Yoni, Yoginīs and Mahāvidyās

Abstract

Focusing on one of the most prominent sacred sites of goddess(es) worship in India, the Nīlācala (blue hill) of Guwahati in Assam, this article delineates the historical evolution of a local goddess cult and its association with the groups of multiple feminine deities. Based on literary, inscriptional, archeological and oral sources, it demonstrates three phases of transition amidst political changes: (i) worship of yoni, the local sacred geography, by autochthonous people, (ii) the reorganized Tantric yoginī cult associated with a new regional goddess, who was worshipped by the ruling family of the Mlecchas and the Pālas and ( iii) the magical and comprehensive Mahāvidyās and the restored goddess Kāmākhyā cult by the Koches. Here the transition does not mean a sudden change, but a steady process by which a former tradition not only altered but also continued and acquired new connotation in a different socio-religious context. Instead of applying the analytical distinction which often simplifies the multi-sided and prevalent traditions in the form of binary opposition such as ‘tribal/Hindu’ or ‘local/universal’ or ‘Tantric/Puranic’, this article shows how the divergent strands of incompatible religious traditions became mutually dependent.