Dr.Mazhar
Naqvi
Hindus
observe Muharram in northern parts of Karnataka with more reverence and lead
the processions in towns and villages having no Muslim family at all. The rivayat (a
ballad of the battle of Karbala) singers stand whole night on ‘Shabe Ashura’ (9th
night of Muharram month) at various shrines of Sufi saints. Led by Raghava
Reddy and Dose Eranna, both in their sixties, they render mystical songs in Kannada
to evoke sentiments about the martyrdom of Imam Hasan and Hussain, grandsons of
the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH).
The rivayat singers
present over 65 songs. The action then shift to a large bonfire kindled by neem
tinder arranged in a pit dug near the Dargah of Sufi Mahboob Subhani. Some 300
men danced in frenzy around the bonfire in step with the furious beating of
drums by 50 drummers dressed uniformly. The dancers carry cheap replicas of
medieval period weapons and swing them with abandon. Men, women and children
sat on mats laid on the ground, prepared for the long night that lay ahead.
A
crowd of around 50 young men and children gather around them and start a slow step dance,known as hejje pada.
They keep rhythm with the help of small painted pitchers that they tossed on
their palms.
The
dancing is interspersed with skits performed by the village’s theatre troupe.
The night culminate around dawn when alams (a metal standard resembling a
decorated pole) of Hussain and Hasan is carried in a procession by two
individuals, one of them a Lingayat (the Lingayat community is dominant in
northern Karnataka), and the other a Muslim, in keeping with the long-standing
tradition of the village.
Muslims
constitute around 10 per cent of the toal population of these villages in
Raichur and bellari districts.Muharram is the most important ooru habba,
or village festival, and Hindus observe it with more fervour than Muslims. All
other festivals are secondary to the marking of the first 10 days of Muharram.
For instance, in 2019, Ganesh Chathurthi was not celebrated in the village
because Muharram coincided with it. In the past, festivities associated with Dussehra
have been temporarily abandoned because of Muharram. These villages are filled
with spirituality during the days leading up to Muharram, and the village
community follows various strictures such as not wearing footwear and
abstaining from the consumption of meat and alcohol and even sexual activity
during those 10 days.
In
fact, villages across Karnataka, particularly in the northern part of the
State, mark Muharram with a fervor that is unmatched by other festival
celebrations. Muharram is locally known by names such as “Alaavi” and
“Peerlabba” (festival of saints). Imam Hasan and Hussainhave been co-opted in
the pantheon of Hindu gods of the region. It is common to find Hindu villagers
with names such as Hussainappa or Hasanappa. Thus, it is limiting to call the
Muharram celebration a merely syncretic practice as its historical evolution
demonstrates that it has been adopted and owned by Hindus, producing something
novel in its cultural and religious journey.
Lingayats
today are found predominantly in the state of Karnataka,
especially in North and Central Karnataka with a sizeable population native to
South Karnataka. parts of Telangana,Andhra Pradesh and even Maharashtra.
Lingayats have been estimated to be about 20% of Karnataka's population and
about 10% of Maharashtra's population.
Significant
populations are also found in parts of Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana bordering
Karnataka, as well as Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat.
The Lingayat diaspora can be found in countries around the world, particularly
the United States, Britain and Australia.
Today,
the Lingayat community is a blend of various castes, consisting
of SC, OBC, working
classes and various Vaishya castes,
that have come together to form the single political entity.
Lingayatism is
a Shaivite Hindu
religious tradition in India. Initially known as Veerashaivas,
since the 18th century adherents of this faith are known as Lingayats.
The
terms Lingayatism and Veerashaivism have
been used synonymously, but Veerashaivism may refer to the
broader Veerashaiva philosophy which predates Lingayatism, to
the historical community now called Lingayats, and to a contemporary
(sub)tradition within Lingayatism with Vedic influences.
Lingayatism
was founded, or revived, by the 12th-century philosopher and
statesman Basava in
Karnataka. Lingayatism may refer to the whole Lingayat community, but
also to a contemporary (sub)tradition dedicated to Basava's original thought,
and to a movement within this community which strives toward recognition as an
independent religion. The Sharana-movement,
which started in the 11th century, is regarded by some as the start of
Veerashaivism. It started in a time when Kalamukha Shaivism,
supported by the ruling classes, was
dominant, and in control of the monasteries. The Sharana-movement was
inspired by the Nayanars, and emphasised personal religious experience over
text-based dogmatism.
The
traditional legends and hagiographic texts state Basava to be the founder of
the Lingayats and its secular practices. He was a 12th-century Hindu philosopher, statesman, Kannada poet
in the Shiva-focused Bhakti
movement and a social reformer during the reign of
the Kalachuri king Bijjala II (reigned
1157–1167) in Karnataka, India.
Basava
grew up in a Brahmin family
with a tradition of Shaivism. As a leader, he developed and inspired a new
devotional movement named Virashaivas, or "ardent, heroic worshippers
of Shiva". This movement shared its roots in the ongoing Tamil Bhakti
movement, particularly the Shaiva Nayanars traditions,
over the 7th- to 11th-century. However, Basava championed devotional worship
that rejected temple worship with rituals led by Brahmins, and e
Lingayat scholars thrived in northern
Karnataka during the Vijayanagara Empire (14th-18th century).
In the 21st century, some Lingayats have sought legal recognition as a religion
distinct from Hinduism and Veerashaivas, a request which has gained
political support from the Congress-led Karnataka government, but is opposed by
others.
In
the 14th-15th century, a Lingayat revival took place in northern Karnataka in
the Vijayanagara Empire. The Lingayats likely
were a part of the reason why Vijayanagara succeeded in territorial expansion
and in withstanding the Deccan Sultanate wars. The Lingayat text Sunyasampadane grew
out of the scholarly discussions in an Anubhava Mantapa, and according to Bill
Aitken, these were "compiled at the Vijayanagara court during the reign of
Praudha Deva Raya". Similarly, the scripture of Lingayatism Basava Purana was
completed in 1369 during the reign of Vijayanagara ruler Bukka
Raya .
The
early Lingayat literature, including the Basava Purana, highly praises militant
action against anyone who persecutes a fellow Lingayat or their ability to
practice their Shiva-bhakti traditions. According to Schouten, one of
earliest assassinations in retaliation for persecution happened in the
12th-century when king Bijjala was murdered. However, states Schouten, the
early texts of Lingayats give different accounts on who ordered the
assassination leading to doubts about the trustworthiness of these historic
texts.
It
is worth mentioning here that Muharram enjoyed royal patronage in the Hindu
Kingdom of Vijay Nagar in 15th century and Lingayat seems to have cultivate
habit of observing Muharram with devotion from that time.
Source Text: The Nation/Wikipedia/Picture
Courtesy Google Images
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