החיים בקערית אורז: 2005

Friday, December 30, 2005

Last day at Manju's house

Just before leaving, we took this photograph with mixed emotions. It was time to say goodbye, but very hard as well.

All the girls who are responsible for dressing me up (and especially Manju's older sister left to me)

After the big ceremony in the village, Manju’s younger sister paints on my hand with hina, then dresses me up together with her older sister in traditional Sarri (including earrings, necklace and flowers in my hear) and finally they make this short ritual where they pass some kind of leaves around my body and then through it into the fire, against the gossips of jealous people (A’in Hara’a). Lots of fun indeed.

A goat about to be sacrificed

Men with swords

Slaughtering the holly cow

The second ceremony we attended, at the 3rd day, involved the whole village. People gathered around the temple at 5 o’clock in the morning, in order to see and participate in the slaughtering of a cow, as a sacrifice for the village’s goddess. Many people went on top of the roofs in order to see the slaughtering. Manju was given the role of holding the Macheta (like other men who are head of the family) as part of the ceremony, and therefore could not join me and Neil. The younger sister again took upon herself the role of our guardian/ nanny, and took good care of us. We went on top of the temples’ roof, and watched the whole thing from up there. For 2 hours people where throwing chickens in the air, slaughtering goats, men run with swords in their hands, and a man from the temple was shouting through the microphone. As the only outsiders, we drew a lot of attention from the villagers. A real genuine experience...

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Manju’s uncle making sweets for the festival

End of the ceremony

In front- Manju & his mother. Next to me is the Manju's younger sister and the friend who took care of me

Manju’s younger sister in front of the statue

Manju and his mom lying on their bellies on the way to the temple

First Religious Ceremony to thank their Goddess: Manju & Mother

The first religious ceremony took place at the second morning of our arrival. Manju and his mother were taken to the nearest tap (as they don’t have running water in the house), escorted by the rest of the family. One of the relatives scattered water all over their bodies in order to purify them. The family put flowers on the tap and sang a specific mantra.

After that Manju and his mother had to go all the way to the temple lying on their bellies, holding a stick on their right hand and stretching it in front of them. Therefore, instead of walking all the way to the temple- they just laid down, stud up and laid down again at the same place where the stick touched the ground. Very soon they became very dirty (since there is no proper road, just a dirt path, and they were wet from the first ritual involving the water) and very tired (a long way to the temple..). When they arrived at the temple, they went around it in this same method, and then arrived at the sacred place where the statue of the goddess stands. At that point Manju, his mother and the rest of the family served gifts (Minchot) to the goddess and sang.

Throughout the ceremony, Manju’s younger sister and a young friend of the family grabbed both my hands and led me down the road, taking good care of me, making sure that I am ok and can see everything properly (The hole communication was of course in sign language, as no one in the village could speak English besides Manju himself).
The purpose of the Ceremony is to thank the goddess for their good fortune, and it is amazing to see the effort they put into doing that, when considering the family’s economic situation, the health problems and the fact that they are at the bottom of the Hindu hierarchy (i.e.- cast system).

smiling boys

Manju’s beautiful sister

Manju’s older, beautiful sister is married to her uncle. They have 2 daughters and their older one (2 years old) cannot walk. Every time she saw Neil she started crying, thinking that he is the doctor...

Manju's back yard

With Manju’s family on their back yard (where they cook, wash laundry, grow hot chilies and take a shower). On my right- the mother. Left to me is Manju, his younger sister and other people from the family.

Their hands speak for themselves

In Manju's room were we slept (on the floor)
Part of the experience: Eating with our hands (Neil on the right hand side, Manju on the left)

Hindu festival at Manju's village- on our way

In my guesthouse works the wonderful 18 years Manju.
Manju comes from a village in Karnataka (another district in India), 10 hours from Palulme, Goa. He is the main supporter of his family, and has started working when he was 10 years old. Without knowing how to read or write, he speaks 5 languages and is an excellent businessman. When talking to him you can easily see the good hart of this young man.
From the moment I met Manju, we made a connection, and spent about half an hour every day talking. Manju has invited me to come with him to a Hindu festival in his small village, and I willingly accepted, taking Neil with me as a chaperon. And so it happened, that from the 26th of December till the 29th, I spent the most incredible time with Neil, Manju and Manju’s family. This picture was taken on our way to the village (we exchanged about 5 local buses).

Some general details:
The festival we attended occurs once every 3 years, and no white person has ever attended it. In fact, according to Manju- no white person has ever visited his village (and we could certainly feel it from the attention we drew). Therefore, there were no hotels or restaurants in the village, and no other appropriate services. For 3 nights we stayed at Manju’s home with his extended family (many people from his family, who live in other villages, have come to celebrate the festival). We ate with them the same food, used the same toilets (the un-existing ones…) spend time with them and joined the religious ceremonies.
An unforgettable, unique and wonderful experience!

החיים בקערית אורז