MILE#3 DEVDASIS OF SOUTHERN TEMPLES

                                                                                     -by Anoona Parveen 

         
A Devadasi is a hereditary female dancer in a Hindu temple. They had a very important role and place in the history of mankind and the devadasi system was a very important institution in the history of early India.

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A Devadasi, also called as jogini was a young woman of age form 7-year-old who devoted her life to worship the Hindu deity or a temple. They were found in southern and eastern parts of India. The devadasi practice is known in different names in different places as basivi in Karnataka, matangi in

Maharashtra and Bhavin and Kalavantin in Goa. It is also known as venkatasani, nailis, muralis and theradiyan. Other than taking care of the temple and performing rituals, they were forced to learn classical Indian artistic traditions like Bharatanatyam and Odissi dance and due to this, they had a high social status.

          Once a woman becomes Devadasi, she would spend her time learning religious rites, rituals, and dance. They had children by high officials or priests who were also taught their skills of music or dance. Eminent personalities that have come out from this community are Bharat Ratna recipient M S Subbalakshmi and Padma Vibhushan recipient Balasaraswathi. 

           In the region of South India, the system of Devadasi was followed for over 10 centuries. They include Devar Adigalar (servants of the divine) of the Chola empire, Natavalollu - a community of Karnataka living in Andhra Pradesh, Mahari Devadasi of Odisha and Yellamma cult of Karnataka being the most chief group among the following.

          In the border districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh girl children who fall sick or cannot be taken care of by their families are offered to the goddess Mathamma, the chief deity of the Arunthathiyar Scheduled Caste community. Thereafter, they are referred to as Mathamma, the local name for Devadasis and once the girls attain puberty, the temple priest performs a ritual marrying them to the deity, after which they are not allowed to marry any person. They perform dances during weddings and festivals and the youth of the village, belonging to any caste, are free to exploit them for sex - this is the present situation of Devadasi in modern India. The life expectancy of Devadasi girls is low compared to the average of the country, it is rare to find Devadasis older than fifty.

1. Devadasi (1948)

        One of the much-hyped movies of the 1940s, Devadasi was produced and directed by Sukumar pictures and Manik Lal Tondon respectively. Written by B.S. Ramaiah, the screen story was inspired by the famous French writer Anatole France’s Thais, which was made into a memorable opera.

To know more about the movie