Monday, September 17, 2012

India's most unique villages

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Of tantra and mantra

A small village near Guwahati is a stronghold of traditional magic finds out Dulal Misra from firsthand experience

Magic and Assam (or Pragjyotishpur as it was called in ancient times) have a strong connection. Scholars such as Mirza Nathan, Ibn-batuta and Sahabuddin have mentioned the tantra-mantra of Pragjyotishpur in their writings. According to Hindu mythology Lord Krishna fought a maya yudh (a war of illusions) with king Narakasura, father of Bhagadutta, empowered by spiritual powers. Shaktipith Kamakhya (in Assam) was the epicentre of tantrism in ancient times where Buddhist monks came to practice tantra. In time these monks scattered to various parts of Assam but were mainly concentrated in Hajo and Mayang.

Tantrism in Mayang can be traced back to the period of 8th to 9th century AD. Buddhist monks contributed to shaping it in the 12th century thus making the tantrism of Mayang a unique combination of Hindu and Buddhist gupta bidya (secret knowledge) of which black magic is the basis.

Modern day Mayang, despite being close to Guwahati is a world away. Manthir Saikia, ex- principal of Mayang H S School and a scholar of tantrism says, “Prince Maibong of Manipur set up the Kachari kingdom here. The name Mayang comes from the prince’s name. From ancient times tantrism was practiced in Mayang hence the Ahom rulers and later the British were afraid to challenge the Kachari kingdom. The tantrics used vashikaran mantra to dominate enemies.”

Tilak Hazarika, a black magician in Mayang says the power of magic draws from the potency of words. “Every word has its power. If somebody praises you, you will be pleased. If somebody curses you, you will be sad. Shabd (the spoken word) is Brahma. Hence since ancient times, mantras were in oral form. Practitioners (bez and kabiraz) were particular that the mantras not reach the common people. Hence, there was no interest in preserving these in written form. However the Kachari kings encouraged the magicians to write down the mantras. Today we have around 300 manuscripts of mantras written on Sanchipat and Tulipat (kinds of writing material) in the area.”

There are various types of mantras practiced in Mayang. Among these are -- mohini ban, sarpabishnasakh, baatbish, tekeli ban, bagh bondha, bikh ban, jhor ban, jui nibarani, pash and kam ban mantra. Each comes with special powers. This while a human can fly in the air with the udan mantra, the luki mantra can make one vanish in thin air while bikh ban mantra can kill an enemy and the kam ban can enhance sexual potency. Why, there is also a mantra to transform leaves into fish! Manthir Saikia, like other residents of Mayang, has memories of magic to share. “Once when I was a child my father was boiling paddy to make a special type of rice. But even after steaming for three days, the paddy could not be boiled. My father suspected that someone had put a ban on the dish. He called on a kabiraz and told him about the incident. The kabiraz thought for a while and ordered my father to disrobe. My father did so and the paddy was cooked in no time”, he says. Pranab Bezbarua is a kabiraz believed to hold magical powers which he demonstrates for us. We are asked to put out our hands. Bezbarua takes a fistful of sand and whispers a mantra onto it. The sand is then thrown on our hands and a strange itching sensation begins. We are told that the baral ban has been put on us. Another fistful of sand with a different mantra is thrown on our hands and the sensation stops.

Tantrism in Mayang is however dying due to a lack of preservation and practice. Only a handful of practitioners remain.

Lokendra Nath Hazarika, a native of Mayang says, “We are trying to preserve and rejuvenate this traditional art. Many manuscripts which were with individuals have been collected. We are in search of various archeological material that support this culture. In Roja Mayang, we have found a rock inscription, 3.8 metre long. But the text of this inscription has not been deciphered.”

Utpal Nath from the village is doing his PhD on Mayang’s traditional magic and medicines from Guwahati University. He is also the secretary of the Mayang village Museum and Research Centre set up in 2002, where a total of 47 manuscripts are housed. Nath has written to the director of the National Museum requesting him to send an expert team to visit the museum. A 15-day workshop on the preservation manuscripts is planned. The government of Assam has granted Rs 20 lakh for the museum.

The present day Kachari king Taranti Kanta Konwar says the art has been part of his family. “My grandfather Mina Sing was a tantrik. He went to nearby jungle every Saturday and worshiped Lord Shiva and Ma Kali. My father wanted to learn tantrism from him, but my grandfather refused because tantrism cannot be transferred.” The king hopes that the coming generations will show an interest in Mayang’s traditional tantrism and the culture will be analysed scientifically.

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