Music, Possession and Shamanism Among Khond Tribes

Bibliographic Data

ID12720484
AuthorsRebecca Basso (Tiscali (Italy), corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume7
Issue2
Pages177-197
Publication date2006-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture and Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1475-5610 • E-ISSN: 1475-5629
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14755610600975944
OpenAlexW1985826314
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited13

This paper studies the role and the meaning of music in spirit possession and shamanism in two villages among the Khond, a group of tribes settled in the hinterland of the Indian region of Orissa. I describe three types of possession: the voluntary and powerful possession of shamans, the occasional possession of priests, and the involuntary possession of patients. In each case we find the possessed person experiences a different degree of agency based on their relationship to music. ‘Musical language’ is an important highly codified precondition for possession among the Khond, and is used distinctively in priest's and shaman's possession. Closely analysing the role of musical performance in Khond and related cultures, I employ an interdisciplinary methodology, moving from ethnomusicology and the history of religions, that emphasises the embodied, geographically specific traditions, providing analysis of the unique work accomplished by musical language in two villages. Keywords: Khondpossessiontribal musicshamanismethnomusicology Notes 1. Padel makes some interesting observations about khond religious system: ‘they [Khond] are not vegetarian, and do not have the same ideals of purity that mark cast society. Their gods are not vegetarian either [...] and blood sacrifice plays an important part in their religion. [...] All their deities are closely connected with nature, identified with features of the local environment or natural forces, including diseases’ (Padel Citation2000, 17–18). 2. This theme is thoroughly analysed in Basso (Citation2006, forthcoming). 3. Kuttaka and kuttakaru are the terms for the male and female shaman in Kui dialect; peju and pejuni have the same meaning but in Kuvi dialect. 4. In the village of Palamkya there was no shaman, and the jani told me that when it is necessary he always calls for the kuttaka or kuttakaru of the nearby village. 5. Both, when dissatisfied, provide themselves with the blood that they need, causing men's illnesses; therefore they ‘feed’ on human blood until their hunger is be completely satisfied by an appropriate sacrifice. Sindhe Mahji, the kuttaka of Deogada, speaking about illnesses told me: ‘initially I call the deity and when she enters my body I ask her what she needs. Then I sacrifice a pig, a goat, a cock or a fish, I sacrifice what she asks... the blood of the sacrificed animal is used to satisfy the deity as a substitute for the patient.’ 6. The ‘shamanic disease’ initially experienced by the shaman (male and female) is a common feature of each different shamanic tradition; it can be considered an equivalent to the rite of initiation: only after this particular period, in fact, by positively resolving her disease, can she become a shaman and cure the diseases of other people. To find references see Mircea (1999, 46–47, 50), Gibson (Citation1997, 46), Mastromattei (1988, 137) and Waida (Citation1983, 227). 7. It is interesting to notice that the tutelary spirit of Sindhe possesses a two-fold aspect, because he is at the same time Komani, the benevolent God of the forest, who has taught him how to use medical herbs, and Tākurāī, the terrifying Goddess of small-pox and epidemics, who, paradoxically, has taught him how to cure a patient. 8. Basilov (1999, 34) states that this particular category of helping spirits is a feature that distinguishes a shaman as a religious specialist. Even in Hindu tradition there are mediums that heal through the possession of a tutelary deity and maybe even these possession cults could be of tribal origins (Carrin 1999, 90–113). 9. To find reference about the use of winnowing fan among the shamans of central and northern India, see CitationBasso (nd), Beggiora (Citation2003, 97–98), Filippi (Citation1999, 79) and Eliade (Citation1999, 451). 10. Eliade (Citation1999, 122) noted that the tutelary spirits give to the shaman musical trainings, especially vocal teachings, which the shaman employs during the various rituals. 11. See Filippi (Citation1999, 79); for more information about the relation between music and trance, see the Appendix. 12. The psycho-physiological effects derived from the shaman's way of singing are widely discussed in Basso (nd). This is a feature that is present even in possession cults of Maharaśtra: the angāt ālelī (god-possessed) before they fall in trance sometimes employ a forced breath (Stanley Citation1988, 42). 13. See CitationLewis (nd, 4); for tuvinian shamanic music, see CitationKyrgyz (nd); for nepalese shamanic music, see Giannattasio (Citation1998, 198); and for saora shamanic music, see Beggiora (2003, 97–99). 14. The same connection between a determined rhythm and the call of a specific deity is documented also among Dongria Khonds (see Jena et al. Citation2002, 112). 15. The Kedu or Meriah is considered by Khonds the most important and powerful sacrifice performed within the space of a year. It is realised to appease the Earth Goddess with the purpose of improving the harvests and assuring the fertility of the soil. It is also performed to resolve cases of serious illness, of epidemics or when there are serious situations of unbalance with the supernatural dimension. For references, see Jena et al. (2002, 192), Patnaik (Citation1992), Patnaik and Das Patnaik (Citation1982, 164–171) and Nayak (Citation2004, 164). Meriah was the name for khond human sacrifice, which had been abolished by the English during the colonial period, through the foundation of the Meriah Agency: it was a vehicle of strong oppression of tribal culture. Their struggle against the ‘savage and blaspheme’ shamanism of Khond was only an expedient to obtain the political and military control over their territory. The Hindū rājā, through the patronage of Meriah, justified the complex system of alliances with the tribes. By abolishing human sacrifice, the English destroyed the alliance that had kept Khond politically linked to the Hindū chiefs. In this way the role of the rājās who had supported the Agency lost credibility to the eyes of tribal people, and the English Government succeeded in destroying this alliance and obtained the control of their territory. For references, see Beggiora (Citation2004, 215, 242) and Padel (2000, 126–132). The term Kedu refers to the buffalo sacrifice, the modern substitute of human sacrifice, which is also called Meriah: although the victim of sacrifice has changed, the meaning and the performance of this ritual has remained almost intact. 16. See Rouget (Citation1986, 116), Emsheimer (1988, 146) and Giannattasio (1988, 202–203). 17. Referring to Atharvaveda, even in Indian ancient medical tradition illness, or rather fever, was associated with the possession due to demons or evil spirits (Zysk Citation1983, 617–621). 18. The jani of Palamkya and the jani and kuttaka of Deogada have personally testified that omissions in rituals can be the cause of wrath or displeasure of a Penu, which materialised itself in illnesses or diseases for the entire community. 19. If ancestors do not receive their appropriate sacrifices and worship rites, they will effectively cause illnesses to the members of their own family. See Boal (Citation1982, 163–165), Patnaik (Citation1992) and Patnaik and Das Patnaik (Citation1982, 177). 20. If the death of someone is unknown to his/her family this will be surely a dangerous situation for his relatives, because, by receiving no funeral blessing, the recently dead ancestor cannot reach the realm of dead and, in his/her painful state, he/she can afflict his own family with illness until the death rite is observed (Boal Citation1982, 164). Even among saora tribes, people are afraid of this particular kind of death because it is considered very dangerous for health (Beggiora Citation2003, 47). The kuttaka of Deogada told me that this kind of illness can sometimes be prevented: while the shaman is dreaming, these tormented souls can communicate directly with him, give information about their death and tell him the place where their corpses can be found. 21. The same dynamic of illness is documented also among other Indian tribal groups such as the Apatanis (Jones 1967–1968, 339) and the Saoras (Beggiora Citation2003, 70). 22. ‘Palta’, derives from the oriya verb ‘palatiba’ that means transform; ‘bagho’, instead, means tiger: the Paltabagho, therefore, is a transformed tiger—this phenomenon is called Kradi Milva in Kui and Kai Krani in Kuvi, but the term Paltabhago is of frequent use. 23. For Khond references, see Patnaik (Citation1992, 173) and Jena et al. (Citation2002, 264); for references about this belief among Apatanis, see Jones (Citation1967–1968, 339); and among Saoras, see Beggiora (2003, 58). 24. To find references abut the relationship between the possessed tiger and the Phaltabhago, see CitationBrighenti (nd) and Jena et al. (2002, 265). 25. The same condition of the shaman's soul during the trance is documented also among Dongria Khonds (see Jena et al. Citation2002, 185). 26. For references about the voluntariness of trance, see Rouget (1986, 39), Eliade (1999, 24) and Riboli (Citation2000, 61). For references about the shaman's control over the entities involved in possession, see Basilov (Citation1994, 34). 27. Only one case is documented in which a Tibetan oracle fell in trance while playing music on his own, but this is a rare exception (Rouget Citation1986, 190). 28. The Pavitoso and Achumawi shamans, for example, fall into the state of trance by using only voice (Eliade Citation1999, 328–331), the same happens for Selk'nam shamans (Rouget Citation1986, 178); even the Eskimo shamans sometimes employ exclusively their vocal repertoire to reach an altered state of consciousness (Rouget Citation1986, 176). 29. Eliade (1999, 192), Mastromattei (Citation1995, 17) and Villa (Citation1998, 114). For references about the interaction between the sound of drum and human body, see Neher (Citation1961, 449–451; Citation1962, 151–160). 30. Among saora tribes, shamans and shamanins play also a terracotta jug filled with palm wine (Beggiora Citation2003, 98–101); in Ceylon island, a shell is employed (Eliade Citation1999, 203); and among Buryat shamans, even the use of jew's harp is diffused (Rouget Citation1986, 176)

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Embodied cognition · Epistemology · Ethnology · Ethnomusicology · Linguistics · Musical · Possession (linguistics · Shamanism · Sociology · Visual arts · Anthropology · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · History · Music History and Culture · Neuroscience and Music Perception · Philosophy

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