Sardhakai - formalities around the practice - PG 3

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sanasameena

@sanasameena

Beginner

Posted: 13 years ago

#11

Hi all this is my first post ever but this sardhakai Is just like mizuage for geisha's who are Japanese entertainers. And from what I understand they still exist in the society, so it's not just in India. What a shame and what a bad remark to the society.

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-Srushti-

@-Srushti-

Sparkler

+ 7

Posted: 13 years ago

#12

Gosh this is grotesque..and as someone said it..it makes Sugni's mama more creepy and disgusting...and how about earning themselves..and does this mean that he will be doing the same for his own daughter??? What kind of disgusting this is that...??? Sugni is truly one courageous girl to rise above this...!!!!

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Putija

@PutijaChalhov

Stunner

+ 9

Posted: 13 years ago

#13

one news I found and had posted it in my post again posting here

A news item from 2007

Bhopal, May 13: In the wake of certain sections describing Bundelkhand region's folk dance as obscene and demanding a ban on it, some experts have said branding the traditional art as indencent was not appropriate.

A magazine published by the Madhya Pradesh Government's Public Relations Department carries views and opinions of experts and critics of the traditional art.

Bundeli Boli poet Madhav Shukl Manoj pointed out that 'Rai' dancers were abducted by Britishers from freedom fighter Madhu Khushwah's programme in 1842.

The incident had brought members of Thakurs, Gonds and Lodhi communities together resulting in a public opposition.

Mr Shukl feels that the dance had a contribution in freedom struggle.

Critic Kapil Tiwari questioned the so-called morality of urban people, who seem to be prejudiced towards women and sexuality.

He said such people were unable to accept erotic beauty as a part of literature, art and culture.

However, folk life did not view life and creation as decent or indecent and accepted life as it is.

Poet and author Shobharam Srivastava said 'Rai' dancers present an echanting performance on poet Isuri's 'Fag' creations during 'Fagun'.

'Rai' has a deep religious significance in Bundelkhand.

Recently, dissent had been voiced by leaders of Madhya Pradesh's main opposition Congress -- including senior party leader Digvijay Singh and Vitthalbhai Patel -- regarding 'Rai' dance being performed on April 20 during a government-organised mass marriage at Sagar district's Garhakota on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya.

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pallavi25

@pallavi25

Inactive

+ 5

Posted: 13 years ago

#14

Originally posted by: -Srushti-
Gosh this is grotesque..and as someone said it..it makes Sugni's mama more creepy and disgusting...and how about earning themselves..and does this mean that he will be doing the same for his own daughter??? What kind of disgusting this is that...??? Sugni is truly one courageous girl to rise above this...!!!!

Yes, Sugni's Mama is disgusting and hes planned the same horrible fate for his own daughter, Tinkle, that poor little sweet kid! 😭 She also will be sold for sardhakai as soon as shes matured physically 😡

That is exactly why these Bedia men are longing for girl child in that community, they all want modhis not modhas so the modhi (girl) can grow up and feed her father, mother and whole family by selling herself and then doing Rai dance all her life!

I feel like killing those Mamas of Sugni, lazy scoundrels, who sit on their butts all day and dont work a single day of their lives! What shameless disgusting creatures! 😡

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pallavi25

@pallavi25

Inactive

+ 5

Posted: 13 years ago

#15

Originally posted by: atria
Okay so now I'm confused. I thought Bednis are more like mistresses to one specific Thakur, which is why they wore the sindur etc in that Thakur's name, even though not legally married to them. But they can actually be moved over from thakur to thakur? And the sardhakai happens only the first time, or every time she dances a thakur can do her sardhakai and that symbolizes the beginning of her relationship with him? Also when a Bedni is the mistress of one thakur, does she continue rai dancing and other thakurs don't pick her up by tacit understanding, or does she do the rai only after she has finished one relationship and needs a new one? Someone give some clarifications please?

Sardhakai is only done once, like an initiation ceremony 🤢 ...its like a ritual of entering the profession for the young Bedni girl. Once her innocence is gone, she can be used by any Thakur who can pay her price.

I guess when a bedni is tied to one single thakur she only has to please and entertain him, like Aditya's dad and his Bedni mistress. But in most of these cases, the Thakurs keep them as mistress for a while then let them go, so then the Bedni has to look for a new master or earn money just by dancing Rai, or by dancing and selling herself concurrently.

Even the dance of Rai is an act of seduction, as u can hear that agent Bamsukhiya urging the Bednis to dance well and attract attention of some Thakur so he will pay for her company for the night!

Gulabiya is an exception, she was JT''s mistress so no other Thakur probably dared to touch her, also shes received some monetary assistance from JT and also bore him a child. JT is the most powerful Thakur there so he can afford to keep a long time mistress but maybe not the others.

Edited by pallavi25 - 13 years ago

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Shridevi Gaddam

@0-SD-0

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 13 years ago

#16

Chalhov,

Thanks for your article finds on Rai dance.

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Shridevi Gaddam

@0-SD-0

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 13 years ago

#17

About Bedia tribe and its sustenance through prostitution

http://idsn.org/fileadmin/user_folder/pdf/New_files/Key_Issues/Dalit_Women/Forced_prostitution_in_the_name_of_God.pdf

>>>The Banchara, Rajnat, Dommara and Bedia tribes in Madhya Pradesh also practice

traditional prostitution.

Book : Kanya: Emancipation of Little Angels by V.Mohini Giri

(Subject : Sociology, Women's Studies)

Go to Page 41 under Chapter 3 for info on Bedia Tribe.

It is about the sociological evolution of the legal sanctioning of prostitution.

Read on the entire info on Bedia tribe, Bedni (the one initiated into prostitution), the Bedia wife (not to be confused with Bedni as she just does not indulge in dance or sex-services), the Bedia man and how it becomes difficult for him to marry due to his societies own customs for the woman to be belonging to a different caste..

My own thoughts and analysis on the ones who promoted this.

I have been a sociology student for three years in college. It was my subsidiary subject when I was doing my English honours. I had got an excellent professor who would take us to studying society at objective level, referencing them to origin, relating to anthropology and always make us ask...how much of is to be judged or how much of is it to be taken forward with yet another change...a paradigm shift for present social structure...which should be always the case for any living society.

Origin of Tribal prostitution : Like many evils customs for Tribals, the source has been hunger under pre-independent era during British rule. And who started it ? The social scavengers...the zameendars who dug Indian traditional self-sustaining economic practices like rats.

Origin of Zameendaari system

British rule had brought down the administrative organization present under the Indian rulers of the land and it had became a regime of plunder where there won't be any state administration towards its subjects and would just be a plunder. The britishers did not know anything about Indian traditions, religious values, social customes and the traditional caste system...which is primarily a graded system of findng one's occupation and not the evil as it turned out in pre-independent era. As is always the case, degeneration in any system creeps in when it becomes unprotected by people who are aware of the system and they promote ignorance for vested interests. There is no helping around it until the stage for change through revolution is set.

Coming back to the Britishers; they would appoint deputies and chiefs who would just collect land revenue or other taxes from people and the britishers would be happy with the income,

These deputies are none but the so called zameendaars, Thakurs, Doras, Razakar...

Under Indian rulers, the kings these people were nothing. The traditional Indian caste system has no place for landed gentry (Zameendaar). Landed gentry (lords) is more a practice followed by the Britishers, where they have manors an all laws related to manors and land laws, For their service, the british colonialists gave land to these local chieftains and soon these chieftains acted as the new lords for indian masses in absence of the rulers and the administrative machinery. There was no more a complaint cell, redressal cell, no kotwal (the ancient police system) ...now the whole mai-baap was the zameendaar.

This is the degeneration of a civilized system into taking it to barbaric systems where there is no structure present and where daily it becomes a struggle for survival.

*******

Another Sociology book

Chaste Wives and Prostitute Sisters ' Patriarchy and Prostitution Among the Bedias of India" by Anuja Agrawal

http://adivasis.com/2008/03/30/prostitution-as-a-tradition-among-bedia-tribe-adivasi-of-north-india/

This is about the Bedia Wife and Bedni and the Bedia man.

This article unlike V Mohini Giri's tracking of the practice and its evolution, this article excerpt is more on the perceptions of the Bedia community. They are clearly confused as to the origin of the custom, but definitely realize that it was started for sustenance of the family.

The Bedia man is the epitome of sloth. But seems it is also promoted by the women of the family who is heading it through her financial independence. Some do take up agriculture and animal husbandry (like Tinke the other day was asking everyone to buy a goat)..but the men have succumbed to easy money. Read on. A good one about the Bedia man and his social use in this community.

About why a Bedia man has to marry a chaste woman ? So as to beget a chaste girl child...and thereby making the Bedni a much more desired commodity than a girl child of a regular prostitute.

What is the Government doing to help Bedni women who realize that they want a better life. Read on about the Jabali scheme here.

http://www.rediff.com/news/aug/11mp.htm

MP strives to get rid of prostitution in tribes

Edited by shridevigaddam - 13 years ago

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kamala2012

@kamala2012

Inactive

Posted: 13 years ago

#18

@shridevigaddam

Thank you for this. Very useful.

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Shridevi Gaddam

@0-SD-0

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 13 years ago

#19

Now formalities around the initiation into prostitution. As I read various articles and gathered information...

Who gets selected as a Bedni

The mother has to mark her daughter as available for becoming a Bedni (one who can perform Rai dance)

2. When does she get initiated into being a Bedni.

Custom of Nath Utrai

There is a ceremonial initiation of girls soon after puberty in a ritual called 'Nath Utrai.' Because of the normalcy of this practice, it is not viewed as "prostitution," but as a time-honored tradition.

http://genderbytes.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/they-want-girls-the-bedia/

Significance of the ceremony:

Many might know that Indian bride wears a nose ring called nath. On a woman's wedding night, the groom removes the Nath as a symbol of the woman's ending virginity. Even modern women who do not have a nose piercing will often wear a clip-on Nath for the wedding ceremony and its ritualistic removal.

So for Bedia girl, when she is initiated into being a Bedni, this rasm of nath utrai will be done.

I believe that they do it in the name of service to God and not through actual sexual act.

3. The Bedni stepping out on trade

Because the Nath Utrai is done, the Bedni is available for sexual services.

Rai Dance is part and parcel of Bedni life.

4. Marriage of a Bedni - Possible but not Happening

Technically possible. However; the Bedia women who gets married may discontinue the work. That would mean a loss of revenue for the family and community. Therefore to discourage that, the norm has been for Bedia men to pay a large bride-price for a Bedia bride. This makes it difficult for the Bedia man to marry women of their own community and have to to usually marry women from outside communities.

5. Substitution of Marriage by Sardhakai

Because marriage is ruled out for Bedni's, any Bedni and her family would be happy to have a steady source of income through becoming a concubine/mistress. Becoming a Mistress is done through ceremony of Sardhakai.

Custom of Sardhakai:

Once girls start to do Raai, then only they can get Sardhakai done and can never marry as per the traditions. When a Thakur chooses a young girl from the community for himself, it is similar to a wedding, but minus the pheras. Once the Sardhakai is done then the girl becomes the Thakur's official mistress.

A story of one of these mistress Bedni.

http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_raai-dancers-up-close-and-personal_1678217

"My Sardhakai was done by a Thakur who already had children, and his daughter had married a couple of years ago. I was barely years older to his daughter. Today I have two children with him, but his real wife and I share a cordial relationship," reveals Sangeeta as she prepares for her Raai performance.

INFERENCE:

Once sardhakai is done, officially, the women cannot engage in sexual services to other men until relieved by her patron.
Until she is the mistress, she can live with the Thakur in his own premises where he resides or where he decides to put her up.
She can continue to do Raai dance and earn income from it.
Once relieved, she can go back to her community. We need literature/articles to know the exit ceremonies.

PHIR SUBAH HOGI

HOPES of SUGUNI

Her mother Gulabiya protects her and therefore is not yet completely marked as a Bedni.
Suguni has not yet started doing Raai dance because she knows, anyone can do her sardhakai. She loves Raai dance but afraid of the consequences.
Suguni dreams of marriage. A Bedni engaged in prostitute services can still have chances of getting married. But a women whose Sardhakai gets done will never get the social sanction of getting married. Her fate is sealed.
Therefore Suguni is protecting herself against Sardhakai.

THE STORY AHEAD.

Somehow through various manipulations within the story, Suguni's sardhakai will be done.
Her fate is sealed against marriage due to that custom, which is her dream of her life.
The story is then fight against this custom. How a Sardhakk-ed Bedni women can also marry. And of course there will be lot of dramatic elements to that build-up.

Edited by shridevigaddam - 13 years ago

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Shridevi Gaddam

@0-SD-0

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 13 years ago

#20

Originally posted by: pallavi25
Sardhakai is only done once, like an initiation ceremony 🤢 ...its like a ritual of entering the profession for the young Bedni girl. Once her innocence is gone, she can be used by any Thakur who can pay her price.
I guess when a bedni is tied to one single thakur she only has to please and entertain him, like Aditya's dad and his Bedni mistress. But in most of these cases, the Thakurs keep them as mistress for a while then let them go, so then the Bedni has to look for a new master or earn money just by dancing Rai, or by dancing and selling herself concurrently.
Even the dance of Rai is an act of seduction, as u can hear that agent Bamsukhiya urging the Bednis to dance well and attract attention of some Thakur so he will pay for her company for the night!
Gulabiya is an exception, she was JT''s mistress so no other Thakur probably dared to touch her, also shes received some monetary assistance from JT and also bore him a child. JT is the most powerful Thakur there so he can afford to keep a long time mistress but maybe not the others.

Entering the profession is done through NATH UTRAI Ceremony for becoming a Bedhni.
A Bedhni though sardhakai becomes a mistress of someone thus losing all rights to marriage.

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Sardhakai - formalities around the practice - PG 3 - Page 2

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