Our concept of the world
as a global village is not new. It was a global village even in the historical
past, in spite of then being handicapped by vast distances, poor transport and
lack of distance communication facilities.
According
to available scientific exploratory data on human evolution, the early human
beings originally evolved in a relatively remote place in Africa. And with
passage of time coupled with population proliferation, tribal people migrated
to different lands probably in search of better opportunities, climates,
security, food, shelter, comforts and prosperity.
Our
ancestors strongly believed that world is one family as expressed in the adage Vasudaiva kutumbakam. Those forefathers who
coined such meaningful notions in the bygone days were certainly aware of the
common cultural threads among the diverse people living in other countries of
the world irrespective of their language, culture, creed and other nuances.
Ancient cults of Spirit worship
Ancient people, our
ancestors, beset with myriad obstacles, found solace and security in
worshipping elements of the nature. Apart from worshipping the essential elements
of the nature, they honored and worshipped their dead community leaders and
heroes who were thought to exist in the form of souls or spirits even after
their death. Since ages, the spirits or souls (the esoteric remains) of the ferocious
animals to begin with and later their celebrities and heroic persons were
considered to exist even after their deaths and exert influence over the common
people. Such ancient beliefs and cults later led to the culture of worshipping Spirits
(Bhūta) and later evolved into
worship of Gods that ultimately manifested in multiple and or single forms
according to ideologies floated from time to time.
The prevailing concept of worshipping multiple
forms of divinities is the result of coalition of several micro cultures developed
in different regional centers in the antiquity with independent beliefs and
cults that eventually fused together under tolerant dynasties along the course
of evolution.
It
needs to be appreciated that different forms of the Bhūta (Spirit)
cults once pervaded all over Indian subcontinent as well as other areas to begin with and with passage of time
the Bhūta cults
have been replaced by subsequent 'divine' forms of worship. Several forms of the ancient Bhūta cults have still been preserved in parts of Karnataka. The Bermer (in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi), Bommaiah (in Uttara Kannada) or
Baramappa (in northern Karnataka) is one such ancient Bhūta cult.
 |
| A Symbolic bhuta stone. (with red flowers) Earliest form of representation of Spirits and deities. |
Bhūta: the Spirit
The usage of the word Bhūta is
quite interesting. Though the word has remained since ages in Tuluva culture,
the term is an ancient pan-Indian word not exclusive to Tulunadu. Basically the
word ‘’Bhūta’’ essentially means the (a) past.
It also means (b) the essential life force or the spirit of the dead. Thus
the term stands for a Spirit of a dead celebrity or entity that lived in the
past. Our ancestors believed that the spirits of the dead entities and persons
of significance can influence and guide their lives.
Some
authors have employed the term ‘’devil’’ to represent the notion of bhūta. The term ‘’devil’’, which carries
negative shades of meaning seems inappropriate for the conveying the concept of
“bhūta”, prevailing
among the people, essentially as a protector form of deities.
Normal
people encounter obstacles of varied types during their life and look for
reliable and potent and infallible source of inspiration, guidance and
supernatural support to tide over the problem at hand. The cults of Bhūta, Spirits and Gods have played the role of the supernatural
guides in the life and achievements of our ancestors.
Our
universe is an extremely complex wonderful creation that has been designed to
function incessantly and efficiently by unseen set of forces. Similarly human
body is an extremely complicated inimitable system that functions extremely
well and automatically for years. There are millions of such incredibly complex
examples with highly complicated invisible blueprints around us, and to regard
these wonders as automatically or self generated without any supernatural
managerial force would simply be insane. While the science is still groping for
answers to such eternal questions and paradoxes the common people since ages
have designed the concepts of spirits and deities as guiding factors in their
life according to the level of perception they could comprehend in their
ambient environments.
Abram, an ancient leader
One of the ancient
hero/celebrity worship cult that originated in ancient Mesopotamia (land between the rivers
Euphrates and Tigris corresponding to present parts of Iraq, Syria and Kuwait)
happens to be related to a renowned legendary leader named Abram who considered
to have lived about 4000 years ago in Sumer, southern Mesopotamia. Abram has been considered as a legendary
patriarch and prophet for Jews, Christians and Muslims. According to
descriptions in Genesis, his wife Sara begot him a son known as Isaac. Abram
(later known as Abraham) and his son Isaac have been considered as prophets in
Christianity. Abram is known as Ibrahim
in Quran and his son Ishmael has been considered as a prophet in Islam. Some
researchers have doubted the precise historicity of the person and found that
personal names like Abiram were common in Babylon /Sumerian civilization.
Abiram-Biram
One interesting string is that there
was a tussle between two rival communities in Mid East. The ancient rival
communities that separated due to animosity applied names similar but with or
without ‘A’ prefix! Thus similar contemporaneous
esoteric poetic knowledge in the Avesta -Veda was shared between the two groups. Rival tribes were called Ahura/Asura vs.-Sura. And similarly there were Abram-Bram,
Abiram-Biram etc.
 |
| Bermer idol at Bommara bettu Garadi, Udupi District (source: Vamana Nandavara,2001) |
Birma, Bermeru
The cult of legendary
celebrity Abram/Biram spread to Indian subcontinent probably around 1700-1500
BC. The anecdotes of Biram or Bram led to the growth and evolution of a
cult glorifying a spirit God. The spirit deity was known variously in different
regions as Baram, Beram, Berma, Bomma or Brama.
With
transcontinental migration of human tribes in the course of history, the cult spread to the various
parts of southern India, including coastal Tulunadu, as Barama, Birma, Biruma, Berma or Berme (Singular) or Bermeru
(honorific plural). During the early centuries of the Common Era, Prakrit/Pali languages
were the administrative languages in Karnataka. The name Barama became Bomma in
Prakrit/Pali languages which was adapted
in early Kannada regions.
During
the period of composition of Siri pāḍ-dana
in ancient Tulunadu ( estimated to be in the time span of ca. 300 BC to 300
CE), it appears that the cult of Bermer worship was well entrenched as
evidenced by major reference to the Bermer deity in the pāḍ-dana folklore.
Nowadays
our younger generation might not be aware of the fact that their ancestors
worshipped a God/divine Spirit known popularly as Bermer (Berme or Bermeru or Birmer ) in the past history probably well before the widespread
popularization and organized worship of Indian Gods like Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti,
Ganesha and Kumara.
The
Barma or Berma (Bermer) cult once upon a time prevailed all over India. Even
the name of the country Burma (Brahma-desha
in Sanskrit literature, now Myanmar) is said to have been derived from the
Barma deity. However, the vestiges of the Barma/Berma cult have been well
preserved in the West Coast of Karnataka.
There
are distinct evidences of once dominant Bermer worship cult prevailing in the Alade, Gunda, Chitteri and
Garodi institutions of the Karavali in the West Coast. In Uttara Kannada
district Bommaiah is still a major village God being devotedly worshipped by
natives especially in parts of Ankola.
The pāḍ-dana
oral literature in Tulu language and the available inscriptions on Bermer apparently do not provide any significant
clues regarding the actual origin, history or evolution of the cult beyond
myths. As such many authors appear to be still in the dark regarding the origin
of the cult of Bermer and Brahma.
In West
Coast of Karnataka, Alade, Chitteri, Garodi and other related traditional,
heritage structures have preserved the identity of the Bermer which was widely
worshipped as principal deity once upon a time.
In
my childhood there was an intensely weathered structure with plants grown over
it about 50 meters behind our ancestral house in Munḍkūru village, in Udupi district. My grandmother used to describe
it as Bermere gunḍa. It took me several
years to understand the meaning or significance of the term Bermere gunḍa. By then, the dilapidated structure that existed years ago
has vanished due to construction of new houses.
Ancient worshipping
patterns
Earliest tribes in India
apparently worshipped Sun, trees on one hand and snakes and other harmful
creatures on the other. Tree worships further led to preservation of groups of
trees held sacred in the form of Kāvu
(Kāpu), Bana, Sarana or Devarakādu. One of the early tribes, Marava were named after trees (‘’mara’’).
The
oldest known forms of worship consisted of symbolic piece of stone kept at the
bottom of a tree. Koraga and other early tribes used to worship a piece of
stone kept under the tree called “kata”.
Such simplistic symbolic stones representing spirits and deities can be seen
even today in rural areas. The relevant word has been preserved in Tamil as katavalu (=God). With evolution in
sculptural art forms, the symbolic stones representing spirits and deity forms were
replaced by sculpted idols. After invention of pottery, globular earthen
vessels, known as muri or kalasa, were kept apart and worshipped as
symbolic of spirits, deities and supernatural powers.
As
the tribal families proliferated and set upon migration, the original places of
settlements were designated as Mūltān (or mooltaan
or moolasthana; literally means , the
original place).Within the mūltāns they had set out a specific place for worship
known Alaḍe. The ancient term Alaḍe does exist in various nook and
corners of Indian subcontinent, although with passage of time, the original
term has been modified locally depending upon the phonetic nuances of the native
languages.
Alaḍe
The Bermer has remained
the principal deity in ancient shrines
known as Alaḍe. An Alaḍe (worship place beside water; Ala=water
+ De=place) is ancient form of shrine or worshipping area usually located near
a water body, river or lake. In the Alaḍe
shrines, the Bermer is the principal deity associated usually with Lekkesiri
(Rakteswari), Mahisandaya, Nandigona and Nāga. The ancient word Alaḍe is literally equivalent of the
word Alaya,
the place of worship. In many of the ancient Alaḍe shrines there are simply no idols/sculptures or the Bermer is
represented by a small piece of stone.
The Alaḍe shrines which have remained
representatives of our ancient roots
mostly located inside or associated with early tribal settlements known as Multān
(Moolastāna) (Posts 9,19,30,286). It appears that Alade shrines
existed in Tulunadu as early as 2000 BC , if not earlier. Before the arrival of
the Bermer cult Serpent (Nāga), Bullock (Nandigona), Buffaloe (Mahisandaya) and
other animistic spirit deities were being worshipped by the tribals.(Post 313).
Memorial shrines-precursors of Temples
Stoopa < doope
In post- Buddha period,
ca 3rd century BC onwards, mortal remains of Buddha and other Buddhist monks
were preserved inside a circular enclosure with dome shaped roof, known as Stoopa (stūpa). The Sanskrit word Stoopa appear to have been derived from ancient Indian (Pāli/Prakrit/Tulu)
word Toope.
The
ancient Indian word Toope or doope (means
a heap) exists in Tulu even today. In
Tulu rural agricultural houses, an outdoor heap of granary enclosed within dried
hay talks is known as tuppe. Incidentally
the traditional tuppe hay-stalk granary
structures resemble the shape of stoopa.
Thus it can be inferred that the architectural design of stoopa has been
inspired from the shape of tuppe granaries.
Similarly, it can be noted that a
memorial (usually pyramidal in shape, usually made up of bamboo frame covered
with cloths) erected near the cremation site of the dead is known as doope. Note that pyramidal structures
were vogue in ancient Egypt and other countries to house preserved dead bodies
of celebrities known as mummies.
Chaitya, Chitteri
A Chaitya-griha is a shrine
structure enclosing a stoopa (usually containing mortal remains of Buddha or
later Buddhist monks) and a prayer /congregation hall for devotees. The Chaitya-griha
in various parts of India were constructed or cut in massive basaltic rocks as seen in parts
of Maharashtra) as early as 2nd century BC to preserve the mortal
remains of Buddha and to permit piligrims and devotees to circumbulate around
the stoopa for worshipping and paying respect to the mortal remains..
Preserving
the dead or relics of the dead celebrities was in vogue since antiquity as
evidenced by Egyptian mummies.
Similar
Chaitya-griha, usually smaller in size, were known as Chitteri or Chitrakoota
in the Coastal Karnataka. Besides some of these Chitteris were designated for
the worship of Bermer in Coastal
Karnataka/Tulunadu. Several places in Tulunadu such as Chitrapu and Chitrapura
also remind us the vestiges of Chitteris in Tulunadu.
Bermer Gunda
Independent shrines of
the Bermer deity are usually known as Gunda.
Traditionally, a gunḍa is a
more or less circular structure or enclosure designed to house a representation
or image of the Bermer deity. Many of these structures have been dilapidated
and weathered off due to neglect over the years
and vagaries of climate. Some of these Gunda have been incorporated in
the temple complexes. One such modernized Bermer shrine can be found within the
premises of renowned Durga Parameshwari Temple at Kateel, in Mangaluru Taluk.
Bermer in Garodi
The Garoḍi institutions
(Kannada: Garaḍi; Tamil: Karati;
Malayalam Kalari) were the
traditional training centers for soldiers of that time in martial arts. Even
today in most of the traditional Garoḍi schools the principal deity is the
Bermer. Thus, we can infer that the Garoḍi schools existed
since ancient times when the Bermer was the ruling deity. (Post 291, 329)
The
idols of the Bermer deity presently found in the Garoḍis of Tulunadu are
generally represented in the form of a masculine warrior like figure with
mustache and beard. He is armed with a lancer in one hand and is straddling astride
on a horse. Some of the Bermer idols have depicted with a multi-seeded fruit (like
Jack fruit?) in one hand. This kind of images could have been an innovation
introduced probably after 5th century CE after horse and sculptural
art forms were introduced in India. (Post 6)
Worship
of Bermer was dominant even during the (16th Century) period of
Queen Abbakka at Ullal (as testified by Italian
tourist Pietro
della Valle).
Famous twin heroes Koti Chennaya who lived around later part of 16th
Century (ca.1555-1585) also worshipped the Bermer God (date source: Vamana
Nandavara, 2001). Dilapidated remnants of independent Bermer shrines known as Bermere gunḍa existed in Tulunadu even up
to 1960-70.
Now-a-days few vestiges
of such ancient shrines can be seen often amalgamated in the campus of temples
as kshetrapāla or as lesser deities. This
is essentially symbolic of cultural theosophical evolution of divine cults in
our land (Post.103.). For example we can see one such Bermer shrine (renovated)
in the precincts of Durga Parameshwari temple at Kateel. In Jain Bastis, the
Bermer has been relegated to the status of Yaksha
or Kshetrapāla. The term Kshetrapāla literally means the security
guard of the temple.
Nāga Bermer: fusion of cults
The cult of Nāga
(cobra/serpent) worship is quite ancient probably introduced before 3000 BC in
Indian subcontinent. In areas where Nāga worship was dominant, the introduction
of Bermer cult probably by immigrants must have lead to periodic clashes that
ultimately resulted in mutual reconciliation. Reconciliation between the Nāga
worshippers and the Bermer worshippers led to fusion of the two cults into
Nāga- Bermer worship.
Brahma-Lingeshwara
Conflict of cults as
described in the previous section between the devotees of Bermer and Shiva/
Lingeshwara eventually ended in reconciliation of beliefs and fusion of the two
cults leading to the deity known as Brahma-Lingeshwara.
Brahma, the creator deity
In the post Vedic period
ca.600-300 BC, the cult of four headed
Brahma, the creator God evolved in
northern India. The temple at Pushkar in Rājastān devoted to the worship of
Lord Brahma, appears to be one of the first Brahma temples in India. Later the
concept spread to other parts of India and also to Southeast Asian countries.
The
Bermer and the Brahma cults though originated from the single source bloomed
along parallel lines.(Post 4,26,28)
Trimurthi
During the period 300 - 100
BC, the three divine cults namely Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara (Shiva) were
popular with independent followers. Reconciliation among the devotees led to
fusion of the three concepts into the cult of Trimurthi.(Post 33)
 |
| Yaksha-Brahma at Dharmasthala. (source: Shetty,2002) |
Yaksha-Brahma
While Jainism was
dominant in Tulunadu and Karavali, Jain rulers while building Jain basadis transformed the Bermer into a Kshetrapāla whose image was placed at
the entrance of the Basadis and designated as Yaksha-Brahma.
Tulu Sangam: Siri PaDdana
The Bermer was the ruling
deity in Tulunadu at the time of composing the orature (oral+literature= pāḍ-dana)
of Siri Pāḍ-dana. This blogger considers Siri PaDdana as an ancient oral
literature of Tulunadu possibly contemporaneous of ‘Chankam’
(Sangam) literatures of Tamilnadu.(Post ..). The Siri Pāḍ-dana as a part of Tulu Sangam literature can be considered to
have composed originally during the beginning centuries of the Common Era. In
Siri PaDdana we find exclusive references to the God Bermer and discussions of
repairing dilapidated shrine of Bermer near Basrur.(Post 94, 95,97,309)
The town of Basrur located on the bank of
river Hālaḍi in Kundapur Taluk was
originally a marine trading port during
early centuries of the Common Era. As a result of receeding (transgression) of the Arabian Sea. (The
regression of the Sea has been attributed to the mythical powers of Lord
Parashurāma in the legends). The position of the Basrur port has been shifted
inland as result of regression of the
Sea (Post 296 ).
 |
| Bommaiah devaru, Ankola (Two book covers: N R Nayak & Vittal Gaonkar) |
Bommaiah in Uttara Kannada.
The cult of Bermeru has
not been exclusive to Tulunadu. In Uttara Kannada district especially in Ankola
we find Bommaiah devaru a Kannada
equivalent of Tulu Bermeru. The word Bomma appears to be a Pāli/Prākrit word
derived from the original of Barama and adapted into Kannada during early
centuries of the Common Era.
At least at two places in
Ankola we find the Bommaiah spirit deity
being worshipped.
Adjoining
the Ankola town, atop a hillock near
Kogre hamlet located in the middle of a
group of four villages (of Basgodu, Soorve, Shetgeri and Singanamakki) we find
a small shrine dedicated to the reigning deity known as Bommaiah devaru. The
Bommaiah idol has been sculpted in granite stone. It is being worshipped by
regular pooja and the locals celebrate the annual Bandi habba ritual with gaiety. The idol of Bommaiah deity here has
been sculpted in a large granite stone and the form is essentially similar to
Bermeru.
The image of Bommaiah
deity with golden shown here is taken from the cover of a recent book written
by Vittal V. Gaonkar (2015).
 |
| Bommaiah deity flanked by two heroes, Kogre, Soorve Village ,Ankola. |
Bommaiah /Baramappa in northern Karnataka
The cult of Bommaiah
deity appears to have been rampant all over Karnataka as evident by the prevalence
of numerous villages named after the deity such as Bommanahalli, Bommasandra,
etc. The Bomma in early Karnataka was not the four headed Brahma but the Spirit
Barma or Barama or the Bermer.
In
villages of northern Karnataka worship of Baramappa as a rural Spirit deity
(gram devata) continue to exist since long time. The cult of Bommaiah worship
appears to have receded in the other parts of India under the overbearing
influence of other divine cults.
Evolution of divine cults
The reconstruction of evolution of the Bermer cult may serve as a logical illustration
for the unbiased persons to understand genuinely the nature and origin of some
of the divine cults. The adaption of the Bermer/Bommaiah divine cult widely in southern India during the Vedic to
post Vedic period distinctly evinces the intensity of influence the immigrant
cults held over far-off regions in the ancient setting of the global village.
DISCLAIMER
Some of the recent literature in
Kannada/English enlisted here below for further reference. The list is not
exhaustive. Besides, readers kindly note that any of the analytical
interpretation of the Bermer/Bommaiah cult explained in this post may
differ from their opinions or inferences expressed by these authors.
However,it is hoped that this post
would be useful background for analyzing and understanding the time space
relations in the contemporary field data
presented in references below.
REFERENCES
Amrutha
Someshwara (1999) Tulu Paḍdana
Samputa. Kannada University, Hampi. [Kannada P.8+502. [Kannada]
Gururaja
Bhatt, P. Dr. (1975) Studies in
Tuluva History and Culture. Dr Padur Gururaja Bhatt Memorial Trust, Udupi. Second impression, 2010, p.452+ xxxvii.
Indira
Hegde, Dr (2004) Bantaru: Ondu Samajo-Samskruthika Adhyayana.
Kannada Pustaka Pradhikara. Bengaluru ,p.
xviii+480. [Kannada]
Indira
Hegde, Dr (2012) Tuluvara Moolataana:Adi Alade.Parampare
mattu parivartane. Navakarnataka Publication, p.408. [Kannada]
Nayak,
N.R , Dr (2014) Nadavara Janapada Tavanidhi. Xii+484.Karnataka
Janapada University. [Kannada]
Rajshree,
Dr. (2008) Tulu Janapada Kavya: Ihapara Lokadrushti.
Shree Dhramasthala Manjunatheshwara Tulu peeta. Mangaluru University. Mangalagangotri.
p.416. (Kannada)
Shetty,
S.D., Dr. (2002) Tulunadina Jainadharma: Ondu Sankritika
Adhyayana. Rashtrakavi Govinda Pai Samshodhana Kendra.MGM College, Udupi . p.xxiv+424.
[Kannada]
Surendra
Rao, B (2010) Bunts in History
& culture. Rashtrakavi Govinda Pai Samshodhana Kendra.MGM College, Udupi
& World Bunts Foundation Trust, Mangaluru.
p.viii+360.
Vamana
Nandavara, Dr.(2001) Koti
Chennaya. Janapadiya Adhyayana. (Phd thesis) Mangaluru. p.420. [Kannada]
Vittal
V Gaonkar (2015). Chandada Chaukada hali and Bommaiah devaru.
Sumanth Prakashan Brahmavara. P.58. [Kannada]
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