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Eternal India
encyclopedia
RELIGIONS
Sometimes a fetish is artificially produced by a shaman or
person who possesses
mana.
The use of charms, amulets or
talismans is not limited to the Primal Religious tradition.
Artificial fetishes or charms for protection are commonly worn
on the person, suspended from the roof of a building. Others
may be tied to guns to make them shoot straight, or used to
attract a lover. Generally speaking, however, natural
fetishes, especially stones, are most commonly preferred by
tribal people.
A fetish is perceived much like a human being; possessing
personality, feelings and will. It is usually hidden in a secret
comer of the dwelling, often where the grain is kept. The
potent fetish makes characteristic sounds, especially at night.
In order to maintain its power the fetish gets special
treatment, like oiling it with pork fat, or offering it sacrifices,
such as a fowl. If the desired personal ends are not thus
realized, the owner may resort to coaxing, or scolding. Finally,
if all such methods fail, it is assumed that some more powerful
spirit is interfering, or that the spirit or the
mana
has left the
fetish. If the former, a shaman or magician is summoned to
diagnose the problem and, if necessary, to charge the fetish
with additional power. If the spirit or
mana
has departed, the
person will look for another.
At one level, the fetish is simply the agent of
mana
or a spirit.
At another, it acts as an oracle, and is consulted in order to
ascertain the mind of the agent inhabiting it. An oath taken in
the name or upon a fetish is specially binding. However, the
power of the fetish must be demonstrated in action. Thus, a
fetish which has the reputation of being useful, receives
corresponding due honour.
5.
Taboo
: Taboo (from a Polynesian dialect) is a caution or
prohibition against fetishes or other manifestations of
mana.
A taboo object or person must not be touched, heard, smelled,
or tasted because such contact will result in automatic
supernatural adverse effects. The number of taboos is countless,
extending into every area of human life. Taboos are
not confined to the Primal Religious tradition; indeed are a
universal religious phenomenon. Some examples are :
(a)
Taboos related to supernatural beings
such as
offending gods or spirits, cutting sacred trees or destroying
sacred groves, believed to be the abode of gods
and spirits, and so forth.
(b)
Gender/sex taboos
such as contact with women during
menstruation and childbirth. Women are not permitted to
enter sacred groves, touch the sacred drum or a plow,
climb trees or use musical instruments. Among the
Nagas, a couple committing incest is expelled from the
village lest disaster befall the entire village.
(c)
Taboos related to persons
such as chiefs and shamans/
priests who are believed to be charged with
mana
or able
to control spirits. Not only their person, but their clothing,
vessels and other personal objects which are used by
ordinary mortals at the peril of their very lives. Warriors
are taboo, specially immediately prior to going to fight, as
are their weapons and vessels. While fighting or hunting,
women are taboo for warriors and hunters lest they suffer
defeat or even death. In many tribes, men will not take
food from their wives or speak to them while fighting or
hunting. It is believed that contact with women, specially
sexual, diminishes the power of the man.
(d)
Other taboos
such, as not cooking in a new house before
it is 'consecrated', entering or leaving a village during
certain festivals, working on certain tabooed days.
6.
Totems and other animal-human relations
: A totem
(from the Ojibwa Native American tribal language meaning
"brother-sister kin") is usually a species of animal or plant or
bird or insect or, very rarely, an inanimate object so intimately
related to a group of human beings that the group is believed to
be descendants of the totem, which is governed by certain
taboos. The group or clan which traces its origin to such a
totem is frequently named after the totem. Such totemic
relationships constitute a form of social organisation and
religious practice, which separates the totem group or clan
from others, each with its own totem.
Common animal totems are tiger, calf, peacock, tortoise,
cobra, elephant, monkey, buffalo, bear, jackal, dog, deer and so
forth. Familiar plant totems include rice, wheat, sandalwood,
cucumber, peppers. More specifically, among the Mundas,
horo
means "tortoise";
hao
means "red ant";
tirkey
means "red
ant" in Oraon. Bison-horn Marias have a series of related
clan names, such as Bakraban or "goat race," Nagban or
"cobra race," Kadiarban or "cuckoo race". Among the
Tangkhul Nagas there is a clan named Harvanao or "children
of the cock," while among the Khasis one finds clan names like
Diengdoh, the name of a tree or Tham, meaning "crab" or
Shrih, meaning "monkey".
The religious significance of totems may be seen in the
distinctive attitude of totem members toward the totem
animal or plant. The totem is so sacred to the particular clan
bearing its name that it becomes the focus of reverence and
awe. The totem animal is generally taboo to the members of
the clan, but is sacrificed for certain ceremonial feasts and
eaten sacramentally by all who belong to that totem group.
This symbolises the establishment/renewal of a mystic
kinship or blood relationship between the totem and the clan.
The killing and eating of the totem animal also symbolises an
appropriation of the power of the totem animal, hence it may
be killed and eaten regularly for food.
Related to the assumptions of the totemic relationship is the
belief that human beings can change themselves into animals
or have intimate relations with animals. Indeed, some animals
are not eaten because they are believed to be, in reality,
human beings who have been transformed into such animals.
Among a number of tribes in India there is a belief that human
beings transform themselves into tigers, wolves, bats and so
forth, or have tabooed sexual relations with animals.
7.
Omens and Divination
: Living in uncertain relationships
with spirits and natural and supernatural forces, members of
the Primal Religious tradition are continually on the lookout for
indications and warnings about what is likely to happen in
their lives through esoteric signs or omens. However, belief in
omens is by no means confined to members of this religious
tradition.
Omens are generally perceived immediately prior to any
undertaking. To meet a squirrel or wildcat crossing one's path
is a good omen for the Gonds. To hear, at the village boundary,