Unity in Diversity in the Celebration of Cattle-Curing Rites in a North Indian Village: A Study in the Resolution of Conflict

Abstract

and the ceremony was held. We suggest that this happened principally because of the existence of few cultural themes of great antiquity held in common by all villagers. In addition, parts of Akhta have been eliminated, modified, or reinterpreted to reconcile them with Arya Samaj teachings. These modifications probably took place over period of years, beginning with the introduction of Arya Samaj into the village. Hence the resolution of the dispute here reported is part of long process of culture change. IN AN earlier comparison of two mother-goddess ceremonies, one urban and the other rural, we noted that despite the of Hinduism, it possesses an underlying and that a small number of basic principles provides philosophical justification for the variety of practices, often making seeming incompatibles compatible (Freed and Freed 1962: 246). This underlying appears to be characteristic of Hinduism, of the culture area of North India, and probably of India as whole. Others have commented on this (Brown 1961:428, 429; Zimmer 1951:601); and Opler, in discussing the political and economic aspects of village India, mentions unity in diversity as phrase used often by Indians to describe their own culture (Opler 1960: 187). We suggest that there are constant themes within Indian culture; that they evolved early in Indian history and were incorporated into and perpetuated by the sacred literature of Hinduism; and that these themes provide the integration and underlying the diverse and sometimes conflicting elements that exist in Indian culture. In this paper we describe the resolution of conflict of beliefs on the holding of cattle-curing ceremony, known as Akhta, during an epidemic of cattle disease that occurred in Shanti Nagar (a pseudonym), village in northern India. For Akhta to be celebrated, the village council would have to vote in favor of it because the ceremony requires that the village be closed to the outside world and that all villagers participate. The conflict arose from the religious ideology of two groups: members of the Jat caste who follow Arya Samaj, reform sect of Hinduism, and are known as Samajis; and members of the Brahmin caste who follow Sanatan Dharma, orthodox Hinduism, and are called Sanatanis. The leader of powerful Jat faction, strict follower of Arya Samaj, was opposed to holding Akhta. The difference of opinion was