of these goddesses is to protect the village from particular disasters, from flood and smallpox, from cholera and skin disease. When people are sinful, failing to perform appropriate sacrifices or violating the moral code, one of the goddesses approaches God and asks permission to punish the village- "The mother punishes the child after getting the father"s permissionî.

- If there is an epidemic of smallpox or cholera, the village is purified, and offerings are made to an appropriate goddess. The priests of the goddesses are drawn from the lower-ranking jatis; they need not be paid much money. The expense of worshipping a goddess stems from the fact that a goddess is not said to be satisfied with vegetarian offerings, but must have meat and beer.

- Often, when there is sickness in the family, an appeal is made to one of the gods or goddesses. If the sick person recovers, offerings are made to the deity considered responsible.

- When a man dies, God consults his records and determines whether the dead man has spent his life helping ot injuring others. Those who have done bad things to others are sent to the Underworld (good club! J), where they suffer hideous tortures. They are later reborn in the stomachs of dogs, donkeys or worms. People who lead good lives are reborn as men. If their previous lives were very good, they become great kings and sit on thrones. A really perfect man can be considered to be an earthly reincarnation of one of the gods.

- Sometimes, although evidently not within living memory, an individual dies without completing the things that were to be accomplished during his life on earth, or perhaps it is that an individual dies still hungry for sex, or food, or some other gratification. When this happens, the individual is likely to return from his/her grave and attack living people. Such attacks are most frequently made upon those who go outside in the dark of the moon without a lantern. Although there have been no recent attacks. It is said that the spirits enter into living men and make them behave in strange ways. When such things happen, the victim is beaten with a whip or with sandals until the spirit becomes uncomfortable and promises to leave. Sometimes the departure of the spirit is accelerated by offering him a chicken or a goat.

- With the possible exception of these attacks by ghosts and spirits, which occur rarely if at all, everything that happens to a man is determined by his behaviour in his former life as well as his present life.

- Everyone in Gopalpur is aware that there is a way to avoid committing sins and to avoid the unfortunate consequences of being born in this age of misery and mismanagement. The way out consists of foregoing all earthly desires and becoming an ascetic. An ascetic is required to abandon his family, to live on fruits and milk, and to wander from place to place.

- The major form of religious activity in Gopalpur is the religious ceremony in which men make gifts of food to the gods and, as a consequence, make gifts of food to other men.

- Representatives of virtually every jati in Gopalpur have a special role to play in each of the calendrical ceremonies. All must co-operate if the crops are to be good, and if the life of the village is to be happy. Sisters and daughters, the women whose daughters are "potential wives" of men in Gopalpur, are invited to the more important calendrical ceremonies. Every effort is made to remind them that Gopalpur is happy village.

- In Gopalpur, gods and men strive for harmony and work toward a peaceful, happy world where there is no sin. The individual man attempts to extend ever outward his circle of kinsmen and his circle of friends. Bonds of territoriality and of common descent are stretched to include the villages of an entire region and to develop a common set of concepts and ways of acting affecting millions of people. Inevitably, these bonds, stretched out across many miles affecting many people, snap. It is the task of the gods and the gaudas to restore order.

Magic

Other Notes in this Category

1. Origins of Religion
2. Religion and Ideology
3. Religion in Gopalpur
4. Religious Rituals and Beliefs
5. The difference between ritual and magic

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