The Reed Dance with Lattmaar Holi in India - Essay Example

Essay, Religion and Theology Topic: Critically Compare and Contrast the Reed Dance with Lattmaar Holi in India. Introduction: Culture highlights the identity of a particular social group and it can contribute in a positive or negative manner for social development. Cultural events provide opportunities for people for active participation and they get motivated and mostly pave way for better creative environments. Reed Dance of Swaziland and Lattmaar Holi in India are such celebrations that have left profound impact on the people and have become inseparable part of the societies. Their merit and usefulness to building the society are being constantly evaluated by the think-tanks of the society. In this essay, a discussion is attempted about their merits and demerits and their continuing intrinsic strength to hold sway over the people. 1. Swaziland Reed Dance The married women of Swaziland consider it as the occasion of lifetime. “Umhlanga, or the Reed Dance, is the culmination of eight days of honoring the Queen Mother in late August or early September when the reed harvest happens. For eight days maidens march to the fields of reeds, chop them down, bundle them up, and present them as windbreakers for the Queen Mother’s residence.”(Witnessing…)The ceremony is especially for the girls to show honor and respect to their Queen Mother and the King Mswati III. The girls arrive from their respective villages for the traditional rite of passage ceremony so that all the participants are accounted for. Once this procedure is over they are sent to the nearby valleys by foot to fetch ten foot tall reeds and they bring it to their place of residence. 1. Lattmaar Holi of Barsana (India) This is a traditional ritual cum festival celebrated in the District of Mathura in Northern India. It has immense cultural significance. It is a ritual to assert the rights of women and proclaim before the world that they are not only equal but more equal to menfolk. “Latt” means a big strong stick. “Maar” means to hit. Yes, this festival symbolizes violence. In the course of celebrating this ritual the super-charged women attack menfolk with bamboo sticks and it is no ordinary lashing. Men need lots of skills, which they have practiced intensely at least a month before the ritual to escape from the lashes that are unleashed without intermission from all ends. It is not a solo fight of one woman attacking one man. Men need to be ready to take blows from a group of women and they do their job mercilessly with a vengeance. 2. During Umhlanga, the girls are educated and counseled about becoming women as per their local traditions and beliefs. “This tradition is focused on encouraging young Swazi women to abstain from intimate relations and keep their virginity intact until they are considered old enough to be married.” (Witnessing…) On completion of these formalities the girls gather for two days of dancing and other celebrations. On the first day, all of them assemble and deliver their reeds to the Queen Mother and to King Mswati III. Next, they do a march past before the King and other important guests and the tourists who arrive in large numbers to witness this semi-naked phenomena. “At Umhlanga, thousands of virgins dance in front of the Queen Mother and the King at the royal residence stadium—and it is quite a spectacle.”(Witnesing…) The maidens are dressed in traditional attire and “Their regalia consisted of bead necklaces, wool sashes, rattling anklets made from cocoons, and the four-inch-wide blue pleated skirt. Many carried a machete, “to cut the reeds.” (Witnessing…) They all reveal their bare breasts while dancing and singing and this dance is supposed to be for the unification of the Kingdom’s women. His Majesty King Mswati III often utilizes this occasion to publicly court a prospective fiancee and he joins the celebrations to pay tribute to the participating maidens. “The current monarch, King Mswati III, has 14 wives, which is small potatoes compared to his dad, the late King Sobhuza II, who had 70.”(Witnessing…) It is strange that this custom is allowed to continue in the 21st century. 2. Barsana and Nandgaon are two sleepy villages and they suddenly come to life and bristle with matchless enthusiasm. As per traditions menfolk of Nandgaon arrive at Barsana to play the game of colors with the girls of Barsana, but instead of colors they are welcomed with bamboo sticks. But with their past experience they are aware as to how they would be received. They have come fully padded and their body is protected from all possible angles. The girls lose no time in attacking them and the men try their best to escape from the blows and they are in a group and this works to their advantage. But the girls are also in a big group and they succeed in pulling some of the men from the crowd and those unlucky ones get a severe thrashing and tradition demands that on that day men are not supposed to retaliate. They have just to protect themselves! Some of them are compelled to wear female dress and dance in public. All this is done in good spirit but the blows the menfolk get are real! The next day the menfolk from Barsana take sweet revenge for the humiliations they suffered in the previous day. They invade Nangdaon and douse the womenfolk in water mixed with colors. 3. On the concluding day, of Umhlanga, animal cruelty is practiced and cattle are slaughtered and each girl takes a piece of meat to her village. 3. Lattmaar Holi is strictly a vegetarian affair. Candy in abundance is distributed and menfolk consume a traditional alcoholic drink known as “Bhang.” On both the days community feast is arranged, either by voluntary contributions or donations in cash/kind from rich farmers and traders. Government has no role in these festivities except that necessary security arrangements are done by it, and top politicians and bureaucrats make it a point to attend the celebrations. 4. Umhlanga ceremony has become more of a tourist attraction; it is being promoted by Swaziland Tourism, though it has the stamp of tradition and the Government declares public holiday on the main day of the event. The celebration of Reed Dance is steeped in controversy. Swaziland is a kingdom with a population of 1.1 million. Abstinence is encouraged in this country that nevertheless has a high rate of HIV/AIDS and the cases are mounting. 4. Lattmaar Holi is a great tourist attraction and people from all parts of India visit these villages and thousands of tourists from abroad witness this unique event of love-hate drama. It is all fun and color. 5. During Umhlanga “They randomly test the girls to see if they are virgins.” (Witnessing…) It is strange that such a practice should continue in this modern age. The procedure has disapproval of the enlightened generation and UN agencies. But the people of this small mountainous Kingdom are extremely proud of their profound culture and participating in this festival is considered as an honored and fortunate moment for the entire family. They consider it as girl-power and not exploitation. For the tradition-bound woman it is a rare occasion of outing and to be away from the boredom of routine at home. It is the time to socialize with other girls. “King Mswati III of Swaziland, sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch, has chosen an 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant to be his 15th wife……. Sindiswa Dlamini was spotted by the 45-year-old monarch as she and thousands of other Swazi maidens danced bare-breasted before him at the annual Reed Dance last month.”(King of….)But the educated younger generation of Swaziland sees the exploitation of women in this celebration in the name of loyalty to the King. No civilized community can accept the tradition of women parading semi-naked with bare breasts, before the mammoth gathering of locals and foreigners, to prove their virginity and the King selecting the choicest one as his wife, as an addition to his existing band of wives. “The polygamous king is said to use as much as ?31.7m of Swaziland's annual budget to sustain an estimated 24 children and 14 wives in 13 lavish palaces.” (King of…)This living style in opulence, when the subjects of the country are poor, is ridiculous. 5. Lattmaar Holi celebration is basically a function of joy, though some of the men receive vicious beating from the womenfolk with bamboo sticks. Majority of the participants in this ritual-cum-festival is rural population. Women especially have little or no education, though with the opening of schools/colleges in the rural belts the situation is fast changing. Most of the rural women spend their entire life-time within the four walls of the house, except visiting temples during cultural events, and attending marriages. Attacking the menfolk is sort of relieving the psychological pressure and settle the grudge the women carry against the menfolk. Once this festival is over, women revert to their shy disposition and invariably cover their faces with veil, in the presence of elders and men. Only on the days of Lattmaar Holi, they act like dare-devils and one wonders whether these are the very same women! Works Cited King of Swaziland chooses teenager as 15th wife – Telegraph, September 18, 2013. Accessed on October 29, 2013? Lathmaar Holi,Lathmaar Holi in Barsana,Tradition of Lathmaar Holi ... Accessed on October 29, 2013 Witnessing the Umhlanga Ceremony in Swaziland | Travel and ...Aug 14,2013 < www.travelandescape.ca/2013/.../witnessing-the-umhlanga-ceremony-in-...>Accessed on October 29, 2013? Read More