Introduction
S.C. Roy wrote his monumental work on Oraon religion entitled Oraon Religion and Customs in the year 1928. In his book he presented Oraon religious beliefs and practices imbibed in their culture and thus, integrated with other aspects of life.
He organised his study into six chapters namely: Religion, Magic and Science; Deities, Spirits and other Supernatural Powers; Socio-Religious Rites and Ceremonies; Religious Feasts and Festivals; Black Magic and White Magic; and Revival Movements and Modern Tendencies in Oraon religion. As is evident, in the third chapter he explained the embedded social aspects in the religious tradition of the Oraon people. This signifies their sociological dimensions of faith and beliefs. Roy was more inclined towards the Malinowski’s idea of religion (Hodson 1928:xiii), where religion is a part of social solidarity (Barla 2019). According to Roy, the Oraon's religious beliefs of that time can be put somewhere near a ‘primitive’ and vague stage of animism or spiritism. In this worldview, the Oraon do not discriminate between spirit or soul and the body or object they reside in; rather attribute manna, an impersonal magic force of nature towards certain living beings, natural objects, and even to some objects of human art. The Oraon have organised their religious beliefs around the hierarchically arranged spirits. These spirits are mainly of two types: nature spirits and the spirits of the dead human beings which are categorised as inferior or superior, and as potentially beneficent or maleficent. Apart from this they believe in impersonal powers and forces. Roy also wrote that the religious rites which include supplications and prayers, offerings, and sacrifices, ceremonial sharing of sacrificial food along with some taboos are mainly meant to establish a harmonious relation with the supernatural powers and beings.Over these years, the Oraon, particularly non-converts have been exposed to modern forces like education, technology, formal sector of employment, and so on. These forces always associated with their migration from a traditional village set up to the urban centres and also to the metro cities. The more interaction with people exposed them to the diverse ideas and ideologies. Notably, Roy also mentioned about some earlier works (1928) such as the works of Rev. P. Dehon and Col. Dalton, and attempted correction of facts and interpretation also. He mentioned that originally the Oraon did not consider any spirit
DOI: 10.4324/9781003516415-9
95
as beneficent. However, due to contact with other cultures, they considered some of the spirits as potentially beneficial. He also presented his study about the on-going revival movements specially the different kinds of Bhakti movements and Christian movement in which the Oraon religious rites and festivals are modified along with their social and economic life. There is a confrontation with Christian ideology and a revival commitment under the banner of Sarna religion. Further, co-existence with Hindu and other communities also influenced the Oraon traditional religion. The exposure of Oraon community to these forces makes it important to revisit S.C. Roy to understand the changes in social dimension in Oraon faith and beliefs over a period of almost 100 years. With this argument at the core, the chapter is organised in five sections as follows: Introduction; S.C. Roy and social dimensions in Oraon religion; Present scenario; Comparative dynamics; and the conclusion. To know about the present scenario of Oraon religious beliefs and practices, Kanke and Ormanjhi blocks from Ranchi district and Sisai and Basia blocks from Gumla district have been purposely selected. Secondary sources have also been used to compare the facts of S.C. Roy’s time with the present practices.
7.1
More on the topic Introduction:
- INTRODUCTION
- Introduction
- Introduction
- INTRODUCTION
- INTRODUCTION
- INTRODUCTION
- Introduction
- Introduction
- Introduction
- INTRODUCTION