Deity culture being practised without documentation

Abhinav Vashisht

KULLU, NOVEMBER 3

The deity culture and traditions in Kullu, known as ‘valley of Gods’, have been passed on to the successors through the ages only orally through legends and fables. There is no real information about the parable and fables of around 600 gods and goddesses of the district. The basis of the Dev Samaj here is the unwavering faith of the people in the deities. Residents said there is no concrete information about the real past regarding the legends of the deities anywhere in writing. The only thing the people know about the traditions is what the elders have told them verbally.

There have been many research works by scholars on Dev traditions and culture, but the historians have not been able to clarify or document these legends properly. Although a few things have been described by some scholars, there is still a great potential for research into the cultural, spiritual, scientific and geographical areas of the local past.

Yatin Pandit, who is researching deity culture, said the folk culture is conveyed orally and each deity has its own rules and customs. The traditions that have been going on for centuries and are being carried out accurately.

A Dev Sanskriti Charitable Trust was formed by former zila parishad member Om Prakash Sharma to carry out research on the deity culture and traditions. He said now the trust had been merged with the Dev Sadan Samiti, headed by Kullu DC. The museum and library related to the culture would be improved. Various traditions and culture would be documented after research, which will take some time.

Sharma said the deities have a defined area and every person, who comes within the area, is considered to be the ‘Haryan’ of the deity. He said the ‘Haryans’ are orally described by their elders about the rules of their deity. Besides, many karkoons, including gurs (oracles), priests, kardars (caretakers), ‘bhandaris’ etc are considered to be the flag-bearers of the customs of the deities.

The deities have their own rules and laws. The foundation of mutual brotherhood in the Devbhoomi is also rested on these rules. All classes of society are given responsibilities in the Dev Samaj. This system runs on the basis of mythology. The residents said there was a need to document the deity culture to conserve it for the future generations.