The mystery of death is one of the deepest mysteries that concern the human mind. This is especially true when parents have to mourn the death of their children. When a young life is snatched away brutally in an act of war the questions of death seemed more pertinent and real. In the Mahabharata, the Pandavas experienced a similar dilemma when they lost young Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, who was killed brutally by enemy soldiers. Watching the battered body of Abhimanyu, the eldest of Pandava brothers Dharmaraja Yudhishthira could not contain his sorrow and pain and went into a state of deep shock. To console him Vyasa told him the following tale that explained how death is inevitable truth of this existence.
In the beginning of creation, Brahma created the universe. But the universe kept growing and never ceased to end. Frustrated and dejected Brahma got angry and wrath came out his body in the form of fire. The fire spread quickly and started consuming whatever came its way destroying Brahma’s creation. When the fire became uncontainable Rudra approached Brahma and asked him to restrain his wrath, otherwise the universe would be destroyed in no time. Brahma paid heed and began to absorb the fire back into his body. As the fire began to re-enter Brahma’s body a young woman was born from his limbs. She was dark in colour, with yellow eyes and blood red mouth. Her tongue popped out. Brahma named her “Mrutyu”(death) and told her that she would be the cause of death and destruction in this universe. This woman was not at all happy with the task given to her and she began to weep.
As the tears rolled down her cheeks Brahma gathered them in his palms. He tried to console her but still insisted that she should conduct her duty of destruction. Unhappy but bound by Brahma’s orders; Mrutyu went to Dhenuka Ashram and began to perform severe penance. Brahma appeared before her and asked her the reason for her harsh penance. Mrutyu reiterated her request: she did not want to be the cause of pain and sorrow to people on earth. Brahma finally agreed to set her free from the cruel task, but told her, ‘Tears I gathered from your eyes will turn into diseases and will weaken people and eventually kill them. But O’ Mrutyu! You should not hold yourself responsible for their death. Because Death is a necessity.’
Thus death was born.

Story collected by: Vidya Kamat
Textual source: Drona Parvan Adhyaya 53 & 54 also see
Dange, S. A., Legends in the Mahabharata, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi,1969.
Location: Pan India, Tales from Mahabharata

The story of Siri (read The Epic of Siri) could be that of any woman in India. It is not the usual legend with a dramatic narrative featuring demons and magic and mystery, nor is it a description of a new order established through a heroic act. It is a story about ordinary people and their ordinary lives, a tale about husband and wife, co-wives, and sisters and their domestic quarrels and jealousies. It covers three generations and is a grim tragedy that could befall any woman. So why do Tuluva women still sing and ‘perform’ this story as a ritualized drama?

Siri holds an important position among the Tuluvas community from South Kannada district of Karnataka. They consider her to be the founder of Tuluva matrilineal tradition. Siri paddanas or the sacred recitations and the accompanying ritual dramatization take place annually in the form of a festival. Siri jatre or Siri alade as it is called, takes place on the full moon of paggu (February) in six different temples around the South Kannada region. It is believed that the spirit of Siri possesses women who are emotionally or psychologically ‘troubled’ due to various reasons. These women enter into a trance singing Siri paddanas.

Kumara is the only male character in the story and he acts as the priest/medium, talking to the women in a trance and asking them to identify themselves with the various female characters from the legend. He repeatedly asks, ‘Tell me who you are? Are you Siri? Or Sonne? Tell me why have you come? What is troubling you?’ The dialogue takes place in the form of a ritualized impromptu song-speech. He then conducts a ‘spirit investigation’ (Clause: 1991) to discover the reason for the women being possessed. At this stage, the women, having identified themselves with the characters of the legend, pour out the sufferings and grief that they have experienced in their lives while simultaneously narrating the tale of the characters they identify with.

Thus the ritual act gives them a cathartic space to temporarily forego their individual identities and step outside of their real life framework and vent their anxieties, anger, frustrations and unfulfilled desires. They are thus able to deal with the trauma inflicted upon them by family members, on account of their caste, due to class conflicts and sexual dissatisfaction.

The spirits speak through the possessed women and inform the people gathered as to why they have had to intrude into the lives of the young women. They extract a promise from the family members that they would resolve the domestic disputes that have been revealed during the trance.

At the end of the ritual women enter into a ‘grave’ made of areca nut leaves. This allows the novice – the young woman who had been possessed – to become a permanent member of the cult of Siri. She thereby joins the rank of other adept Siris and can return to the festival every year as an expert.

The question is does the myth and its accompanying ritual emancipate Tuluva women? Does it help them reclaim equity in financial and personal freedom as demanded by Siri in the legend? Noted Tulu scholar and anthropologist Prof Viveka Rai observes: ‘emancipation should be redefined by distinguishing between the point of view of the performer and that of the audience… Rather than considering ‘emancipation’ as a social activity of the outsider, I would like to stress here the transformation of mind and body of the performing women as a way of emancipation…how the performance of folk narratives and rituals contributes to bringing it about.’ (Shetty:2013)

According to French anthropologist Marine Carrin (2011), Tuluva women use the legend of Siri as a therapeutic tool to heal the emotional scars generated through societal and marital discords. American anthropologist Peter Clause (Ibid) summarizes ‘the major function of the cult’s rituals is to save defenseless women from quarrels and jealousies which arise within kin groups. While the women’s song tradition revolves around these (sic) sorts of problems and presents them as fatefully tragic truth, the ritual tradition, through the intercession of fictive male kinsmen attempts to alter and solve them’.

To conclude, the lore of Siri stands apart from other dominant patriarchal myths as it highlights the woman’s plight within her domestic space and offers a platform for negotiating and articulating her anxieties safely within a dominant patriarchal environment.

VIDYA KAMAT
References:

Carrin, Marine, “The Topography of the Female Self in Indian Therapeutic Cults”, Ethnologies, Vol 33, No 2, 2011, p. 5-28

Clause Peter, Ritual Transformation of a Myth, California University , East Bay, 1991

Rai, Viveka., “ Epics in the Oral genre system of Tulunadu”, Oral Tradition, 11/1 (1996): 163-172

Shetty, Y., “Ritualistic World of Tuluva: A Study of Tuḷuva
Women and the Siri Possession Cult”, Rupakatha Journal,
Vol. 5 No.2, 2013