The spirit Gods of TuluNadu🙏

Hey there! 🫂 This post today is about a form of worship practised in the coastal belt of Karnataka and parts of Kerala in India. “Nema” or “Bhoota Kola”, as we call it, signifies the worship of spirit Gods that are believed to protect the local community.

11182192_854635361293538_7006988707431156598_n.jpg

Quick trivia:

  1. Bhoota – Ghost / spirit
  2. Kola – play
  3. Tulu – language spoken by people in the coastal belt of Karnataka
  4. Tulu Nadu – Tulu speaking region
  5. Bunt - a cultural/caste group that follows this tradition.
  6. Bhoota Kola – worship or calling of a single spirit
  7. Nema – the same practise but involving several spirits in a hierarchical order

11128704_854636094626798_9219447267636034127_n.jpg

I happen to be a “Bunt” myself and witness this ritual annually at my ancestral home where the entire existing family tree from my mother’s side (yup, matrilineal) meets. The ritual consists of people of certain other community wearing specific attires (usually red, yellow or black with a moon and sun symbol) and painting their face to represent a certain spirit God.

10423627_854634607960280_6558964120259872296_n.jpg

Constant beating of drums and other instruments is believed to lead this face-painted human into a state of trance and hence invite the spirit to enter the human body. It is continued with vigorous dancing from dusk to dawn.

10351320_854635437960197_876433859775989037_n.jpg

Different regions or families have different practises when it comes to the specifics but a common ritual is that it’s organised atleast once a year. It is believed that this would avoid the wrath of the Gods and keep the community prosperous and safe from calamities.

11038690_854635381293536_5358022483825648429_n.jpg

The metal anklet is a very important piece of jewellery without which the ceremony does not begin. I am not sure what it signifies. Some Gods are animal forms while some are planets. Some play with fire, some with swords.

10403262_854636131293461_8513266944053559137_n.jpg

11159957_854635784626829_3280489410188816786_n.jpg

11206057_854635837960157_7943680740593296581_n.jpg

The use of coconut leaves to make skirts is a common feature. In my house, our main deity is the “Mother Goddess” who is believed to be our protector.

11203128_854635427960198_116568532853476203_n.jpg

Infact, certain Gods are believed to eat meat (unlike the conventional vegetarian Gods in India). These Gods are enticed with live chicken that they kill and eat with their bare hands. I was too traumatized to click pictures of this, so excuse me for not putting up pictures of bloodshed 🙋‍♀️😆

11188318_854635751293499_506455713163581345_n.jpg

Scientifically, I have nooooo idea if any of this is true. However, I will not deny the fact that I grew up watching this. My relatives from around the country and even abroad, would make sure that they attended. Whether the upcoming generations continue this practise or not is a question I don’t have an answer to but I do know that as a child, I waited for this time of the year and ran to save seats on the front row to watch this with my cousins.🥹

11150788_854636211293453_8203132736496735570_n.jpg

I am putting up pictures that I had clicked about 8 years ago. Sadly, I lost the pendrive which had these pictures. However, I got access to these pictures from my Facebook album – hence the poor clarity🤷‍♀️

10930990_854635131293561_8881063898668320021_n.jpg

10929939_854635221293552_6041617937928727736_n.jpg

10403148_854635201293554_2856911659779359715_n.jpg

16122_854635767960164_6791676740359639387_n.jpg

10941520_854635484626859_9194741800599279936_n.jpg

11150457_854635594626848_3076170271994943571_n.jpg

11193387_854635111293563_2640832326478653445_n.jpg

11188248_854635091293565_6696410403395168256_n.jpg

11151030_854635647960176_7736975772441199413_n.jpg

11209371_854635717960169_270625625207712054_n.jpg

10985885_854635134626894_3347241879716152715_n.jpg

11037470_854635994626808_9132928709661006556_n.jpg

11008595_854635534626854_1122742335125048077_n.jpg

11167709_854634837960257_8719323804666043092_n.jpg

11169877_854636184626789_7114448497310818455_n.jpg

11038792_854635704626837_3081533581702253765_n.jpg

11188248_854636194626788_6912961812501439040_n.jpg

11182064_854635417960199_3683597673626201419_n.jpg

11141109_854634834626924_291318293668691471_n.jpg

11188199_854636114626796_6028854738731314590_n.jpg

11038792_854635627960178_2825048160990747975_n.jpg

11175014_854636171293457_8888568418167660886_n.jpg

11188199_854634611293613_6214937011579354991_n.jpg

11118372_854634884626919_2928470088601921732_n.jpg

11205487_854635067960234_5131910393253705177_n.jpg

11150692_854636037960137_5659513463136770214_n.jpg

11112446_854636011293473_1299360410263533711_n.jpg

19187_854635884626819_4958570120388398480_n.jpg

11210518_854635077960233_3449001232953915899_n.jpg

11164838_854635364626871_6912544536795191622_n.jpg

Pictures shot on Canon EOS 1200D

I wish I could present every single bit of this practise in detail but no matter how hard I try, it will not do justice. Leaving these pictures here for you to imagine or assume or picturize in your head, what it would be like in reality to witness it live.
I Hope you find this interesting. Until another story, cheers!♥️

Sort:  

Wow 🤩 amazing. Being from Tulu nadu, just happy that you described our belief really well..

Ahhhh, this makes me happy🥺🤌 Thank you so much ♥️

Congratulations @eisha.shetty! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s):

You received more than 50 HP as payout for your posts, comments and curation.
Your next payout target is 100 HP.
The unit is Hive Power equivalent because post and comment rewards can be split into HP and HBD

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

To support your work, I also upvoted your post!

Check out the last post from @hivebuzz:

Hive Power Up Month - Feedback from May - Day 15
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!

These Shots Are Incredible 😍👌🏻 Great Job!!

Glad you liked them! Thank you 🥺♥️

Love how you put our tulunadu culture in words. These are some wonderful pictures!❤️

Thank you love♥️♥️♥️

Thank you for sharing this amazing post on HIVE!
  • Your content got selected by our fellow curator @priyanarc & you just received a little thank you via an upvote from our non-profit curation initiative!

  • You will be featured in one of our recurring curation compilations and on our pinterest boards! Both are aiming to offer you a stage to widen your audience within and outside of the DIY scene of hive.

Join the official DIYHub community on HIVE and show us more of your amazing work and feel free to connect with us and other DIYers via our discord server: https://discord.gg/mY5uCfQ !

If you want to support our goal to motivate other DIY/art/music/homesteading/... creators just delegate to us and earn 100% of your curation rewards!

Stay creative & hive on!