Devadasi Act
Dec. 14th, 2005 02:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bethlakshmiAt brunch on Sunday, there was some incredulity over my mention of the Devadasi Act. Not suprising... I'm sure most folks have better things to do with their time than trace down laws about sexual issues in India. Nonetheless, chatty provider of obscure knowledge that I am, I figured I'd refresh my own memory and pull together some info on Devadasi Acts.
The "Devadasi Act" outlawing devadasi practices - including the ritual of dedicating them as well as the condition of their employment as dancer & sexual worker - is not really one act, but several. Kind of like the fact that India is not one culture, or one nation, but many different groups crammed onto one subcontinent.
The whole mess starts with the British Raj. Anyone familiar with colonial England can probably guess how the sparse garments, and an art form that is centered on sringara - ie, erotic love interracted with a ruling class that encouraged corsetry and a culture of sexual repression. Add to that the fact that the devadasi system had been in decay since the advent of the Mughal era in the 16th and 17th century - so that it wasn't the highly funded hot-shot profession for smart, talented women any more and you can see how it didn't look so great. The first Devadasi Act was passed in 1934 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devadasi#Legislative_initiatives).
When Indian independance was won in 1947, another Devadasi Act was put on the books - "Madras Devadasi Prevention of Dedication Act" was put in place to outlaw devadasi dedication in the state of Karnataka (incidentally, this state contains Lakshmi's home, as well). There was another act, outlawing dedication in Karnataka in 1982, one in Andhra Pradesh in 1998, and another in Karnataka in 1992. That's what my google-fu is turning up, but I would not be suprised at others.
Quite a number of human rights organizations report that devadasi dedication and practices continue to exist with more children being dedicated every day. In the 50+ years of outlawing it, it has not dwindled. It poses a two-fold problem - (1) children are dedicated, not adults, so they cannot consent, and they begin labor in their minority. (2) even in adulthood, the process creates women capable of doing little else, who are completely unaware of or unable to pursue other options.
That said, even in the last 50 years, immensely talented devadasis have influenced the world of Indian dance. Balasaraswati is my particular favorite. She was a women intensely devoted to God and dance, who used her passion and skill to bring a spirit to the developing art form of Bharata Natyam that is rare and special. This is the good side of childhood dedication - in those who are truly drawn to this profession, it can create a performer with astonishing talents.
In the SCA, I enjoy playing a persona that is a devadasi - Lakshmi was dedicated very young, as were most children in a variety of family professions in her time. In the SCA "known world" she has risen to an accomplished rank and has quite a lot of fame to her name. In manuscripts of her period, the stories of famous devadasis who fund irrigation systems, have the right to chatise kings, and get married after having careers come side by side with tortured young women who run away from temple service. I much prefer the former.
But that doesn't mean that the devadasi system has held the same place in the world then as now. For the moment, devadasis are caught between a rock and a hard place - coming forward is dangerous, villages support the traditional system, and India is vast. Laws against devadasism are hard to enforce, and there is not the budget for the kind of large scale social effort it would take to "rehabilitate" these women, and gaining access to the rural areas is non-trivial.
I don't have an answer on that one - but I'll readily admit to seeing the problem.
The "Devadasi Act" outlawing devadasi practices - including the ritual of dedicating them as well as the condition of their employment as dancer & sexual worker - is not really one act, but several. Kind of like the fact that India is not one culture, or one nation, but many different groups crammed onto one subcontinent.
The whole mess starts with the British Raj. Anyone familiar with colonial England can probably guess how the sparse garments, and an art form that is centered on sringara - ie, erotic love interracted with a ruling class that encouraged corsetry and a culture of sexual repression. Add to that the fact that the devadasi system had been in decay since the advent of the Mughal era in the 16th and 17th century - so that it wasn't the highly funded hot-shot profession for smart, talented women any more and you can see how it didn't look so great. The first Devadasi Act was passed in 1934 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devadasi#Legislative_initiatives).
When Indian independance was won in 1947, another Devadasi Act was put on the books - "Madras Devadasi Prevention of Dedication Act" was put in place to outlaw devadasi dedication in the state of Karnataka (incidentally, this state contains Lakshmi's home, as well). There was another act, outlawing dedication in Karnataka in 1982, one in Andhra Pradesh in 1998, and another in Karnataka in 1992. That's what my google-fu is turning up, but I would not be suprised at others.
Quite a number of human rights organizations report that devadasi dedication and practices continue to exist with more children being dedicated every day. In the 50+ years of outlawing it, it has not dwindled. It poses a two-fold problem - (1) children are dedicated, not adults, so they cannot consent, and they begin labor in their minority. (2) even in adulthood, the process creates women capable of doing little else, who are completely unaware of or unable to pursue other options.
That said, even in the last 50 years, immensely talented devadasis have influenced the world of Indian dance. Balasaraswati is my particular favorite. She was a women intensely devoted to God and dance, who used her passion and skill to bring a spirit to the developing art form of Bharata Natyam that is rare and special. This is the good side of childhood dedication - in those who are truly drawn to this profession, it can create a performer with astonishing talents.
In the SCA, I enjoy playing a persona that is a devadasi - Lakshmi was dedicated very young, as were most children in a variety of family professions in her time. In the SCA "known world" she has risen to an accomplished rank and has quite a lot of fame to her name. In manuscripts of her period, the stories of famous devadasis who fund irrigation systems, have the right to chatise kings, and get married after having careers come side by side with tortured young women who run away from temple service. I much prefer the former.
But that doesn't mean that the devadasi system has held the same place in the world then as now. For the moment, devadasis are caught between a rock and a hard place - coming forward is dangerous, villages support the traditional system, and India is vast. Laws against devadasism are hard to enforce, and there is not the budget for the kind of large scale social effort it would take to "rehabilitate" these women, and gaining access to the rural areas is non-trivial.
I don't have an answer on that one - but I'll readily admit to seeing the problem.
