THE PEOPLE

COMMUNAL LIFE

The religious faith of the Hindu agriculturists and labourers, who predominantly hail from the Maratha and Kunbi and similar communities is a curious combination of animism and tenets of the Vedic tradition and the Puranik development. They will not be able to say whether they are Saivas or Bhagavats or Ganapatyas. A good number of them are Varkaris. But they worship all Brahmanic gods and goddesses like Visnu, Siva, Lakshml, Parvatl, Arhba, Ganapati, Vithoba, Rakhumai, but their chief objects of worship are Bhairav, Bhavanl, Bhairoba Jakhai, Jam, Jokhai, Kalki, Khandoba, Maruti, Mhasoba, Satvai, Tukai, Vaghoba, Vetal and others. No class adores Khandoba so much as the Ramoshis. Maruti also called Hanuman has necessarily at least one shrine in every village, however small it may be. He is a kindly god also presiding over physical culture. Satvai is the goddess of pregnant and lying-in women. Vetal is the leader of evil spirits. Whenever a villager or a member of his family is regarded as under the influence of an evil spirit, he chooses to propitiate Vetal with the promise of a goat sacrifice or a fowl to order the lesser spirit to give up its teasing.

Hindus have many sacred or sanctified days during the course of the year, but all are not regarded equally important. Almost every month there is one or other sana (holiday), an utsava (festival), a jayanti i.e. birthday anniversary of a god, a saint or a hero or a jatra i.e. fair. Some days are fasting days for individuals only and others for all such as sivaratra.

The first day of the month of Caitra is called Gudhipadva. It is the new year day according to the Salivahana saka (era) and is observed as one of the three and half most important auspicious days in the year, the other two being Kartika suddha pratipada (first day of the month of Kartika) Dasard of Vijayadasmi (tenth day of the first half of the month of Asvin) and Aksaya Tritiyd (third day in the first half of the month of Vaisakha which is the half auspicious day). Gudhipadva is celebrated by setting up in front of one's house a gudhi i.e. a bamboo pole capped with a small silver or brass jar and new silk piece of cloth and a string of flowers hanging to it like a flag. A peculiar ritual of the day is to eat neem leaves mixed with sugar early in the morning, have a sumptuous meal at noon and in the evening to visit the leading temple and particularly in villages to hear the varshaphala i.e. the year's forecast read by the village priest or joshi (astrologer).

Holidays.

Rama's birthday comes on the 9th day of the first half of Caitra. Ramchandra is the seventh incarnation of God Visnu and hero of the Ramayana. A number of people even fast on this day. People visit the temple of Rama on that day in gay dress. Exactly at 12 noon the haridas announces the birth of Shri Ram by throwing gulal about. A. cocoanut dressed as a new born baby is put in a small cradle and swung to and fro. The ceremony closes with arati, distribution of sunthavda (powdered dry ginger mixed with sugar) and in the evening kirtana takes place. In several places, the previous eight nights also are devoted to kirtana. On the full moon day of Caitra, Hanuman-Jayanti is celebrated exactly at sunrise in the same way. It is customary to arrange kirtans on the four previous nights preceding Hanuman-Jayanti.

Gauripuja is a ceremony of worshipping Gauri by organising a haladkunku in most Brahman, Prabhu and high class Maratha households on any day between the third day of Caitra to the third day of Vaishakha by women. It is a women's day and for a whole month, it is a sight every evening to see women go from house to house in their best dress to participate in halad-kunku. The idol of Gaurl is decked with flowers and lights are placed before it. It is an occasion for women to show their decorative skill by making the best possible arrangement of fancy things in the house in front of the Gauri, and friends, neighbours and even strangers are invited and presented with halad-kunku, wet and soaked gram and some fruit. In the evening even men and near relatives are treated to a light feast of gram pulse preparations and a syrup of raw mangoes. Now-a-days ice-cream is also distributed on this occasion. Aksaya-tritiya is one of the lucky days and is considered proper by cultivators to begin field activities of the year. Vatapaurnima, the full moon day of Jyestha, is remembered in the name of Savitri, one of the five faithfulest of women from the Puranas. Women go to a banyan tree, worship it and distribute presents among themselves. Brahmans are given dakshina. This worship is restricted to suvasinis, i.e. to married women with their husbands alive. Prayers are offered for long life for husbands.

Ekadasi i.e. the 11th day in both the bright and dark halves of every month is a day for prayer and fasting for all devotees of Krsna. Elderly men and women observe it in this manner. But two of these days occurring in the first half of Asadh and Kartik months are observed by all as fasting-cum-prayer days. Even children are not excluded. These days mark the commencement and conclusion respectively, of caturmasa, which is the period for taking up special vows especially by women. Followers of the Varkari sect go to Pandharpur on these days to have a darshan of Vithoba.

The month of Sravana is regarded as particularly sacred and dedicated to the worship of Siva. A number of fasts, feasts and festivals occur in the month. All Mondays are devoted to prayer to Siva, a half day fast and a feast in the evening. All Fridays are the days of goddess Lakshmi and are called Sampad Shukravars on which women offer special worship. Every Tuesday in this month is devoted by newly wed girls to the worship of Mangalagauri and at night there is feasting, playing and pranking among themselves by keeping late hours.

Nagapancami, the bright fifth in this month is dedicated to the cobra. Clay cobra or its representation by sandal paste on a pat is worshipped and milk preparations are a speciality of the feast on this day. Live cobras brought by Phasepardhis and Garudis are fed milk. All activities like digging and ploughing are held up as they are believed to hurt the reptile world. In some places women put on their best dress and dance round in a ring keeping time to a song, which they sing collectively.

The full-moon day in Sravana is called Narali Paurnima. After a hearty meal in the moon, people go to the riverside and propitiate the god of water, Varuna by offering cocoanuts in the stream. This is a Sravani or upakarma day for Yajurvedi and Atharvavedi Brahmans, when old sacred-threads are discarded and new ones worn. The day is also known as Povatyaci-Paurnima. Kunbis and others make a number of hanks of cotton thread of five skeins each and about three feet in circumference. They smear the hank with turmeric paste and throw one round the neck of each of the men and women in the family and around every lamp-stand, cart and other farm implements. The dish for the day is sweetened milk.

Janmastami, the 8th day in the dark half of Sravana, is the day on which Lord Krsna, 8th incarnation of Visnu, was born. It is observed as a fasting day by devotees. The birth is regarded as having taken place at midnight. Kirtan is performed on the occasion as on three previous nights. The next day is observed as what is called Dahikala. Youths and boys band together and display feats of strength and sleights of hand in the style of boy Krsna and his playmates.

The no-moon day in Sravana is known as Pithori Amavasya. It is observed as a fast by women in general, but particularly by those whose children are shortlived or subject to frequent illnesses. This day is observed in some villages as Fold or Bendar which is a peculiarly agricultural festival. It is a day dedicated to bullocks who are fed on sweet dishes and allowed full rest. Clay images of bullocks are gaily painted and worshipped. A procession of decorated bullocks is taken from outside to some temples in the villages.

Ganesa Caturthi comes on the fourth day of Bhadrapada when painted clay figures of Ganapati are purchased, ceremoniously taken home and installed. Worship is offered with the help of priests and a special dish called modak is prepared. Rice flour containers stuffed with cocoanut kernel, gul or sugar are made in the sandwich style and offered to the God and eaten heartily as his prasad. The image is kept in the house from two days to ten according to family custom and ceremoniously immersed in a well or stream. Since Lokamanya Tilak popularised it as ten-day festival all over Maharashtra for popular awakening and education, it has become a public festival in Satara district, towns and villages as in other places and has thus helped to encourage art, literature, eloquence, musical talent and co-operative spirit among the people. Conjoined with the Ganesa festival on the 7th day of" Bhadrapada, women hold a feast for three days in honour of Parvati or Gauri, mother of Ganesa. A brass or clay mask of the goddess is duly installed near the idol of Ganapati, worshipped and then ceremoniously left in river or streams.

On the third and fifth days of Bhadrapada come Haritalika and Rsi-Pancami which are observed as fasting days particularly by Brahaman women. The Haritalikas, i.e., small clay images of Pirvati and her companion are installed and worshipped by married women and young girls in honour of Parvati who successfully resisted her father's wish to' marry her to Visnu and married Siva whom she teved. Rsi-Pancami is observed by elderly women in honour of ancient Arya sages and seers. On that day nothing that is produced by the labour of cattle or any other animal is to be eaten; only hand grown fruits and vegetables and grains constitute diet for this day.

The second half of Bhadrapada is known as Pitrpaksa, the fortnight of forefathers, and is held sacred to the spirits of ancestors. On the day of this fortnight which corresponds to the day of the father, a sapinda sraddha is performed by a son. The 9th day, known as Avidhava navami is dedicated to unwidowed mothers and the 15th day is known as Sarvapitri Amavasya and it is reserved for all ancestors whose worship might have been left out.

The Navaratra festival begins from the first day of Asvina and lasts ten days, the first nine being known as Navaratra (nine nights) and the last as Dasara, the 10th. An earthen jar filled with water with a cocoanut on the top is worshipped in honour of the goddess Ambabai. On the tenth they worship weapons and field tools and so the day is also known as Ayudhapuja day. Children worship their books and a function in honour of Sarasvati is held in schools. This is a feasting day in every house. Vijaya-dasami is the third name by which Dasara is known. It was the custom in olden times in this district for Maratha soldiers and shiledars to start on their expeditions and therefore they crossed the borders of their respective villages. The day came to be known as seemollanghana day. Even now this practice is symbolically preserved by people by gathering on the border of a village or near a temple in it and worshipping a heap of Apta or Sami branches and twigs with a Brahman priest to officiate. The Apta or Sami leaves are procured and exchanged as gold among themselves.

The full moon day of Asvina is known as kojagiri Paurnima as also Navanna Paurnima. Agricultural communities celebrate it with great happiness. They' spend the whole day working in fields and even take their lunch there. Five dishes and sweetened milk are offered in worship to a configuration of six stones representing the five Pandavas and their mother Kunti and then enjoy the feast. On their way home they pluck some ears of the new crops and put them in a string as a bunting on the entrance to the house. At night people keep awake and play different games and take sweetened milk because the belief is that Goddess Laksmi goes about every-where and does not bless one who sleeps instead of keeping awake on this night.

Divali or Deepavali festival signifying " a feast of lights" starts from the 13th of the second half of Asvina and lasts for six days. Every evening earthen lamps called pantis are lighted in all house frontage as also in every nook and corner of the house. The first day is known as Dhanatrayodusi. On the day women and girls take a special bath and the day is devoted to special cleaning and preparing sweet dishes. On the 14th, which is called Naraka Caturdasi men and boys take a special bath called abhyanga, by besmearing oil and fragrant materials to their bodies. The whole day is spent in feasting and merry making and visiting friends and relatives. The no-moon day is devoted to the worship of Laxmi. Merchants and tradesmen celebrate this day by holding Laksmi-pujana and asking friends and customers to Pansupari. The next day is the first day of the month of Kartika marking the beginning of the commercial new year. It is called Balipratipada in honour of the Ball, who was a benefactor of agriculturists, but who is known to have been put down in the nether world by Vamana, one of the incarnations of Visnu. Wives adore their husbands by waving a small lighted lamp before them and get a suitable present. The last day of the festival is called Bhaubeej, when brothers visit their sisters and dine at their houses. Sisters wave a lighted lamp in the face of the brothers and receive presents. The Divali festival is the king of all Hindu festivals.

On the 12th of Kartika it is usual to celebrate the marriage of Tulasi (holy basil) with Visnu as if it was a human marriage. The Hindu marriage season is regarded to begin with this celebration and parents start a search for suitable husbands for their daughters. New tamarind and avala fruit and sugarcane are considered ripe for consumption from this day.

The full moon day of Kartika known as Tripuri Paurnima is celebrated in memory of Siva's victory over the demon Tripurasura. Deepmalas or stone lamp-pillars in front of temples have a big fire lighted on their tops and all niches carrying lighted earthen lamps.

Makara Sankranta comes in the month of Paush which coincides with January 14th when the Sun enters the Makara Rashi (The zodiac sign Capricornus). It is marked with a feast in honour of god Sun. Men and women in their gay dresses go about and exchange til-gul (sesame sweet) and halva as greeting of the season. One says to the other " Take this til-gul and speak honied words". The day previous to Sankranta is called Bhogi on which a special dish called khicadi (rice and mug pulse boiled together with salt and condiments) is offered to the gods and eaten. The day following Sankranta is known as Kinkranta. Among the Brahmanas, for the first five years after her wedding, a newly married girl celebrates the day with generous distribution of some useful article to suvasinis.

Mahasivaratra comes on the 14th day of the dark half of Magha which is observed as a fasting day by devotees of Siva. Special worships are offered by Brahmans by recitals of Rudra hymn from the Yajurveda. The night is spent in singing devotional songs or performance of Kirtana in Siva's temple in which a community dinner is also held.

The last festival of the year is Simga of Holi. The advent of this festival is eagerly awaited in the countryside by both old and young. the main day of this festival is the full moon day of Phalguna, but small boys begin to rehearse it from the 5th day by burning bonfires every day and wakeful nights of sports. On the Paurnima, the special dish of the day is puranpoli wheatcakes stuffed with sugar and crushed gram pulse. In the afternoon, a plantain tree, bearing fruit or a long pole of some other tree is fixed, a stone is worshipped at the bottom of the pole and fuel and cow-dung cakes are piled in a heap and set on fire. The next day called Dhulvad is also observed as a holiday. There used to be a boisterous indulgence in an exchange of mud-slinging and other wayward cranks like filthy abuse of one another. But with more and more of education and enlightenment such practices are dying out even from rural areas. In towns, it is customary to organise sports tournaments on this holiday. The dark fifth of Phalguna is called Rangar-pancami when coloured water is sprinkled with or without syringe by young and old against all and sundry and no one is expected to take offence. However, this indulgence and playful atmosphere does not prevail so much in the Deccan as it does in north India and therefore not in Satara also.

GAMES.

Though not to the same degree as in Kolhapur, even Satara is famous for its gymnasiums and the athletes, and gymnasts that are trained in them from early childhood. There are also expert swimmers in every village and even towns like Wai, Karad and Satara Learning to swim from early age is normal for them and a few distinguish themselves in swimming across the Krishna and Koyna when they are fully swollen in the monsoons. A talim is usually managed by a committee of notables of the locality. Funds are raised by public subscription to maintain it as also for initial equipment and construction and holding tournaments in the Ganesh and Satyanarayan festivals, local fairs and urus celebrations. One or two senior and experienced persons known as ustads are masters who train young men and they are highly respected. When there are no special buildings available, even a Maruti temple or a primary school house is used as an akhada Lathis, bothathis, farigadgas, lezims, dandpatta, malkhamb, karela, jodjodis, battis, heavy stone balls and rulis (stone wheels) and some times dumb-bells and modern weight-lifting apparatus are included in the equipment of a talim or dkhada. Every talim has a hauda i.e. wrestling arena in which knee-deep red-earth, powdered and oiled, is poured for wrestling bouts. A portrait of Maruti usually adorns the walls of the akhada. These akhadas usually aim at turning out good wrestlers. Bouts are arranged between young and mature athletes of different talims or with athletes from far off places. A winner is usually awarded an amount of money. In villages, the annual challenge meeting usually held on the day before Vijayadashmi is a great event. A handsome prize in the form of a bracelet, armlet, turban or precious piece of cloth is given to the winner. A hagama, that is organised wrestling bouts is a feature of any jatra or urus.

A number of major games are played in the district in the school and college playgrounds as also in the countryside. Indian games do not need much equipment except a well-made playground Hututu, kho-kho, langadi, atyapatya, vitidandu and lagorya are soma of these. These games are popular in every district, with some local variations in the rules of the game concerned. Standardised forms have now been evolved by the Akhil Maharashtra Saririka Shikshana Mandal which are now widely adopted and strictly observed when the games are played in contested tourneys.

It is only in towns that cricket, football, tennis and badminton etc. are played mostly in schools and colleges. Lawyers have here and there a tennis, club. Gymkhanas are only in places like Satara and Karad where play in cards is met with. Chess and Ganjifas are becoming scarce as domestic games. A number of forms of recreational activity are traditionally known to the people and are practised in the households of the rich and the poor.

In the play activities of infancy and early childhood, toys predominate over games. Babies are fascinated by multicoloured rattlers i.e. Khulkhulas and toys that make various sounds such as all kinds of pipes, whistles, drums and tamborines. But a doll and toys on wheels take their place soon enough. A pangul-gada, with the help of which a child learns to walk and run is a common sight. Children of five or six play a few simple games taking part in them by turns-Sivasivi is a simple chase and tag game in which one of the children becomes a chaser and others run. The chase is simple with little or no dodging and the tagged player becomes the next chaser. Children love swinging as they have cultivated a taste for it from the cradle and a swing was necessarily part of domestic equipment in old fashioned houses. At this age, the golanti udi is also an enticing pastime requiring a little venturesome spirit on the part of a child because the child has to pub his head to the ground and swinging its legs and body backwards, has to land supine facing the sky.

Games of the imitative or make-believe type wherein various roles like those of a cartman, a horse-driver, an engine-driver, a music-player, a hawker etc., are mimiced so as to conform with reality are a particular attraction of early childhood. There are no set rules for such games but the team spirit showed by all participants in the play is admirable. Horse-play or ghoda-ghoda is played in many ways, usually two children stand one behind the other in the roles of driver and horse and both run forward, the driver holding the horse by its garment. Sometimes, a rope is passed from the back of the neck of the horse and the driver holds in one of his hands the two ends of the rope and carries a whip in the other. Another way is for the horse to move on all fours with a rider on his back. Horse and rider is also played by a single child by holding a stick between his legs, one of the ends resting on the ground behind and other held in the hands. Palkhi is usually played by three. The two stand facing each other each gripping with his hand his left elbow and with this left hand, the right elbow of his friend opposite. In the armsquarc so founded, they carry the third who sits with his arms resting on the shoulder's of the two. Ag-gadi or train is just a queue of children each holding the garment of the one in front of him. The engine-driver is at the head, at the tail is the guard and in between are wagons ". The guard whistles and gives the signal, the wagons get ready to move and the engine speeds up, all children making a sound in imitation of sound a moving train makes.

Among little girls, doll-dressing and doll-marriage are a favourite pastime. Bhatukali or house keeping is often played enthusiastically by girls with secondary roles being given to boys. Doll's marriage can be played separately or as part of Bhdtukali when planned on a grand scale. Gadya-gadya-bhingorya is a game of whirls in which children go round and round themselves till the quaint sensation of giddiness sets in.

Children of ages between five and ten play a number of other chase and tag games. Chappa-pani is a tag game in which the restriction on the chaser is that he cannot touch a player who sits down and the restriction on him, is that he cannot get up and begin to run until helped by some player on* his feet. In Blind Man's Buff, called Andhali Koshimbir in Marathi, the blind-folded player tries to tag any one that comes within his reach in the well-defined playing arena. The game of hide and seek is called Lapandav in Marathi. The seeker stands facing a wall with his eyes closed by one of the players, called bhojiya the others hide themselves somewhere in the house. After all the players have found hiding places for themselves, they call out Koo-Koo-Re-Koo. The seeker's eyes are unfolded by the Bhojya and he begins to search the hidden players while they come out of their hiding places and try to touch the Bhojya as quickly as possible. In Una-Una Savali, the playing area consists of an open sun-lit place with spots of shaded places scattered all over. The chaser stands in sunlight and tries to tag only those who do not happen to be under some shade. In Sat-Talya, the chaser faces a player from the group while others stand near the latter, ready to run away. The facing player gives the chaser seven claps, the last being the signal to run. The players run followed by the chaser who tries to tag one of them. In all these chase and tag games, the player who is tagged becomes the chaser and the game starts afresh. In all these games boys and girls below 10 years of age usually join.

For boys between the ages of six and sixteen, marbles (Gotya), top (Bhovra) and kite-flying (Patang) have much attraction. For hitting a marble by another, the spring action of the drawn up middle finger is usually used by the player. Each instance of correct aiming add to the delight of player and incites the other to compete with zeal. For " spinning the top" the top is twisted with a long string or twine piece, one end of which is held between the middle and the ring finger. The top is held between the thumb and the index finger and whipped on the ground so as to land spinning on its spike. Once mastery over the spin is acquired more skilful top games are contested. The Sankranta season is particularly popular for kite-flying, Hoisting a kite up is as good as a challenge to anybody to "have a kite contest. Each boy so handles his kite as to cut off the thread of the opponent's kite. For these contests, a special thread Is used. It is treated with powdered glass glued to the thread by gum.

In later childhood and adolescence a number of team games are energetically and boisterously played chiefly by boys. Badd-badi or Rapa-rapi is one of them. A soft ball of rags or rubber is tossed pp in air for all to catch and the player who succeeds in catching it tries to hit with the ball any other player who tries to dodge. This game can continue as long as the players are pleased to play at it. Toba is a variant of kho-kho in which about 20 boys can join. They sit in a circle facing in and one of them runs around the circle with a toba which is a well-knotted piece of cloth, which he quietly and quickly puts behind one of those who make the circle. If the player is alert and feels the touch of something having been kept behind him, he immediately picks up the toba and chases the player who dropped it behind him. The latter must reach the place vacated by the- former very quickly to avoid being hit by the toba. If the seated player fails to detect the toba put behind him the chaser completing the round picks up the toba and with it beats and chases the " dullard " till he takes one round and resumes his seat.

In Wagh-Bakri one of the players becomes wagh (tiger), another a shepherd (dhangar) and the rest become lambs (bakrya). They line up behind the shepherd each holding the one in front by the waist. The shepherd handles a knotted piece of cloth for the protection of his lambs and inspite of all the beating that he gets the tiger makes repealed attempts till he catches hold of all the lambs. Surparambi is particularly popular among the cowherds who take cattle away in open spaces, waste lands and forests for grazing. From a circle drawn on the ground under a tree a player throws away a stick as far as he can., By the time the " thief " runs for the sticky and restores it in the circle all others climb up the tree. The game lies in the players from the tree jumping from or climbing down the tree and touching the stick before they are tagged by the thief. The one who is tagged becomes the next thief. In kurghodi, there are two teams of equal members. One acts as horses and others as riders. The leader horse bends before a wall for support and others bend and file behind him each holding the one in front by the waist. The riders one by one take a start, jump, run and ride a hotse; the leader rider closes with one hand the eyes of the horse and asks to tell the number of fingers of the other hand held before him. If the horse tells the correct number, all the riders get down and the teams exchanging their parts, the game is resumed.

 The difference between the play interests of girls and boys is such as cannot be overlooked. Girls generally prefer amusements like doll-dressing and are greatly interested in dancing, skipping, and singing. Boys, on the other hand, love to play strenuous games involving muscular dexterity and skill. Some of the games in which girls may be said to specialise are sagargote and all kinds of phugdya Sagargote is a sedentary game. Big round seeds (gajge), pebbles or shreds of pottery serve as ready material. Five or any other larger odd number of these are thrown up into the air and caught in both the palms facing upwards. Thus each player goes on playing till she exhausts all the pebbles. In a more complex form of the game, the player throws all the pebbles on the ground, picks one of these, tosses it up in the air, and before catching it again, picks up one, two and sometimes even three or four or five pebbles all at once. The tag games mentioned before may be said to be more popular with girls than boys. Phugdya is a typically native game usually played by girls in pairs. Two girls stand facing each other, keep their feet together with a distance of two or three inches between the toes, cross arms, keep them straight and hold each other's arms, balance the body backwards and each time, stopping the right foot a few inches to' the right and sliding the left along with it, start an anti-clockwise movement. As the footwork quickens, the movement gathers in tempo till the players get swung in a whirl. They sing jocular couplets and blow rhythmic breathing sounds with the mouth known as pakva to keep time and lend zest to the dance.

Various types of phugadis are played. In danda-phugadi, the players hold each other by the upper arm (danda); in nakulya, they interlock their fingers in a hooked grip. In basa-phugadi, one player keeps moving with bent knees while the other is comparatively erect or only slightly bent. Ekahataci phugadi is played with only one hand engaged in the grip and the other resting on the hip. In Lolana phugadi, the players bend the legs and hold the great toes and then start rolling on the back and then sit. In bhui phugadi, the dancers start with a full squatting position and arms resting on the knees and then scrape the feet alternately in oblique kicks balancing the steps with backward and forward movements of the arms. Jhimma, kombda and pinga are other forms. There are no whirling movements in pairs in these forms. They are callisthenic movements repeated with rhythm of songs and pakwa and acted in pairs and groups, they lead to' a competitive zest and verve.

It is customary for people to gather in large crowds in places of pilgrimage on account of anniversaries of avatars or in celebration of days dedicated to deities or fairs at places traditionally held sacred.

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