Many Rammans in Uttarakhand: Jak and Bhumyal Renditions

• Published in: Theatre journal (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2024-03, Vol.76 (1), p.E-1-E-9
• Main Author: Prateek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ancient languages; Deities; Ethnography; Festivals; Folklore; Hinduism; Historians; Oral tradition; Sanskrit; Towns
• ISSN: 0192-2882; 1086-332X
• DOI: 10.1353/tj.2024.a929507

The cab driver who accompanied me was scared to drive, especially after a landslide compelled us to change the route. Another reason to call these performances Jak and Bhumyal is to facilitate comparative analysis and to underscore Jak’s and Bhumyal’s statuses in these stagings as ishta devta, meaning “chosen deity” or patron deity of the village.5 Yakshas are natural spirits or deities, often represented in ancient Indian folklore as custodians of the natural world and bestowers of boons. According to Saklani, the pivotal moment was Adi Shankaracharya’s visit to Joshimath and Badrinath in Uttarakhand, a visit that facilitated the introduction of Vaishnavite stories (such as Rama, an avatar of Lord Vishnu) to the Garhwal Himalayas.10 D. R. Purohit and Roma Purohit note that after Shankaracharya established the matha—a traditional educational institution for imparting training in Hindu religious practices11—in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, the Vaishnava denomination extended its influence and reach across the Garhwal region.12 In line with this perspective, Garhwali residents practiced Shaiva (Shiva-centric) and Shakta (Goddess-centric) traditions prior to the establishment of the matha.13 In contemporary times, these intersections no longer serve as attempts to confer legitimacy on the yaksha but instead allow people to commemorate their vernacular deities, whom they worship as “popular theistic cult” figures or “vegetation spirits directly controlling and bestowing upon their bhaktas [disciples], fertility and wealth, or to use a single word, abundance.” 14 Participants in the Jak and Bhumyal Rammans believe in the power of these titular deities and consider them as protectors of their villages, thus calling them devta rajas (king deities) (5:32–5:36).15 This belief is renewed every year in an annual festival with the manifestation of the yaksha in human form.