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3.7 Religion
Historically, Badis are Hindus. It is said that Badis are descendents of Hindu gods. Because they live among Hindus and because the kings and nobles for
whom they work as caretakers or entertainers are Hindus, a Badi youth says it is obvious that they became Hindus. When Badi were migratory and when they
used to perform street music and dances, they used to perform Hindu texts such as
Gita, Mahabharat, and Ramayan. For the last few years, there has been a trend of religious conversion, and many have converted to Christianity.
3.7.1 Deities
Badis worship deities worshipped by other communities. hey worship mainly Krishna, Ram, Vishnu, and Shankar, and also local gods such as Bageswari,
Deuti Bajai, and Bijeswori. Goddesses include Durga, Laxmi, Saraswati, and Kali. Some evil spirits are Varma, Masta, Bhaiyar, and Rote,
Chokhalo, Jaldhanna who takes
sato, Varaha, Gailo, Hes, and Lato. Rote is the main devil. When a Badi woman delivers a baby, irst of all, the Rote devil should be propitiated.
here are diferent ways of worship for diferent gods and devils. Some are ofered fowl while others are ofered goat, sheep, or even pig.
If someone is bedeviled with a chokhalo, the following items are required to
propitiate it: goat, and lags of green, yellow, white, black, and red colors. he priest worships an area smeared with cow dung by marking with turmeric
powder. Pregnant or menstruating women should not go near the site of worship and should not take the
prasad because they are polluted by chokhalo. Only after propitiating
chokhalo is the jagge worshipped by sacriicing a fowl. his
puja can be done by anyone. In the past, people sufered much from evil beings. If a person throws his sweat
in the Raira of Salyan, he would be bedeviled by the arma devil. he devil would
not kill a person immediately, but would kill him by torture. he possessed would show many types of diseases, and inally he would die. According to
Ravi Badi, a shamandhami of Badi, baby goat, lags, kayo, etc., are needed to propitiate the devil. When worshiping
chokhalo, a clean area is needed, usually far from home in a jungle or riverbank. he worshipped items should not be
carried home. After worshipping they eat there and they give the remaining food to passing pedestrians. If anything remains, they should dig a hole and
bury the leftovers in it. When Badis migrated, they adopted the deity of their place of destination and
worshipped them rather than deities of their place of initial settlement. Lilbhan Badi of Rakam reports that he did not know his ancestral deity when he lived in
Jajarkot, but after he migrated to Rukum his family began to worship Kaljaishi Varma as their ancestral deity. When they moved to Salyan, they began to
worship another deity, Khukure Varma. Finally, when they came to Rakam, they began to worship Kalika Devi. According to a study of some Badi families,
they worshipped their forefathers as deities. Badis worship the main pillar
mainkhamo of the house as their ancestral deity. If the ancestral deity is far away and they cannot go to worship even once a year,
then they worship the pillar as the deity. Badis erect the pillar when building the house. When someone leaves home, he or she informs his or her elder. If
there is no elder in the house, he or she greets dhog the pillar as it is considered
auspicious. here are not many objects for worshipping. For ancestor worship, they need
fruits, ash gourd, papaya, one mana of rice, lags, and saku. All family members
should be present for this workship.
3.8 Life Circle and Rituals
3.8.1 Birth rituals
When a woman inds herself pregnant, she informs her husband. In other communities, when a woman gets pregnant, she and others wish that it be a
son. But it is diferent among Badis. hey wish and pray that it be a daughter rather than a son because daughter is the breadwinner in Badi families. But not
all Badis think like this. Baburam Badi thinks that such wishes began only after they involved their daughters in the dancing and prostitution occupation. An
old Badi man says: “Oh
Saili, your house has four daughters; now your days have come.” Like in other communities, pregnant women are given nutritious
foods and rest. Badi perform name-giving ceremony on the ifth, seventh, ninth, or eleventh
day of birth, but mostly on the ninth day. here is no discrimination when christening. he day is chosen by when it is convenient for all relatives to gather.
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When all arrive, the ceremony begins. Usually, children are delivered at home. If a woman gives birth at her natal home, she needs to be puriied. On the day
of removing the pollution, the natal home also should be puriied. It is believed that blood should be shown on that day, so they sacriice a fowl or goat. he
Bahun puriies the house by sprinkling water dipped in gold
sunpani, sesame, barley, and an earthen lamp. hen he puts turmeric powder and lour and makes
a yellow line on the jagge altar. he animal is sacriiced and it is rotated around
the jagge. On the ire of the jagge, the newborn is lifted according to the number
of days of the child’s age. After the Bahun shouts that the pollution went away, it is considered gone. After the ceremony, the mother is sprinkled with sunpani
and she is allowed in. Until the baby is christened, the mother and the child are kept in a room, and she should not touch anything in the house. Villagers
also do not allow the mother to touch any sacred things. he naming ceremony is a little diferent from other communities. Nowadays the name is chosen by
the family when they organize a feast and jagge. But in the past, the baby was named according to the month, day, and place of birth. For example, a child
born on Sunday may have the name
Aaite aitabar=Sunday, born at karasa is called
Karasi, born in the month of Ashad is Asare. According to Lilbhan Badi, there was no tradition of
Chhaithi. hey copied this tradition from the house of the king or nobles when they went to entertain
at Chhathi. Badis dance the whole night and entertain to please the Bhabi
fate goddess so that she may write good destiny for them during Chhathi.
Nowadays there is a ritual of keeping a book under the mattress of the baby, wishing that the baby becomes a learned person.
In the past, because they needed to beg food from one village to another, they did not celebrate the rice feeding ceremony of the baby. But they have now
begun to adopt this ritual. hey fed the baby jaulo at six months for a baby
boy and at ive months for a baby girl. However nowadays, some have begun organizing a small feast.
here are ixed rules for the baby’s shaving ceremony. When a baby reaches nine months, the maternal uncle shaves the baby’s head. he uncle has an important
role during this ceremony. He is fed good food and is given a set of clothes, and the uncle also gives the baby a new set of clothes. he hair is collected in a leaf-
plate
tapari so that it does not fall on the ground. Along with a lamp, the hair in the leaf-plate is carried away in the river. It is believed that if the hair reaches
the sea, the child will live a long life.
3.8.2 Bratabandha