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Martand

B-RITUALS FOR A WOMAN

S N Pandit   

The day - to - day chores of a common Kashmiri Hindu Lady can be classified as under:

(1) Bra:nd Fash Dyun-    Besmearing The Front Of The Main Door

Every Hindu lady, whether she is a daughter, a daughter -in - law or the mistress of the house, has been advised to wake up early in the morning, clean the front or the main door of the house and the courtyard. She has also been asked to besmear this portion of the house with clay and water. This directive has been elucidated very clearly in the following lines of a folk song:

BaTI kori hund suli vo> thun,

Suli vathith bra:nd fash dyun,

Thath chi watha:n ne 'ndri mandinyan

BaTI ku:ri: sharlmda:r ban

A Hindu lady should rise up early in the morning After waking up early she should besmear the front courtyard.

The daily chores of a Hindu lady should start with the besmearing of the courtyard and the front portion of the main entrance of the hose. At present all this may appear to us just an ordinary act of cleaning the house but if we ponder a little deeper and consider its socio-economic aspects, we can easily visualize the life style of our forefathers who had just small huts of one or two rooms to live in. There were no lofty buildings like those we have now nor was cement concrete used then in the construction of such small houses. All the houses were made of mud and thatch. Hence the members of the family used the courtyard and the space to the right and to the left of the main door as a sitting place. This was also the meeting place for the guests, friends and neighbours. The besmeared place was a mark that all the family members living in the house were hale and hearty. During the period under review, besmearing of the place was an essential requirement for welcoming visitors but with the passage of time it took the shape of a ritual with the result that in spite of the fact that we have very lofty buildings having large accommodations when compared to the early days under review, besmearing of the place was an essential requirement for welcoming visitors but with the result that in spite of the fact that we have very lofty buildings having large accommodations when compared to the early days under review, Kashmiri housewife washes the cemented courtyard and the front portion of her house early in the morning on all days and in all seasons even today. In those days of scarcity, the besmearing. besides being a means to indicate the well-being of the members of that family, clearly indicated that the people of Kashmir loved entertaining guests and had a great sense of hospitality. It may be pointed out that on the birthday of a family member, the besmearing of the said place is not done whereas it is done on the anniversaries and all other auspicious days of the year very earnestly.

(II) Athi Buth Chalun-    Washing And Bathing

After cleaning the outer portions of the house, an housewife is directed to wash and clean herself by washing her face, hands and feet and then take a bath. There is no difference in the washing and bathing ritual between males and females excepta that the female are directed to start washing except that the female are directed to start washing their limbs beginning from her right ones. Besides, during the days gone, they were at liberty to use any kind of soil for cleaning their body while bathing. Modern ways of bathing have further minimized this difference as every body now uses toilet soaps and hence the use of any soil for the purpose does not arise. After taking a bath she would keep herself ready for the preparation of breakfast and meals etc. for the whole family.

III) Sani Va:Ri Barni -        Washing And Cleaning Of Prosperity Pots

It is a common practice to have two small toy pots earthen, copper or bronze in almost all Kashmiri Pandit kitchens. The housewife, while getting up early in the morning, would clean the toy pots and wash them with fresh water after taking a bath herself. She would fill them with fresh water. Reaching the door, she would sprinkle a little water on the upper portion of the door from these pots and then enter the house. It may be recalled that when the 'Shra:dh' ceremony of the manes is celebrated we sprinkle water from these toy pots on the door in the middle of the Shra:dh' ceremony. Both these pots are kept close to each other on a shelf in a very clean corner of the kitchen. A little of food and vegetables, cooked for the family, are first served to these toy pots every day and then only it is served to other family members of the house.

It was considered a superstition and meaningless practice and ritual till recently. But the excavations at the Harwan, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa have thrown some light on the use of these pots because these were found at all the three places and in abundance. In view of the fact that the excavations in question involved more than one civilization, scholars and historians were compelled to think and ponder more deeply on the origin, purpose and use of these tiny pots by the people of those civilizations.                                                                                                                                       It is generally believed that these two pots represent the two unmarried girls who, besides being revered as the "Ganga/Jamuna" and the "Saraswati", are considered to be in charge of the wealth and prosperity in a family. The sprinkling of water at the main door hints to this belief. It is also said that the word "Sani Va:ri" is a corrupt from of the Sanskrit word "Smridi Va:ri" meaning pots bringing prosperity.

IV) Bati Ranun-       Cooking Of Food

In earlier times a lady had to bring water from a well, a spring or a river. Then she would bring firewood etc., for kindling the fire at the selected place in the kitchen. There were joint families in those days and the pots for preparing vegetables and rice too used to be large when compared to the modern nuclear families. At the time of putting rice into the pot, the lady cooking meals, would take a hand full of rice three times and throw it into the burning fire as an oblation made to the fire god. It was considered a necessary practice so as to please the fire god. There is a saying in Kashmiri, "if we deceive or curtail our own dining table, we get reborn as a bitch but if we curtail the due share of the fire (God),. we are not reborn ever. This clearly indicates that a housewife who cooks meals for the whole family and does not care to keep, among others, her own share of the meals, she is reborn as a bitch and if a she does not offer a small portion of rice to the fire god as an ablation, she deprives herself even from this mean rebirth. Meaning that she is sure to get lost in the deep hell. With the change of the times the cooking patterns have changed. We neither need any firewood nor are there those big pots for cooking meals in the present two - member families. Everything is done mechanically and in pressure cookers. Hence all this appears as if the things of the past.

After the food is prepared and the meals are read to be served to the members of the family, a very small portion of it is put on the boundary wall of the house or on an outer shelf of the house / room for the birds and insects and a little is offered to the house deity and the manes as an oblation. The remaining food is served to the members of the family. Our scriptures have laid great stress on preparing simple, nutritious, and pure food, which promotes longevity, vitality, energy, health and happiness. The scriptures have forbid us from taking foods, which promote passion, lethargy and evil tendencies. We believe in "We are what we eat" theory.

V) Sandya Tso<Ng Za:Lun -     Kindling Of The Evening Lamp

An earthen lamp is lit on a window of the house facing to the East just before the nightfall. It is lit before it is twilight and is kept burning for a short while. Presently it seems to be a meaningless practice, but it must have been a matter of great importance in those days when the streets would get dark with the arrival of the evening. A small lamp at the window corner would prove to be a bon for the latecomers to their respective homes. No doubt the use of electricity has changed the life pattern of a common man and all these things appear to be things of the pas, but still most of the Kashmiri Pandit ladies stick to this old practice even today.

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Courtesy: The Martand- The Official organ of All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference: 31st August, 2009