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Inscribe His Name: Tattoos and India's Ramnaami Community |
| Section: CULTURE / PEOPLES |
| Author: Rajesh Vora |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 2/1/1997 |
| Size: 2,344 Words, 14,286 Characters |
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These people call themselves Ramupasaks but are popularly known as Ramnaamis. They worship, and sing and dance the praises of Ram, the quintessential man of Hindu tradition. They have faith in the power of his name and recite and swear by the Ram Charitra Manas, a scripture that combines ethical values with the spiritual beauty of poetry. They neither maintain a temple nor worship an idol.
A community of some six hundred thousand people, the Ramnaamis are of tribal origin. Their population is distributed throughout approximately seven hundred remote villages in eastern Madhya Pradesh and parts of Bihar. Their devotion to Ram, expressed in their chanting, rhythmic dancing, ceremonial attire, and bodies inscribed with tattoos, creates an exotic mystique. But the lives of these poor people are grounded in harsh reality.
According to Hindu theories of karma and reincarnation, the social status into which a human being is born reflects the reward of the sum total of good and bad deeds performed during that person's previous lifetime or incarnation. The norms and expectations by which that individual lives his life are determined according to the particular social group (caste) to which he belongs. This theory gave rise to India's traditional social order, or caste system.
Castes were arranged in a rigid hierarchy. The highest and most powerful class were the Brahmins. A priestly caste, they were consid...
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...of the past year are narrated and analyzed, while plans for the coming year are chalked out, keeping in mind every member of the sect. The venue of the next bhajan mela is announced.
With the passing of time, the Ramnaamis might well disappear. But whatever their future, they will long be remembered for the remarkable nature of their faith and their nonviolent protest against the Brahmins.
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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