Devadasi to Dasappa: A regressive system morphs to stay alive in Karnataka

On April 18, at the annual fair in the village of Joladakudligi in Vijayanagar district, Chowdavva, her son Shivanna and several others gathered for an important ceremony: a ritual called 'mudre hakuvudu'.

In this elaborate ritual, which involves walking to the village temple, 22-year-old Shivanna was blindfolded and branded by the priest with the impression of Lord Hanuman on both shoulders. The impression is permanent and takes at least a month to heal.

As 50 relatives watched, Shivanna was declared a 'sanctified soul'; he was a 'Dasappa'.

Shivanna's grandmother was a Devadasi, a cruel, regressive practice that was outlawed four decades ago in Karnataka. But it seems society has found a way to keep practice alive, albeit in a different form. Instead of women, men are now dedicated to God in the form of 'Dasappa'.

There is no count of how many men have been inducted into the Dasappa tradition as it has largely gone unnoticed.

But there is a difference. Unlike a Devadasi, a Dasappa can marry and have a family, and he is not pushed into sexual slavery.

Families of Dalit communities such as Chalavadi, Uppara, Madiga and the Nayaka (Valmiki) community follow this tradition. While the practice sounds harmless on the surface, it keeps an exploitative system alive.

“Men carrying on the family tradition from women is a recent trend. Dasappas are not ordinary human beings. They have a set of rules to follow since they are dedicated to God,” said Poojari Maldeppa of Belderi in Vijayanagar district, who has initiated at least 10 men into this tradition last year.

There is another spiritual tradition by the same name (Dasappa), which is followed by many communities and not linked to the Devadasi practice.

Chowdavva, Shivanna's mother, says she decided to dedicate her son because her family incurred the wrath of Lord Hanuman for "discontinuing the Devadasi tradition".

“We won’t push our daughters into this exploitative system anymore. This is against law also. But we had to face many problems in the past," she said.

"Whenever we approached a spiritual person seeking a solution, they would point to the wrath of Lord Hanuman for discontinuing the Devadasi tradition. We are in agreement with this view. So, we decided to dedicate our son,” said Chowdavva, adding that the entire ritual cost her family Rs 25,000.

When asked, Shivanna said he is just doing what the family wants him to do.

Researcher Arun Joladakudligi, who has recorded the ritual in Joladakudligi, said "we are not allowing a regressive system to die".

"The gains we made so far are also at risk of reversing because of the continuation of this tradition,” he said.

The Dasappa tradition may not be barred under the law, but it will have repercussions on the psyche of people, he adds.

T V Renukamma, who has been fighting for the rights of Devadasis, said the struggles of Devadasis are much more and can't be compared with that of Dasappas.

Anirudh Sravan, deputy commissioner, Vijayanagar district, said that such a practice has not come to his attention.

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