INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY, BANGLADESH

National Culture and Heritage

Course ID: NCH 101

“A Brutal Fight for Entertainment”

Submitted To
Manzurul Mannan

Submitted By
MD.Shahriar Hossain

ID : 1330143

Sec: 03

.
 The Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur, happens to be a
forest named Bhawal Forest home of the Koch tribe made up of
indigenous people, the ‘Rajbangshi’s. In the past the Rajbangshis used
to be the worshippers of nature and in course of time they converted
themselves into Koch in by the influence of the Hindu religion. They
mainly follow the shamanic religion, and are the worshippers of Kali in
addition to their boundless respect for the colored skull they keep in
every ritual. They call themselves the warriors of the sun, and also claim
that they are the descendants of the kings of the Indian sub-continent.
Every year, the people of Rajbangshi tribe hold a festival of Chaitra
Puja part of which is the Chorok Puja, where the young-adult males of
the Rajbangshi tribe are hooked from the skin of their abdominal back,
and hung from a huge revolving T-shaped structure. This is a part of
their rituals and this task attracts hundreds of audiences who pay a visit
to see this. Chorok Puja is mainly a ritual of the tribal people to satisfy
Kali by proving their sacrifice and endurance power. The rituals of the
Chorok Puja are divided in order to be performed in two days. A Maktab
is a young-adult male from the tribe who performs all the rituals by
giving instructions to the boys who carry out the tasks and by reciting
the different sort of spells as a part of the Puja. The Maktab starts
reciting the spells along with the beat of drums drummed by a few
nearby men. This initiates the ritual, which is performed by the Maktab
along with the presence of dhup, an aroma-filled smoke, a colored skull,
and a small fire enlightening the small gathering of people surrounding
them all. As the recitation continues by different spells of different
special features, a number of large knives are kept in front of the other
objects, all placed on a large piece of red cloth. A number of young-
adult boys, who are supposed to perform the initiating task, come
forward towards the Maktab, with the rest of the people circling
around them to watch. A few other men rub a kind of herbal oil on the
exposed tops of the boys, which is also a part of the ritual. The beats of
the drums get faster, followed by the recitation of the spells by the
Maktab which also speed up, along with his outlandish body
movement. The boys perform some kind of meditation, which causes
them to think that they are now above all the material things, and that
their spirit is not within themselves besides their sub consciousness.
Then the task starts, where they lie down their bodies on the dust
covered ground around the objects kept for the rituals. They crawl and
roll like insects, and all through the time they remain in a state of
unexplained paranormal awareness. This may seem barbaric or
monstrous to the outsiders, but the people of Rajbangshi value their
bravery above others and play the role of fearless worshippers, besides,
the most horrific part of the Chorok Puja is to be performed the next
day.
 The darkness of the night fades away, a new day approaches,
and the men start fixing things for the big day. On the second day of
Chorok Puja, the Maktab places the colored skull, some needles and
flutes on the same piece of red cloth. Beside all these objects, a feet
deep hole is made. The music starts to be played as always. A few men
bind a heavy piece of wooden log colored in different colors with a
bunch of bamboos. Then they insert the weighty log inside the feet deep
hole, making a huge T-shaped structure standing above the ground.
They also keep some bananas and Shankhas along with the other
objects in front of the structure. The Maktab’s recitations continue,
along with his body movement. People come forward with a black goat,
tie its neck with a rope and circle it around a piece of wood. Four of the
legs of the goat are bent forcefully, and its neck kept on the wood, for
beheading purposes, and thus the goat is sacrificed and then cooked for
everyone. The objects of the rituals are blood-bathed by the goat’s
blood. The boy who is to perform the Chorok Puja lies down with his
back on top. The Maktab oils his back, and inserts the hook in his skin.
The boy feels no pain, as he is in a state of no-being by then via
meditation, going to a form of trans before performing it. The hook
inserted on the back of the boy is then attached to one of the sides of
the T-shaped structure, and the boy is pulled to the air. The T-shaped
thing is then revolved by tied ropes on the other end, and pulled by
other people. The boy is marked with vermillion on his forehead before
the revolving starts. People praise the boy for his bravery and devotion,
and after a number of 7 rotations, he is finally brought down. The
strangest part is that, the hooked boy dangling on air keeps a smile on
his face in spite of such painful task throughout the entire ritual, as the
state of Trans barricades the feelings of his body towards his brain.
Drums are drummed wildly, shankha are blown during the last revolve.
After coming down, he is unhooked, and not a single drop of blood
oozes from his cut. He then walks around the field, with many people
following him along with the musical instruments being played. He feels
brave, just like the warrior of the sun he was born. This is the story of
the Chorok Puja, the story of bravery and endurance of the warriors of
the sun. This tradition had been followed for several years, attracting
hundreds of outsiders as audiences every year.