Negotiating Power in the Realm of the Sacred

Abstract

Abstract For those at the bottom of society, the supernatural powers are sources of succour and support. Being untouchables, the dhobis have not had access to the services of the Brahmins and have been kept out of the upper-caste temples. They, like other Dalits, had found the Sufi shrines and modes of personal devotion a way of alleviating their suffering and desire for spiritual solace. With changing times and a relative increase in prosperity, they are now turning more towards mainstream Hinduism but prefer those deities to whom they can relate, especially those they feel represent the downtrodden and take care of injustice. They have begun to perform rituals for their dhobi deities with great pomp and show—not to follow the path of the upper castes, but to assert their own identity as dhobis. The political dimension of ritual performance is reflected in their choice of deities such as Bhairon and Sai Baba. There is also a movement away from overt association with Sufi shrines and the Ala that had played a significant role in their lives and to which they still adhere covertly, and these remain at the core of their beliefs in spite of ostentatious acceptance of Hinduism.