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Devadasi

The term devadasi is of Sanskrit origin. Though it was commonly used, the institution and the women in profession were known locally by different terms.

Devadasis are also known locally by the names of Nayakasani, Rangasani, Gangasani, Muttukattikondavlu, Davara Sule, Kasabi, Patradavalu, Jogti, and more.

The term caste has often been misused in the context of devadasis. "According to the devadasis themselves there exists a devadasi 'way of life' or 'professional ethic' (vritti, murai) but not a devadasi jati. Later, the office of devadasi became hereditary but it did not confer the right to work without adequate qualification" (Amrit Srinivasan, 1985). Women who belonged to the Isai Vellavar {or 'Isai Vellaalar' or 'Vellalar'}caste often used to become Devadasis at the age of 3 years old.

An important point that may be noted is the difference between the Devadasi system and the Jogin/Basavi system. The Devadasi system is not confined to a particular caste. Unlike Jogins, the Devadasis are not treated as untouchables. The doors of every temple are open to them. They have, in fact, been honored in the public in the past, and even offered seats alongside the figures of royalty. Devadasis confined their activities to the boundaries of temples (especially great traditional temples), whereas Jogins/Basavis participated in dances before chariots of gods and goddesses during processions in village festivals. Jogins/Basavis are not allowed to dance inside the great traditional temples, and their activities are limited to small traditional temples in the villages. Jogins/Basavis are also called upon to dance at funeral processions, at the annual festivals, assorted village rituals during the harvest. However, the differences between these two different systems gradually became diluted and the so-called 'traditional devadasi system' disappeared along with the kingdoms and royal patronages. In the later stages (modern times), these Jogins/Basavis adopted the name Devadasi. The term 'Devadasi(s)' was used hereinafter to denote all local variants.

History

About a century ago, a campaign was launched to portray devadasis as prostitutes and as immoral women. The smear campaign continues to this date. It has become customary to talk of abolition of the 'evil' of devadasi system. Many aspects of the system and especially the dedication of minors was made illegal, years ago in all the states where various malpractice was prevalent. The institution exists today often as a mere shadow of its original form. It would probably be accurate to understand the Devadasi as an increasingly varied and heterogeneous series of groups with widely devolved practices that have developed over many centauries.

Ancient and medieval history

Originally, devadasis were celibate all their life. Reference to dancing girls in temples is found in Kalidasa's "Meghadhoot". It is said that dancing girls were present at the time of worship in the Mahakal Temple of Ujjain. Some scholars are of the opinion that probably the custom of dedicating girls to temples became quite common in the 6th century A.D., as most of the Puranas containing reference to it have been written during this period. Several Puranas recommended that arrangements should be made to enlist the services of singing girls at the time of worship at temples.

There can be no denial of the fact that by the end of 10th century, the total number of devadasis in many temples was in direct proportion to the wealth and prestige of the temple. During the medieval period, they were regarded as a part of the normal establishment of temples; they occupied a rank next only to priests and their number often reached high proportions. For example, there were 400 devadasis attached to the temples at Tanjore and Travancore.

The rise and fall in the status of Devadasis can be seen to be running parallel to the rise and fall of Hindu temples. Invaders from West Asia attained their first victory in India at the beginning of the second millennium A.D. The practice that probably started around 6th century A.D. seems to have reached its pinnacle around 10th and 11th century A.D. The destruction of temples by invaders started from the northwestern borders of the country and spread to the whole of the country. Thereafter the status of the temples fell very quickly in North India and slowly in South India. One may possibly say the same about the status of Devadasis in India. As the temples became poorer and lost their patron kings (and in some cases temples were destroyed), the Devadasis were forced into a life of poverty, misery, and, in many cases, prostitution.

Eradication or revival

Toward the end of the 19th century, there was a spurt of social movements in India. Nationalism and search for national identity were manifesting in various forms. This naturally led to social movements relating to Devadasis. The social movements relating to Devadasis can be classified into two categories: Reformist or Abolitionists and Revivalist Movements.

Reformist or Abolitionists movements

Reformist or Abolitionists conceived Devadasi practice as a social evil and considered every devadasi to be a prostitute. The first anti-nautch and anti-dedication movement was launched during the 1880s. "Their main aim was to do away with this system. Reform Lobbyists were drawn mainly from missionaries, doctors, journalists and social workers. They urged the abolition of all ceremonies and procedures by which young girls dedicated themselves as Devadasis of Hindu shrines. [...] These anti-nautch campaigners began their attack on the devadasi system in 1882. They organized seminars and conferences to create a public opinion against the devadasi system. In the later part of 1892 an appeal was made to the Viceroy and Governor General of India and to the Governor of Madras. This appeal also defines the position of the anti-nautch movement" (Jogan Shankar, 1990).

For the reform lobbyists— Christian missionaries, doctors, journalists, administrators and social workers— strongly influenced by Christian morality and religion, it was precisely these features of the devadasi institution which were reprehensible in the utmost. The publication of the devadasi system as prostitution sought to advertise the grotesqueness of the subject population for political ends. For those who supported imperialism on the grounds of its 'civilizing' function, programs of reform it must be remembered were not without their ideological rewards. The movement urging the abolition of all ceremonies and procedures by which young girls dedicated themselves as devadasis to Hindu temples, was articulated in the first instance as Anti-Nautch campaign.

Some journals and newspapers like The Indian Social Reformer and Lahore Purity Servant supported the Reformist or Abolitionist movement. The movement initially concentrated on building public opinion and enlisting members to refuse to attend nautch parties as well as to refuse to invite Devadasis to festivities at their homes. It was around 1899 that the anti-nautch and purity movement turned its attention to stopping dedications. The anti-nautch movement paved the way for anti-dedication movement.

The social reform movements, spearheaded by Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Govind Ranade, Karve, and other prominent social thinkers, questioned the practice of Devadasi system and pleaded for its abolition. Strong public opinion was created in 1929 through the 'Self Respect Movement' led by the great sociopolitical thinker E.V. Ramaswamy, popularly known as 'Periyar'. Condemning the practice, he advocated freedom and marriage of devadasis. The anti-Brahminism and anti-ritualism of the regional political parties of Tamil Nadu provided an ideological base to the Devadasi Abolition movement

Revivalist movements

The revival movement consciously stepped outside the requirements of state electoral politics and western scientific traditions. The movement received strong support from Theosophical Society of India, whose anti-official stance and strong interest in Indian Home Rule bound them with the revival of the dance.

Pioneers like Madam H.P. Blavatsky and Colonel H.S. Oclott, the founding lights of Theosophical movement had undertaken an extensive tour of South India and propagated the revival of devadasi institution and the associated art of Sadir. They gained support from all sections of the native elite by their public denouncement of western Christian morality and materialism. In 1882, Theosophical Society of India had set up its headquarters in Adyar, Madras with the set goal of working towards the restoration of India's ancient glory, art, science, and philosophy.

The support later given to revival of Sadir as Bharatnatyam by Theosophical Society was largely due to the efforts of Rukmini Arundale, an eminent theosophist herself. Annie Besant and the elders of the Theosophical heirarchy as the chosen Vehicle for the World Mother groomed her. She took up the cause of evolution of Sadir into Bharatnatyam.

The Theosophical Society provided the necessary funds and organization to back her as the Champion for India’s renaissance in the arts, especially Bharatnatyam. The revivalists tried to present the idealistic view of the institution of devadasi. According to their view, it was the model of the ancient temple dancer as a pure and sacred, chaste women, as they were originally.

They even stressed that in absence of immorality the dance of devadasi was a form of 'natya yoga' to enhance an individual's spiritual plane. The revivalists wanted to preserve the traditional form of Sadir dance by purifying it. As a consequence of purification, some modifications were introduced into the content of the dance. The revivalists mostly belonged to Brahmin dominated Theosophical circles. Many Brahmin girls started to learn the dance from Devadasis.

The reformists presented devadasi as prostitutes in order to abolish dedication of girls to temples, and the revivalists sketched them as nuns in order to re-establish the institution of devadasi and their art afresh. The fact is that a devadasi was neither a prostitute nor a nun. She was a professional artist who did not suppress or deny her feminine skills. She was a woman whose life pattern was different from that of a typical woman in patriarchal society. The educated urban class acting under the influence of Christian missionaries delivered a fatal blow to the lifeline of the Devadasis by their anti-nautch campaign and thus pushed them into prostitution. The revivalist shut the doors firmly by creating a class of elite performers who claimed to have preserved the dance of devadasis but who usurped the position of devadasis as performers.

The Devadasi was not and is not a 'prostitute'. It is an insult to brand as 'prostitutes' the women who kept classical dance forms, like Bharatnatyam and Odisee, alive for centuries. The lack of empathy shown by reformists towards the Devadasis is indeed appalling and depicts an imperialist and colonialist bias against everything Indian (and Hindu). It should come as no surprise that there have been no mass movements against the practice of Devadasi, except for the period when the anti-dedication movement could ride on the anti-Brahminical and anti-ritualism movement of DMK in Tamil Nadu, aided by the colonial masters.

Legislative initiatives

The first legal initiative taken for stopping the Devadasi system dates back to 1934 when the Bombay Devadasi Protection Act was passed by the British government. This Act covered the Bombay state, as it existed then. The Bombay Devadasi Protection Act declared dedication of a woman as an illegal act, irrespective of the fact whether the dedication was made with her consent or not. According to this Act, marriage by a Devadasi was to be considered lawful and valid, and the children from such wedlock were to be treated as legitimate. The Act also laid down grounds for punitive action that could be taken against any person or persons, who were found to be involved in dedications, except the woman who was being dedicated. Those found guilty of such acts could face a year’s imprisonment or fine or both. The 1934 Act had provided rules, which were aimed at protecting the interests of the Devadasis. Whenever there was a dispute over ownership of land involving a Devadasi, the local Collector was expected to intervene. Concurrently with the Bombay Devadasi Protection Act, the Madras Devadasi (Prevention of Dedication) Act, 1947 was also in operation in the then Mysore state which was renamed 'Karnataka' in 1972.

Devadasi practices

The devadasi practices have considerably changed over the last centuries. The account of the contemporary Devadasi practice in Tamilnadu by Amrit Srinivasan is interesting: "Traditionally the young devadasi underwent a ceremony of dedication to the deity of the local temple which resembled in its ritual structure the upper caste Tamil marriage ceremony. Following this ceremony, she was set apart from her non-dedicated sisters in that she was not permitted to marry and her celibate or unmarried status was legal in customary terms. Significantly, however she was not prevented from leading a normal life involving economic activity, sex and childbearing. The very rituals which marked and confirmed her incorporation into temple service also committed her to the rigorous emotional and physical training in the classical dance, her hereditary profession. In addition, they served to advertise in a perfectly open and public manner her availability for sexual liaisons with a proper patron and protector. Very often in fact, the costs of temple dedication were met by a man who wished thus to anticipate a particular devadasi's favours after she had attained puberty. It was crucially a women's 'dedicated' status which made it a symbol of social prestige and privilege to maintain her. The devadasi's sexual partner was always chosen by 'arrangement' with her mother and grandmother acting as prime movers in the veto system. Alliance with a Muslim, a Christian, or a lower caste was forbidden while a Brahmin or member of the landed and commercial elite was preferred for the good breeding and/or wealth he would bring into the family. The non-domestic nature of the contract was an understood part of the agreement with the devadasi owing the man neither any householding services nor her offspring. The children in turn could not hope to make any legal claim on the ancestral property of their father whom they met largely in their mother's home when he came to visit."

Reasons for dedication in modern times

Even though the majority of the girls dedicated in the past few years or decades come from families with no history of Devadasis, all of them come from communities with a strong history of the practice. For example, a village named Yellampura in Karnataka, 95 percent of households of Holers practice Devadasi cult, which is the highest in the village followed by Madars.

The system has an obvious economic basis. The sanctions provided by social custom and apparently by religion, combined with economic pressures have pushed girls from poor families into becoming the wives of deity. The three factors (religious, social, and economic) are interlinked.

Asha Ramesh in her study carried out in May 1993 gives the following reasons:

"Dedication to the Goddess or God was justified on the following grounds:
(a) If the parents were childless, they vowed to dedicate their first child if it happened to be girl.
(b) If there were no sons in the family, the girl child was dedicated and could not marry as she becomes a 'son' for the family (earning the family’s livelihood).
Yet another economic reason contributed to the dedications. If the girl's family had some property, the family ensured that it stayed within the family by turning the girl into 'son' by dedicating her."

Dedication process

Until 1910 from the late medieval period, the rituals of dedication were public and elaborately advertised ceremonies which required the permission and full cooperation of the religious authorities for their proper performance. The Pottukattu or tali-tying ceremony which initiated the young dasi into her profession was performed in the temple through the mediation of the priest. The insistence on the pre-pubertal status of the girl was in imitation of Brahminical custom which saw marriage as the only religious initiation (diksha) permissible to women. Similarly the sadanku or puberty ceremonies of the devadasi which confirmed her married status as wife-of-the-god were performed with an emblem of god borrowed from the temple as stand-in 'bridegroom'. On this occasion the procreative and nuptial rites performed at the time of actual consummation of a Brahmin marriage, (shortly after the girl attains maturity) were also carried out and auspicious wedding songs celebrating sexual union sung before the 'couple'. From then onward, the devadasi was considered nitya sumangali, a woman eternally free from the adversity of widowhood and in that auspicious capacity, she performed for the first time her ritual and artistic duties in the temple. The puberty ceremonies were an occasion not only for temple honour but also for community feasting and celebration in which the local elite also participated. The music and dance and public display of the girl was meant to attract patrons.

Life after dedication

A devadasi's life after dedication was obviously very different centuries ago. Nowadays, "After dedication of a girl to the temple, she has to take bath every day early in the morning and should present herself at the temple during morning worship of Yellamma. She is not allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum. But she will bow to the deity from outside. Thereafter she sweeps compound of the temple. Every Tuesday and Friday she goes for joga along with senior jogatis. During this period she learns innumerable songs in praise of Yellamma and her son Parashurama. If she shows some aptitude to learn playing instruments she will be given training by her elder jogatis. In Yellampura and other villages Devadasis do not dance but this is performed by eunuch companions. The main functions of Devadasis would be singing and playing stringed musical instruments and Jagate. They form a small group and go for joga, from house to house on every Tuesday and Friday" (Jogan Shankar, 1990).

The above is a description of the various religious duties that are supposed to be performed by a Devadasi. This is the uncontested and widely celebrated part of her life as a Temple servant. However the validity of the supposed religious sexual activities of the modern Devadasi are especially contested and controversial. The rituals involving sex that accompany her dedication are now considered by many to be exploitative and not mandatory for her religious service. As such this perceived over sexualisation of the Devadasi is considered responsible for many women and girls being exploited and abused in slavery like practices within prositution. However many contemporary Devadasi continue to be involved in commericialised sexual practices.

In the temples where the practice involving sex still exists nowadays, a Devadasi will usually acquire a Patron after her deflowering ceremony. "Patronship in a majority cases is achieved at the time of dedications ceremony itself. The patron who secures this right of spending the first night with the girl may maintain a permanent liaison with the girl by paying a fixed sum of money or he can maintain the relationship for a fixed period of time on payment or he can simply terminate the liaison after the deflowering ceremony. A permanent liaison with a patron does not bar the girl from entertaining other clients, unless he specifies otherwise. In case the girl entertains, other men have to leave the girl’s house when her patron comes" (Jogan Shankar, 1990).

The tough life of a Devadasi really begins after the first Patron deserts her. Temporary alliances lead many of them eventually into prostitution. But all Devadasis do not become prostitutes. Classifying all Devadasis as prostitutes is an insult to the grit and struggle that many of them go through to maintain their sense of honor and self-respect.

Social Status

Traditionally, no stigma was attached to the Devadasi or to her children, and other members of their caste received them on terms of equality. The children of a Devadasi enjoyed legitimacy and in fact, Devadasis themselves were outwardly indistinguishable from married women of their own community.

Furthermore, a Devadasi was believed to be immune from widowhood and was called akhanda saubhagyavati. Since she was wedded to a divine deity, she was supposed to be one of the especially welcome guests at weddings, and was regarded as bearer of fortune. At weddings, people would like to get a string of the 'tali' (wedding lock) prepared by her and she threaded on it a few beads from her own necklace. The presence of a devadasi on any religious occasion in the house of a upper caste member was regarded as sacred and she was treated with due respect and was presented with gifts.

Additional information

Statistical data

Government of Orissa intimated to NCW that (except one Devadasi in a Puri temple) there are no Devadasi in the state and the system is not prevalent in Orissa. Similarly Government of Tamil Nadu wrote that this system has been eradicated and now there are no devadasis in the state. In Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, Department of Social Welfare and Department of Women and Child Welfare of the respective states had conducted surveys to identify and enumerate Devadasis. The data as sent by the respective State Governments to NCW is as follows.

Maharashtra Government did not provide the information as sought by the Commission. However, the State Government provided statistical data regarding the survey conducted by them to sanction 'Devadasi Maintenance Allowance'. A total of 8,793 applications were received and after conducting a survey 6,314 were rejected and 2,479 devadasis were declared eligible for the scheme. At the time of sending the information, 1,432 Devadasis were receiving this allowance.

In Andhra Pradesh, Devadasi practice is prevalent in fourteen districts— Karimnagar, Warangal, Nizamabad, Mahaboobnagar, Kurnool, Hyderabad, Ananthapur, Medak, Adilabad, Chittoor, Rangareddy, Nellore, Nalgonda, and Srikakulam. In Karnataka, the practice has been found to exist in six districts— Raichur, Bijapur, Belgaum, Dharwad, Bellari and Gulbarga. In Maharashtra, the Devadasi cult exists in ten districts— Pune, Sholapur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Mumbai, Lathur, Usmanabad, Satara, Sindhudurg and Nanded.

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