BASELI PUJA
Celebrated Especially By : Fishermen Community of Orissa
Also Known As : Chaiti Ghoda
Falls On : Chaitra Praba (March - April)
Baseli Puja is also known as Chaiti Ghoda. In the month of
Chaitra there is an exclusive festival for the bonafide fishermen
community of Orissa who are popularly known as "Keuta"
('Kaivatra'). This festival is held for a full month beginning from
Chaitra Praba (Full moon of
Chaitra in March) and ending with Baisakh Purnima (Full moon in April).
During this festival Baseli, the horse-headed deity of the community is
propitiated. She is considered to be the tutelary deity of the community.
She may be considered as a form of Mother Goddess who was earlier
formless. Later she took various forms according to the conception and
needs of the various communities living all over the country.
By 5th-6th century A.D., worship of Shakti had gained tremendous
prominence in Orissa. One of the four celebrated 'Peethas' (centres) of
Buddhist 'Tantricism' in India was located in Orissa. The Peethas had not
only the support of a number of 'Sadhakas' to go ahead with their
spiritual pursuits but also gave an impetus to the people in general to
appreciate the 'Tantric' practices. Rigorous religious practices involved
in the Tantric way of worship became widespread.
The Celebrations
It is believed that this festival originated during 10-11th centuries
when Hindu 'Tantra' and Buddha Tantra were merged into one. Baseli is one
of the various deities of Tantra culture, which evolved during this
period. The horse-headed deity is seated on an earthen platform. She wears
a blood-red cloth in her full feminine form. In temples and places of
worship She is propitiated on each Saturdays and Tuesdays throughout the
year.
During the festival period where there are no such images, only the
horse-head made out of wood is worshipped. Peculiarly the worshipping
takes place in a house and that is 'Dhinkisala' (the place where paddy is
husked). It is because, the subsidiary profession of the community is to
prepare and sell flattened rice ('chuda').
Worship of Baseli or Basuli and the Dummy-horse dance inexplicably
connected with its rituals and celebrations are the most important
festival of the fishermen who observe it with great devotion and
austerity. The details for the worship have been enunciated in 'Kaibarta
Gupta Geeta' by Achyutananda Das, a mystic Oriya poet of 15th century A.D.
Legends of Baseli
Various legends prevail about the birth of the community and their
tutelary deity. According to this Geeta, when the world was in a deluge
Vishnu 'Bhagwan' could not find a place to rest. So, He by His spiritual
power reduced his form and rested on a floating Banyan leaf. As it was all
the while dwindling on the stormy waves of the ocean He created a man out
of the dirt of His ear-zone and asked him to hold the leaf still with the
help of a row ('Kandiara'). But, soon he fell into deep slumber.
In the meantime a huge demoniac fish 'Raghab' swallowed the man. Again
the leaf began dwindling and God's sleep was disturbed To His utter
surprise He found the man missing. By intuition He could know everything
and at once killed the Raghaba and got the man out. Then God transformed
the banyan leaf in to a horse. He summoned Biswakarma and asked him to
build a boat immediately. Then He said to the man "Hence-forward you
and your community will be known as Kaibarta and you would be the king
among them. Go to the country of Simhala and rule there happily. Make this
horse your carrier and use this boat for trading. As you were swallowed
and almost got killed by a fish, generation by generation you would kill
the species and live on them."
Baseli, became the name of the horse and God asked the man to worship him
as his tutelar deity on the full-moon day of Chaitra. Since then the
tradition is followed.
The 'Dasa' king sailed to 'Simhala' with the horse by boat. There he
ruled for many years. The horse died at the age of one-lakh years and out
of his carcass came out a damsel as beautiful as Lakshmi. She approached
the king and lamented that no longer the name of Baseli would be
associated with her. Taken by surprise the king was terrified. He then
prayed Vishnu for His counsel. The God again directed, "This woman
will be known hence-forth as Aswini Baseli' whom you would propitiate for
generations. Then only you can attain Baikuntha". Since then the
woman became Goddess Baseli with a horse-head and continued to be
venerated by the fishing community.
Legend of Horse-Headed Deity
Another legend is associated with the worship of the horse-head and the
horse-headed deity. It is said that after the death of Baseli, the sacred
horse God distributed his limbs among fishermen, confectioners ('Gudia'),
oil-merchants ('Teli') and cobblers ('Mochi'). They continued to worship
the limbs. Some time after an idea struck to them. All of them agreed to
assemble the limbs and have the full form of the deity (horse) and worship
him commonly. This was done.
At one time the 'Kaibartas' and the 'Gudias' competed with each other. A
communal riot ensued, Gudias being rich and powerful locked the deity in a
house and deprived the Kaibartas from worship. The helpless Kaibartas
simply prayed the deity with utmost devotion for His return. Moved by the
prayers of the Kaivartas he crushed the wall with the force of his hoofs
and escaped to their camp. Being enraged the Gudias chopped of his head
and even then, the head lived to accept worship and offerings from the
Kaivartas. It is, therefore, the Kaivartas who worship the horse-head
separately.
The Dummy Horse Dance
Inexplicably connected with the festival is Dummy-Horse dance of the
community. On the auspicious day of Chaitra Purnami, the Kaibartas worship
a Bamboo with vermillion, candle-paste, butter-lamp etc. Then the bamboo
is split ceremonially into pieces out of which only twelve are taken out
for preparation of the frame of the dummy-horse. The frame is dyed red
with red clay and then covered with a 'Pata' (indigenous silk cloth). Then
a painted horse-head made out of wood is fixed to the frame.
A garland of 'Mandara' (Hibiscus) flowers is placed on the neck during
worship. This particular garland is always intended for mother goddess.
Thus the dummy-horse is worshipped till the eighth day of the dark
fortnight after which it is taken out for dance. A man enters the cavity
and hangs the frame on the shoulders and then dances to the rhythm of
'Dhol' (country drum). 'Mahuri' is the only wind instrument played during
the dance. Songs are sung intermittently in votive dedication to the
deity. Sometimes the dancer gets possessed and falls in to trance. Then
somebody else replaces him.
Two other characters "Chadhua-Chadhuani" or "Rauta-Rautani"
also sing and dance. The male character dances with a long staff in his
hand symbolising the profession of fishermen's rowing of boats. The female
character is played by a man. Both of them sing songs of love and daily
household chores. Then a song combat ensues which lasts for the whole
night. During this portion of the dance the dummy horse is ceremonially
placed in the centre and the performance is held in front of it, people
sitting all around.
There are regular amateur as well as professional groups for this dance.
They perform on payment. Sometimes they move dancing from door to door and
collect money. There are five to seven persons in all in a group including
dancers and musicians. They continue to dance till "Baisakh Purnami"
when they make a grand finale and then part for the next season.
Now a days the votive dancers are not confined only to the Kaivarta
community. Since the dummy-horse dance is attached to many Shakti shrines
of Orissa also, people of other communities have also taken interest to
join the votive dancers.
The dummy-horse dance is mainly prevalent in the coastal districts of
Cuttack and
Puri . In Puri the
dummy-horses are profusely decorated with flowers and the 'Tahia' (Archaic
head-gear of flowers) presents a magnificent show during dance. When the
festival ends the horse-head is taken out ceremonially from the frame and
is preserved in a temple. Next year during the festival it is again
brought out and repainted for worship and use during the dance.
