Rituals in India- Feast on death

Rituals in India- Feast on death

There is a ritual in Hindu religion which is known as Mautana. The ritual says that after the twelfth day of the death of the head of the family, the family has to organize a feast for the community. The number of days varies from one community to another. Some organize Mautana on the eleventh day and some on thirteenth day. The ritual in upper caste is known as a pagari rasam- announcing the next head of the family and the community witnesses this celebration in which a turban is offered to the next head of the family.

The feast also organized on this occasion with sweets in different verities and also gift to the main member of the society. The theme of this ritual is to crown the next head of the family and mostly the eldest son of the family is nominated as the head. Women are not allowed to become head of the family and only the male can be the head of the family.

With changing time, the ritual turned to extravagant affairs in which the family is forced to organize feast for the whole village. Rich families organize feast for eleven villages and there are also incidents in which 51 villages were invited for such feast. The distribution of property was also made between sons and the major share went to the eldest who took the seat as head of the family.

The ritual with time shaped as compulsory and families were forced to expand every penny they left for their future to oblige the community. Those who do not perform this result are expelled from the community and then no member of the community keeps any relation with any member of the family.

The expelled family face problems as no one marry their daughters and sons and no one keep any relation with them. Even first blood relatives do not call them to participate in any function or ceremony and when the family realized their mistake then the panchayat imposed fine on them and the family has to organize the feast for the community again.

The theme of this ritual is that the dead soul of the head of the family feel relaxed sitting in the heaven or elsewhere that now his family will run smoothly and will remain for generations to make his name flowing from generation to generation. The ritual is to provide peace to the souls of ancestors that now their names are save and their blood moving.

The problem emerged in this system when those families who have no sons but only daughters or no children. In such cases there is problem in choosing the head of the family. Girls are not allowed to be the head of the family.

At present, the law of India gives equal rights to daughters in the ancestor’s property and daughters can claim even in the personal property of the parents. Just after the law, thousands of cases flooded in judicial courts and brothers opposed such laws because they say that they already invested the share of daughters in their marriages. The equal right in property gives equal right to woman in the society.

But in many communities still daughters have no right to property and the property transferred to sons and equally distributed between them. The families who do not have any son or no child or only a daughter or daughters then the problem arose who will organize feast after death of the head of the family and what will happen to the property they left behind.

In this situation the ritual of Mautana was introduced, when this ritual was started is not clear yet but it is prevailing since very long in this land and in most of the communities.

In Mautana, the head of the family organize a feat of his death as alive and invite villages to eat the feat and in this occasion he announced that after his death the property will go to certain relative or man of the community or to village of will distribute in different parts to people or will go to community or to the trust of panchayat or to the temple.

Hundreds of villages gather for the Mautana and enjoy the feast with sweets and other dishes. The panchayat has to be happy with the quality of the food served in such occasion. If a couple do not have any money to organize such feast then they have to take loan on heavy interest from anyone or to sell their land or house for this purpose.

Now days some communities called this as a social evil and banning such practices. Education is the main reason and youths are challenging such rituals and agitating against the communities. They wanted to live in cities but the outcome has to face by their parents who lived in villages and within community.

Mautana is a feast of dead given by the person who still alive and feeding the community.


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