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).