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In East Godavari dist, Dalit priests are not uncommon
Contrary to the common perception that that Dalits have nothing to do with priesthood, there are Dalit families working as archakas and purohits performing pujas at temples and weddings along with other celestial rituals in Dalitwadas many of which have temples.
Rajamahendravaram: Contrary to the common perception that that Dalits have nothing to do with priesthood, there are Dalit families working as archakas and purohits performing pujas at temples and weddings along with other celestial rituals in Dalitwadas many of which have temples.
In East Godavari district, there are at around 100 SC/ST archakas and purohits, some of them were trained by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) and some others by Tridandi Srimannarayana Chinna Ramanuja Jeeyer Swamy. TTD imparted training to 600 SC/STs in archaka and purohit rituals in the united Andhra Pradesh. Recently, it resumed 15-day training classes for the aspiring Dalits.
Speaking to The Hans India here on Friday, a Dalit purohit Alikani Siva Kumar (guest lecturer of Telugu department in government college) said that the Dalit purohits were largely confined to their caste but people of other castes too were utilising their services because of their expertise in rituals of temple pujas and other functions.
“Many people are still able to accept Dalits as priests. When they come to know that the priest is a Dalit, they are taken aback and some even leave the premises. A radical change is needed to accept Dalit purohits and archakas by all in the society,” he said while underlining the need for the government to help their upliftment and appointment of SC/STs as archakas in the temples.
Siva Kumar said they had underwent a three-month training in Tridandi Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar's asramam in Hyderabad and became well-versed in many things connected with the rituals. He further said he is performing Srinivas Kalyanam, Satyanarayana Vratams, Srirama Pattabhishekam, etc., along with pujas, Tiruppavai during Dhanurmasam and also studied Alwar Divya Prabandams. According to him, the promotion of Dalits as priests helps too in arresting religious conversions as it would help them own Hindu religion and instil confidence among them.
By SS Chary
