Folk deities of Sylhet

What it is

The folk deities of Sylhet are a set of devas and devis, gods and goddesses, that people in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh and the Barak Valley in India have traditionally honoured. Worship in the region has been shared across religious lines. Seven figures are usually listed. Some guard a trade or a landscape: woods, hills, marsh and water, paddy fields, livestock, orchards. Others belong to family life and to women in particular: marriage, fertility, birth and the raising of children. One is called on to settle a quarrel. Several are understood as local versions of better-known Hindu gods, while keeping a character of their own.

Where it comes from

These figures are presented as local shapes of older deities. Badshah is described as a regional form of Bhairava. Kalachand, also called Khalasan, is taken to be a changed version of an ancient non-Aryan Shiva, and Sannyasi Baba is likewise seen as a modified Shiva. Dorai, or Dohor Ai, Bishohori is considered an old or evolved form of the serpent goddess Manasa. Rupasi Devi is compared with Shashthi Devi and Subachani Devi. The worship itself is called traditional and is tied to syncretist communities, where Hindu and Muslim villagers both take part. No founding story or date is offered.

How it is done

Rites are simple, and most happen at home or in the open. For Rupasi Devi a branch of the Ruposhi tree, or a banana stem, is placed in a special vessel called a Bherua, and prayers and food are given. Badshah and Rakhal receive offerings at the foot of a large old tree, such as banyan, ashwattha or champak, which acts as the deity's seat. A stone under a tree stands for Kalachand. When a quarrel is judged, a fresh bamboo container is marked with vermilion, hung from a sharp iron blade and prayed over; the side it turns toward is held to be the one in the right.

Tools and materials

Offerings are everyday things: raw cow milk, fruit, soaked paddy, raw onions, vegetarian dishes and sweets. The Rupasi rite uses a branch and a banana stem in the Bherua vessel. A stone represents Kalachand. Vermilion, betel leaf, areca nut and sweets go with the bamboo container and the iron blade in the dispute rite. Badshah is given shinni, a kind of offering, and at times ganja and fish such as shoul or gojaar, left at a tree that serves as his thana, peeth or maqam. Dorai wears snake ornaments and yellow colour.

What it is for

Requests are practical. Badshah and Rakhal are asked to watch over woods, hills, marsh and water, and their favour is believed to bring strength, wealth and power. Kalachand looks after paddy fields, animals and fruit gardens. Rupasi Devi is approached for marriage, fertility, birth and the care of children. Dorai is asked to keep boats and those aboard safe and to bring a good catch; she is also held to answer wishes and to calm children's fears. Kula Devi is called in when a disagreement needs a decision.

Who does it

Most of these rites need no Brahmin. Villagers make the offerings themselves, and for Badshah, Kalachand and Sannyasi Baba a priest is not required. Sannyasi Baba's worship includes kirtan, singing the name of Hari. Rupasi Puja is usually kept by married women, who fast and give fruit and vegetarian food, though Brahmin priests have begun to perform it in recent times. Dorai's worship is described as secret and is guided by a Gurmir, a kind of eunuch dancer. The dispute rite is carried out by the person involved.

Peoples and places

The homeland is undivided Sylhet: the Sylhet Division of northeastern Bangladesh and the Barak Valley across the border in India. Practice crosses religious lines there. Badshah and Rakhal are named as honoured by lower-caste Hindus and rural Muslims alike, and Rakhal's puja is organised by the Sylheti fishing community as the season opens. Dorai belongs mainly to that same community. Rupasi Devi's devotees are married women, and her counterpart in West Bengal is called Buri Ma, Buri Thakurani or Buri Gosai.

What people believe

These deities are tied to place and to protection. Woods, hills, marsh and water are held to have a guardian, and so are fields, livestock, orchards and boats. Some are without an image: Kalachand is a stone, Rakhal has no physical form, and Badshah is met through offerings at a tree rather than a figure. The spot set aside for him is called a thana, peeth or maqam. Several figures are understood as forms of Shiva, Bhairava or Manasa, so household practice and the wider Hindu pantheon overlap. Their favour is believed to bring wealth, strength and safety.

When it is done

Rupasi Devi's rites fall at set moments in family life: before a wedding, a month after a child is born, on a fasting day, and before the Mukho Bhat ceremony, when a child first eats rice. Rakhal and Dorai are honoured when the fishing season begins. Badshah is invoked before wood, bamboo, red soil or sand is taken from the forest, before fishing starts, and before a house is built. Sannyasi Baba's worship takes place under a very old village tree.

Compare and confuse

Rupasi Devi is set beside the Shastric Shashthi Devi and Subachani Devi, and beside Buri Ma in West Bengal. Badshah is treated as a regional Bhairava; Kalachand and Sannyasi Baba as changed Shivas; Dorai Bishohori as an older or evolved Manasa. The Ruposhi tree takes its local name from the goddess in Sylheti Bangla. Kalachand also appears as Kalachan or Khalasan, and Dorai as Dohor Ai.

Questions people ask about Folk deities of Sylhet

Good reading and sources

• Folk deities of Sylhet on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data