Often,
it happens that a story may reach such a position that it directly or
indirectly given lessons or left morality to us. Those lessons helped us to
select what to do or what not to do. The morality left from a memory of our
oldest generation became a strong power and grows ourselves based on memory
passed over. This is so because of the affinity to each other or social
consciousness. The stories also help the new generation with the knowledge of
past: to understand what is ethical and moral. In most cases, no songs and
poetry is found, it continues only through telling. The teller keeps either
some visuals to rectify the story or any form of singing text to pass the
knowledge. Unfortunately, I have arrived at such a place where there are
beliefs and story behind water spirit. They call it Buurhih or Buri who is a white spirit : a spirit who helps other in
all their need.
The
story is like a belief for the village and its every generation from past. The unity through this belief and relying
every chaos over this spirit was also noticed by the then Ahom king Arimatta.
He preserved the water body of the pond by giving a nice boundary and memoredum
holy place or shrine connected to lord Shiva for holiness of the people and
their faith over the spirit.
On
the other day, I was reading a book authored by Desmond Kharmawphlawng titled
‘Folklore of North-East India’. It is very intrinsically focused popular
concept of sayings and stories and their interpretation. Prof. Kharmawphlawng
mentions that memo- culture or the culture of memory is sustained in many ways.
It intersects with history and literature, psychology and folklore and is to be
understood in a way in which it enriches experiences by constantly dealing with
the best unknown source of knowledge and information –living human being.
This
is how I came across a very remote village to collect information about the
belief to see whether it is still believed by the rural or not !
The
name of village where I have visited on last August 2019 is Dalang ghat which
is also a place of my granny’s motherland. She married to my grandfather to a
place far from her area. Much later, she shifted to the town of Sipajhar with
her family. So I arrived at that village and no sooner I planned to visit all the
relatives. The village is really a green one where buckets of bushes, trees, wild
flowers along with breezy air.
As
if the breeze smells the season of summer very nicely. Although it was a family visit of my maternal
uncle and so my mom, the most interesting part of the very small trip was the
attraction towards a big pond. The pond about which had been often talked about from a very early date by most
of the people of the nearby area was named as Burhinagar pukhuri. This pond was very famous because of the
mystical and magical happenings to it on long back.
 |
| A painting collected to resemble the story |
It
is said that the pond has lost its all magical clout because of only human
being specially those whom have a very bad habit of stealing things or robbery.
This bad omen had been finally made the pond out of purity or lost of its
original nature/quality.Thinking very curiously about the pond, I have, finally
reached it on my way. The driver was told beforehand about the pond, its
present appearance etc. and finally, so he stopped his car at the point of the
pond.
After
reaching the pond, we came to know that it has been developed and preserved by
the concerned authority of the village. We met some young people at the spot who
are the local inhabitants as well as the priest of the adjacent Shiva
Temple. The young ones informed us that
the pond is a legendary one because of its sanctity and magical helping hand to
the villagers. It is said that
And
finally, we have arrived the legendary Burhinagar pukhuri and reached the edges
of the pond. I could not express my feeling of longing to see this pukhuri and
gazing at the pond so deep that I have crossed half an hour like that.
It
happens when we gaze at something and curious about it wondering everything
related to the thing. Immediately, I have seen the sleet where a historical
evidence of that pukhuri was written,
very nicely documented the year, the patron and a note on inaugurating the
innovation. It was wonderful to see the
first hand knowledge this way and I was so happy that there was no doubt about
it. But I was looking for something else that made my journey more close to the
people , the life and the belief living in the area. And there was atemple
also. I immediately ran to the temple and looking for any priest over there.
And I have found him. The priest along with some village boy did some
hospitality and carried a discussion and they seemed very happy sharing their
knowledge and beliefs connected to this pond.
We
talked with them and I am writing their words in brief in below:
The
History of this pond is lying on oral or a story of a lady called ‘Burhi’. Burhi
means the oldest lady who looked like with white hair or no teethes and lose
body skin. The oldest lady or burhi is termed also as aaita in Assam who is also considered to be wise because of her
living life experience to her grandchildren. Now, this pond’s story is so old
that they call it as such which is connected to an oldest magical power emerged
by herself. Whenever she was pleased by vows of the villagers, she offered her
valuable utensils to use them for a said auspicious ritual or occasion. For
this help or blessings, she is believed as goddess who was also very much fond
of the devotees and their faith upon her. This is how, the villagers considered
the pond and its water as the most sacred because of a wise and unknown power.
Looking at the popularity of this belief, the then Ahom King Arimatta built a
Shiva temple at its adjacent side and also renovate the edges of the pond up to
a notable highest level and protective
so that no water invasion could happen into it.
Earlier
the pond was sacred for all in the village and its sacredness is spread far
from the villages to villages. The sacredness lied when any wishes was fulfilled
by the goddess Burhi aai with respect and made ritual. They
light lamp over banana leaf and few other ritual elements, bow for the
fulfillment of their requirements. This was normally happened when anyone in
the village faced any difficulties or to overcome a difficult situation, bad
omen etc. Traditionally, they also seek help from this goddess by asking utensils
to run a community feasts. In fact, the sacredness gradually made them
believing more on supernatural and divinity. This attracts the king Arimatta so
much that he tried to preserve this culture by patroning protection and place
for altar to worship. It is said that the temple adjacent to the pond is a
shiva temple and is deeply connected to it. Not only that the ethics either to
value her by heart or return the utensils after its use was valuable and
meaningful for all. This belief was practiced from a long time and also for the
longer period till one incident happened on that very day! Aftermath that
incident, the pond stopped giving the utensils to them!
It
sounds very much magical today but that magic, for them, was the only way to
believe a divine power. The pond was mystical as people believed the goddess
resided in the middle of the pond. She lived underwater and opened up her brasses
made old utensils over a sink boat to anyone needed from the village. After
some days, when the purpose was over or completed, they had to return them the
same way they were taken. It was going on and it became a tradition to ask for
those utensils for any holy purposes such as ceremonies, rituals etc. And then
one day, on a day of summer, a village man needed those utensils for the
ceremony ritual organized at his home. So, he brought those in a way he
supposed to per tradition of asking. There was really a ceremonial feast where
there lots of people gathered. There were maids, priests, guests, relatives and
band parties who came to attend the ceremony. Everything looked so colourful
and gearing up that no one was really conscious about the pond-utensils kept
aside. One maid from an outer village, unfortunately could not resist herself
looking at the biggest and fined brass pots. She took away one of that brass
pot and hide it secretly amidst the cowdung at the back of a firm. Without
knowing this act, the villagers, after the ceremony was over, returned them
back. As like beforehand, they also normally started placing those utensils
over the boat one by one. And let it went to the middle of the pond. The lamp
was still lightening and they came back home.
But,
thereafter, they became shocked once heard that the boat was no longer accepted
by their goddess and sinking for the last three days and nights. And so the
utensils! It gave tremendous effect to each and every house astonishing/knowing
about the unhappiness reflected by the Burhi
goddess. The greediness of the maid might have finally brought disaster to the
village. That the heavy rain started falling endlessly for more than a period
of normal time and the village became a flood attacking area. Sooner, the unnatural
weighty flood brought all vacuum in the happiness of the people. For them, this was unnaturally raining all
over in a forbidden season. They were trembling thinking about this non-stopped
rain and bulkiness all around. Then, the
pond Burhinagar pukhuri was also in
trouble as the water level started increasing. There was a matter of worriness
as there are water overflowing flood started coming from outside of the pond. After
the fourth/fifth night of continuous rainning, one of the village men dreamt about
a very strange speech. On his dream, he was told by the goddess herself that a danger
upcoming to the pond and so to them. He was also informed that this all were
happening due to the lost pot. He was warned to return it or else the boat won’t
sink down. And there would be no re-occurrence of those utensils and help.
Sooner, the entire village came to know about the dream and the truth lied behind
the heavy rain. The oldest man came and gathered all to share his advice and
experience to what to do in this situation. Finally the villagers decided to
stop the flood and wouldnot not allow to mix with the water of the holy pond.
Besides their unity and profound effort, they failed to stop the mighty Shiyala Guxai[i]
flood. And it crossed over the pond and blending with the existing water of
the pond.
Much
later, after one or two weeks, the consistencies had been declined and the
villagers had seen a very significance border noticed in the pond: that a line
separate the water and both part are in different in colour. Not only that, the
pond has stopped opening her utensils to the villagers like before.
People
believe that their asset Burhi whom
they respected and felt secured, dependent more than they imagine has lost her
purity and was taken by mighty flood. They believed that that mighty flood was
none but lord Shiva who came to rescue her from the agony suffered due to the
lost pot. She was taken with him. On the other hand, the pot was come out due
to the forcefulled flood water and reached to the pond on the flow. Thereafter,
the boat was went down foreover and never seen after that incident. They
believed that the mixing of and colour difference of the water in the pond were
the proof of the absence of the goddess.
So, this is so symbolically passed the lore to
us that the purity is lost because of the marriage or conjugal union. And that
line of separating the water became a magical one for which the villagers also
lost their faith upon the purity over water. It’s significant that the entire incident has a
connection to marriage ceremony. However, there were also various other
ceremonies where the same method was also followed to succeed the community
feast. The flood and its vibrant nature were compared to attainment of god Shiva
(Shiyalaa guxai) into the village who finally controlled the agony of the
goddess arose from the lost pot. The purity has been taken due to the outsider
maid lady from the other village. The rooted sentiments on this faith was
completely destroyed because of the outsider for which she remained as
valueless, not able to forgive the mistake and left the place willingly a bride
left its parents house in Hindu culture. The line of colour differences made
the villagers a belief about supernatural power which has a deep connection to
the purity of the pond which has left them because their own mistakes.
The
people still consume the water as holy but not to cure any disease. They take
care of the pond as a very sacred site and protect it from all garbage. A
shrine of lord Shiva is also placed to recollect the flood storming as ‘Shiyala
Gosai’-the god of destruction or night. Undoubtely, the conjugal union as a
form of tremendous shakti or power
(flood and the line) and single power ( a goddess) as a symbol of purity are
highly reflected and understood from this folklore.The Folklore, thus, helps or does effort to preserve the environment as a power of water and its deep connection with human being
