The Process of Aryanisation and Brahminisation
When the chief of the Aryan13 invaders established small chiefdoms of their own, they had to count upon these sturdy forest dwellers for the defence of these newly established states.
The Aryan kings too needed the service of these tribes for clearing of the forest tracts for expansion of agriculture (Pargiter 1922:3). Expansion of agriculture was needed for production of surplus food crops and to generate revenue for the ever increasing civil and military expenses of the state. This process contributed to the peasantisation of the hunting and food gathering tribes and inclusion of some of the tribal groups into Hindu caste and religious systems. It should be mentioned that a group of scholars who propagated Aryan invasion support Aryan mechanism of Hinduising the tribes. They argue that political subordination combined religious ascendancy not only in territories conquered, but also in surrounding areas. F. E. Pargiter is of the opinion that “the Aryans met with the religious practice and beliefs among the peoples whom they ruled over or came into lasting contact with, and have assimilated some of them thus gradually, thus modifying their own religion to a certain extent” (Pargiter 1922:3). How far the statement is authentic is a matter of debate, but the line of argument follows colonial rule and propagation of Christianity in India. This mind set is extended to tribe and non-tribe interaction. Whether Hinduisation happened in the process as argued by colonial historians or not, the tribes did not replace their traditional faith and beliefs in the way it is experienced during tribal conversion to Christianity. But the fact is that tribal deities were adopted by the Hindu kings.By patronising the dominant autochthonous deities, the kings could consolidate and legitimatise their power in the Hindu tribal zone of the hilly hinterland of Odisha Kulke 1978a:128-129). In this process dominant tribal deities like tiger faced Goddess Vyaghra14 Devi, pillar shaped Khambeswari underwent Aryanisation and became Hinduised (Rath 1989:12).
In the semi forested areas of south and western Odisha we find Goddesses like Karanjei, Kochilei, Dokri because of their association/place of worship under Karanja, Kochila tree, etc.From Pargiter (1922:3) we know that the kings needed the service of the tribes to expand agriculture for revenue. To engage the services of the tribes their goddesses became the point of approach. Brahmins played a major role in helping the kings in this regard. The tradition of free grants particularly to the Brahmins in tribal areas played an important role in the process of tribe and non-tribe interaction. One crucial dimension of this interaction is Hinduisation of tribal goddesses as informed by A.K. Rath (2009:85-86) citing works of D. D. Kosambi (2016), R.S. Sharma (1965:32-39 and Ch-V & 1974), and N.N. Bhattacharyya (1999). No doubt, Khambeswari worshipped by the tribes in the form of a khamba or pillar entered into Brahminical pantheon under a Sanskritised Brahminical name of Stambheswari (Bhattacharyya 1997:55-59). It may be mentioned here that in the tribal community women enjoy more freedom and have more equality with their male counterparts as compared to the caste women. Hill tribes as believers in matriarchy, therefore, worshiped female energy or Sakti (Bhattacharyya 1999:58). Further, if we analyse various names of Goddess Durga as specified in Saptasati Chandi such as Sailaputri, Girija (the daughter of a hill or one born from hill) points to the tribal origin of Durga (cf. Mazumdar 1925:180) and her variant forms. Stambheswari, therefore, may be taken as the best example of a tribal goddess which underwent the process of Hinduisation in earlier time.
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