Page 1 of 13

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 245

Popular Beliefs in the Kangra State

*Sunil Chauhan

Research Scholar in History, P. U. Chandigarh

Kangra is one of the largest districts of the

Himachal Pradesh, which covers an area of

2,554 square miles. In ancient Indian

traditions the term Kangra is depicted as

Trigtra which means “the land of the three

rivers”. Kangra was the largest district of

composite Punjab hills which was

transferred to Himachal Pradesh on 1st

November, 1966. The present Kangra

district came into existence on 1st

September, 1972. Dharamshala is the

administrative headquarters of the district.

The native people are the Kangri people and

the native language is Kangri, which is very

similar to Punjabi. Its predominantly Hindu

populated area comprised of Brahmins,

Rajputs, Banias, Schedule Caste and OBC

population, although many Tibetans and

others who follow Buddhism have also

settled here recently. There are also

minority populations of Sikhs, Muslims, and

Christians. The beliefs remain central part

of people’s life. The present study intends to

recreate the broad picture of the popular

beliefs practiced in the area from time

immemorial. Moreover depicts the changes

that have occurred in the belief pattern of

the people, with the transformation of

Kangra society and culture over the years.

Popular beliefs are studied as a sub-field of

social sciences like history and anthropology

which examines spiritual beliefs that

develop not independently from religion but

still outside of established religious

institutions. The word ‘belief’ in Webster’s

dictionary means an acceptance of

something as true.i Hooker opines that no

man attains belief by the bare contemplation

of heaven and earth. It is the belief that stays

the attitude; it is the individual, family or

clan which empowers the belief. A belief

includes not only spiritual cure with the

deity, but also traffic with devils or fiends.

From the remotest time, man has been

worshipping the supernatural forces, which

were beyond his reach. The question which

arises in one’s mind is as to what worship is

the term cannot be correctly translated into

any language, purposefully. One may say

that the worship is the active side of the

religion. Even, so the meaning does not stop

the notion of the act; it is the belief that stays

the attitude; it is the individual, family or

clan which empowers the belief. It cannot be

defined either by the objects for in the

context of worship, it included not only

spiritual union with the deity, but also traffic

with the devils or fiends; while it cannot be

separated from the intercourse of man with

man. It is believed that the strange and

dangerous objects and phenomena as well as

the fatal incidents added to the turning of the

man towards worship of the invisible forces.

We are born with the nature of self- preservation and self-development, and the

more this instinct moves us onwards on this

Page 2 of 13

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 246

path, the more do we become conscious of

how much we have to depend upon

phenomena for qualification of our desires

and feelings and for the preservation and

development of our life. We thus experience

a close relationship between ourselves and

the phenomena and world in which we live

and move.

In pre –British days, Kangra and the

surrounding hill districts were divided into

numerous petty states. Although the figures

never add up consistently, there are

conventionally said to have been twenty-two

states between the rivers Chenab and Sutlej,

and these were divided by the river Ravi. Of

the powerful of western groups was Jammu,

and of the eastern groups was the Katoch

kingdom of Kangra. Many of the smaller

states are reputed to have been founded by

younger son of Raja of one the larger ones.

It is impossible to say whether such

traditions have any historical validity or

simply reflect contemporary political and

status relations between the royal clans. The

tradition of common origin is preserved, and

is embodied in the sharing of common

gotra, until recently ban has been put on the

intermarriage. The Ruling families which

did not claim to be related as distant agnates

intermarried. But neither putative agnatic

descents, nor repeated intermarriage, seem

to have inhibited the rajas from frequent

attacks on each other’s territory. With the

decline of Mughal Empire the hill states

reasserted their independence from Delhi.

Kangra kingdom reached its height under

Sansar Chand (1775 to 1823) who imposed

his overlord ship throughout the

neighbouring hill areas.

In course of the development of our

experience, we learn to conceive some kinds

of phenomena as good and beautiful, since

they confer benefits and pleasure upon us,

and some as evil and ugly, since they inflict

injuries and unpleasant sensations upon us.

Some are found to be beneficial under

certain conditions and injurious under

others. Similarly some of the supernatural

powers are found to be beneficial and

friendly, when we can turn them into good

account by dint of our own efforts, and

injurious and hostile, when we cannot

properly adjust ourselves with them or

employ them wisely to serve our purposes.

Therefore, some of the supernatural powers,

which were the grounds of all powers and

phenomena of the world, the recognition of

whose existence was found by reason to be

necessary for an adequate explanation of the

phenomena of experience, were termed as

Devotas or Deo (Deities).

The worship of the clan deity (Kula-Deo)

and village deity (SthanDevotas) was the

most significant aspect of the traditional and

incomprehensible folk of the Western

Himalayan regions, which had substantially

contributed to the making of the culture of

hilly society. iiThe predominant beliefs of

the people of this region centered around the

idea that their lives and their world was

controlled, in addition to the kula-deos and

sthandevotas by innumerable spirits both

good and bad.iii These were responsible for

all unusual and unexpected boons and

events, as well as disasters and calamities.

Page 3 of 13

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 247

Every clan and village was under the

protection of these local deities, who were

their principal guardian deities;iv the hilly

folk relied on their clan and village deities

for an easy solution of their problems and

misfortunes. Therefore, their religious

beliefs did not advance beyond the

traditional worshipping of their clan deity

and village deity. It can be safely inferred

that though the hilly folk was unaffected by

Brahminical ideas and beliefs, yet some of

the inhabitants, besides worshipping their

clan and village deities, also worshipped

different divine forms of Shiva and Vishnu.

But they did not worship them as their

principal guardian deities. It appears that the

concept of universe did not interest the

western Himalayan folk. The clan deity and

the village deity were regarded as the

principal guardian deities and worshipped

under a great variety of different names in

different villages and clans. In every village

the shrine of these local deities could be

seen. Some of the deities were periodically

worshipped and propitiated. Whenever the

natural calamities befell on the villagers and

draught hit the village or cattle disease made

its appearance, the whole clan turned for

protection to the clan deity/village deity. It is

observed that this local vis-à-vis any other

universal god’s deities were considered to be

more helpful in adversity and calamity.

During such times, the kula-deo/sthandevota

was approached by the member of the

victim’s family or elders of the village

through Gharinta, or Dewa (whose body the

spirit of kula-deo/sthandevota took

possession of) for knowing the cause of

trouble/calamity and the remedies thereof.

The Gharinta answered the queries. The

remedies to these as suggested by the kula- deo/village deity were religiously followed.

If need arose, the concerned deity was made

to appear by the sacrificial offerings of

sheep, goats or buffalo. Water was often

poured over the animals back or into the ears

and if the animal shivered, it was presumed

that the sacrifice had been accepted by the

related deity. Later the actual mutton of the

sacrificed animal was consumed as

prasadam by the family members and

people of the concerned village.

According to the local traditions, these

deities were more intimately concerned with

the happiness and prosperity of the clan and

the village. The people believed that even

the cattle were protected from the fatal

diseases by these deities.v One peculiar

feature of these deities was that the female

deities were predominant and their male

counter parts occupied only a subordinate

status. It was because of the belief that the

females were connected with fertility. Most

of the female deities are shown to have male

attendants, who are supposed to guard the

shrines and carry out the commands of the

female deities. Although the male deity had

a shrine to himself, his shrine was generally

crowded with clay figures and mask of

female deities.9

It is observed that the temple

priest (Pujari) was bound to offer prayer and

offerings first to the female deity and then to

the male deity.

The present work studies the different

beliefs of the people popular in Kangra and

their important role in the life of the people

of the state. The main focus is on the