Naked girls plow fields for rain (no..there are no pics)

PATNA, India (Reuters) - Farmers in an eastern Indian state have asked their unmarried daughters to plow parched fields naked in a bid to embarrass the weather gods to bring some badly needed monsoon rain, officials said on Thursday

Reuters

I didn't know where this thread would belong, but I find it interesting. It has implications in a couple of our forums and I will explain that soon, I think.

state plowed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. They said elderly village women helped the girls drag the plows. "They (villagers) believe their acts would get the weather gods badly embarrassed, who in turn would ensure bumper crops by sending rains," Upendra Kumar, a village council official, said from Bihar's remote Banke Bazaar town. "This is the most trusted social custom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue this practice until it rains very heavily." India this year suffered its worst start to the vital monsoon rains in eight decades, causing drought in some states. (Writing by Bappa Majumdar Editing by Sugita Katyal)

So farmers in India need rain. Their method of dealing with that? EMBARRASSING their weather gods, to that they would send rain.

I find that concept completely perplexing. Granted, I'm a westerner, and my level of enlightenment is admittedly low.

To me, this isn't about having your young daughter plow your fields naked. That is very bizarre to my way of thinking. What is even MORE bizarre to me is thinking that if a person believed in a god, that they could embarrass that god into giving them something they desired. Its certainly ascribing human faults and ideals to a god. A god has the ability to be swayed by the insecurity generated by embarrassment?

Most Christianity-based religions would think this preposterous, I would imagine. I am interested in hearing your take on it.

The God I was raised with would SMITE me if I ever tried to embarrass him. I've since grown a little in my very personal understanding of a higher power but I would still not try to poke at it to make it do what I wanted it to.

Am I way off base here? I know that religious views vary, and I don't want to drag up a lot of hard feelings. I guess what I would like to know is if anyone else thinks that their God could be embarrassed.

'this is the most TRUSTED social custom in the area...' The CAPS are my addition. India is a very old and diverse culture with many different gods. I don't wish to belittle them or their beliefs. I just have a very hard time wrapping my head around it. Have I been thinking the wrong way all along?

Is it any more ridiculous of a belief that Moseh/Moses could argue with God and change his mind? Is it any more ridiculous of a belief that a Christian could plead with their God through prayer to be granted a Mercedes or a Mansion? Is it any more ridiculous of a belief that Jacob could wrestle with an Angel sent by God and really win? Is it any more ridiculous that a God would demand Abraham to commit infanticide and human sacrifice to please him? Is it any more ridiculous that Jesus would ask you to commit symbolic acts of cannibalism and vampiric blood rites whenever you go to Church?

Just because it's not in your religious beliefs doesn't make it any less ridiculous than your own.

Religious beliefs and religious rites are something that are culture related. There are many similar cultural practices that are done in Western Europe to ensure the harvest as these people in India are doing. The making of corn-dolls, or erecting a May Pole, or jumping through a Bon-Fire, or having virgin girls urinate on the fields are all Folk Customs that are common to various cultures throughout Western Europe, and are still practiced today.

Ritual Symbolism is just that...it's a cultural practice of making a symbolic gesture in the belief that you can elicit a response from the divine. You do it every time you pray. Don't knock it. If prayer works for you, then there is no reason that naked girls tilling the fields will work just as well for these Hindi farmers.

reply to post by fraterormus


Please point out where I said this was ridiculous, frat.

NEVER would I call someone else's religious beliefs ridiculous. Don't make things up.

I never said it was any more or less valid than anyone else's beliefs. I posted the article and my questions. Please refrain from making it into an issue of bigotry. If you can find in my post where I was a bigot, point it out.

I stated I have a hard time understanding it. That doesn't make it ridiculous.

If you are wanting to start a fight, you are going to have to go somewhere else to do it.

I am seeking understanding and hopefully insight into a different culture. I'm assuming, that in this instance you have neither of those to contribute. Thanks for your time though.

Why no pictures ?

disappointed second line....

Well, I've studied all sorts of world religions and most of them make little sense at first...then you dig a bit deeper and you find that they contain their own "internal logic" and ways of distributing different stresses and balances.

The idea of sexuality and farming, in various forms, is very ancient...there is old poetry about the sexual imagery of the phallic plough penetrating the fecund, fertile soil, and so on. The ancient Canaanites used to copulate in the fields before the planting season to arouse the gods (a form of ancient theological pornography?) and thus make the fields more fertile. Similar habits were found in other parts of the world, including pagan Northern Europe.

Many belief systems anthropomophise their gods and give them human emotions like rage, grief, love, anger, and perhaps even embarrasment. (Just look at the characters in the Greek myths...its almost like a soap opera). So in a weird way this makes sense to me.

[edit on 7/24/09 by silent thunder]

Originally posted by KSPigpen
Please point out where I said this was ridiculous, frat.

NEVER would I call someone else's religious beliefs ridiculous. I never said it was any more or less valid than anyone else's beliefs. I posted the article and my questions...I stated I have a hard time understanding it. That doesn't make it ridiculous.

I did not mean to offend in any way. Perhaps I should have used a different synonym, as it would seem that you have taken ridiculous to mean something different, something loaded with intent that was not intended. Perhaps, I should have used "curious", or "peculiar", or "singular" instead of using "ridiculous" which is an acceptable synonym of the word "bizarre" that you used. Entirely my bad for not being more specific in my choice of adjectives that happen to have multiple definitions (and loaded definitions in the minds of some).

The point I was trying to make was that to any non-Christian or non-Jew, their respective religious practices seem odd and strange, as entirely foreign concepts.

You are simply experiencing the same quandary as a non-Christian or non-Jew would viewing your own, when you are viewing another religion's practices. I wasn't insinuating you were a bigot. I was however insinuating that because of your own beliefs, which have marked differences from the Hindi beliefs, it makes it difficult for you to comprehend the why only because of perspective.

It's all a matter of perspective. It's perfectly natural to find it odd as you happen to have a different perspective.

Almost all the world's religions have two common beliefs that pertain to this Hindi practice in particular.

1.) That as humans were created by the Divine, then the Divine must be like humans and have anthropomorphic qualities. If humans laugh, then the Divine must be able to laugh. If humans can change their mind, then the Divine must be able to change it's mind. If humans can be embarrassed, then the Divine must be able to be embarrassed.

2.) That the Divine can be placated, satisfied, or motivated in some fashion.

Because of these two common religious beliefs, you will be hard pressed to find a religion either today or at any point throughout History that doesn't have it's own methods to elicit a desired anthropomorphic response from the Divine.

Some religions do this by following Dogmatic rules and strictures. Some religions do this by magical acts. Some religions do this by symbolic rites. Some religions do this by Sympathy/Correspondence. Each and every one of them has their own unique style and way of achieving the same end.

In this case, the Hindi farmers are desperate and resorting to old customs. I'm sure they probably think it a little peculiar and bizarre themselves, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and in most religions, the Divine only helps those willing to help themselves, so it doesn't hurt anyone to try. Sure, those poor girls were probably quite embarrassed themselves having to go out into the fields naked, but if they were embarrassed, then hopefully the Divine would be too. In the very least, a benevolent deity would have empathy for their plight (and their subsequent embarrassment) and aid them. The deities of some religions might have a laugh at their expense and show some compassion any way. The deities of some religions might actually grow angry at their futile attempts to placate them and demand blood sacrifice as an act of contrition and assuage the deities anger at the offense.

The deities that humans worship tend to be just as human as we are, just to a level where those human attributes are exemplified.

Embarrassing a deity doesn't seem that far off the mark as far as practices go. I've heard of stranger ways to elicit a response from a deity.

(Again, I'm sorry for my original response being taken the wrong way. Please accept my apologies.)

[edit on 24-7-2009 by fraterormus]

There aren't many problems getting naked cant' solve.

2nd line.

Welcome to the logic of religion. Although instead of embarassing a rain god your mumbling to a genie in the sky for good health and happiness.

Welcome to the logic of religion. Although instead of embarassing a rain god your mumbling to a genie in the sky for good health and happiness.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/710b3ba54263.gif[/atsimg]

They also send naked virgins through the Marijuana fields and pick off the resin.

I think they just like looking at naked little girls.

Originally posted by jjkenobi
There aren't many problems getting naked cant' solve.

2nd line.

Arrest for being a prik under the influence?! I know I look good naked, it's just how I go about convincing others.

Ploughing naked don't sound all that bad, I would say that in their minds they are trying to say 'look we are still as nature intended, we have not turned our back on you (the rain god or whatever) why turn your back on us?'

On a side note I predict a 20% rise in the birth rate this time in April 2010

Originally posted by fraterormus Perhaps, I should have used "curious", or "peculiar", or "singular" instead of using "ridiculous" which is an acceptable synonym of the word "bizarre" that you used.

Wow. You are absolutely CORRECT! When I stop thinking you're such a jerk, you actually make sense. I should have picked a different word to start with.

What you said really made sense and helped me on my journey. I really appreciate it.

Kinda seems a lot like languages to me. When I hear someone speaking Swahili, it doesn't make any sense to me...the same when they hear ME speaking English....

Sometimes I'm amazed at my own shallowness. I'll probably still think you're being a jerk every now and then, but I really do appreciate you taking the time to put things in a different perspective for me.

Instead of plowing naked and praying for rain they should get naked for their government and pray for irrigation. Work Smarter not Harder.

I think it bears noting here that the East Asian monsoon cycle is enormously important to agriculture in India, Bangladesh, China, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Although some parts of these areas are wetter than others, all depend on the regular monsoon cycle to grow crops, especially the East Asian staple, rice.

In the West, rain comes and goes in every season, and there is no real equivalent to a "rainy season" that means life or death if it doesn't come as expected. While it does show up with almost clocklike precision most of the time, sometimes it doesn't. This is one of the major causes of the mass Asian famines that have plagued this part of the world on and off for thousands of years. So the monsoon season is a big deal in India and points east. If the rain doesn't come in the right time and in the proper quantities, people starve.

The seriousness of this issue would certainly prompt many to fall back on ancient traditions, religion...or war and rebellion. Whatever works (or is thought to work) in times of famine is not to be ruled out, by human beings anywhere.

Ah haha. Hey, She can Plow My Field Anytime!!!


In an unrelated news story...

There was a farmer with three beautiful daughters, and all three had a date that night. The farmer, being very protective of his daughters, decided to meet their dates at the door with a shot gun.

The first man showed up and said to the farmer "hello, my name is Joe, i am here for Flo, we are going to see the show, is she ready to go?" after the farmer looks the man over, he sends the two on their way.

The second man shows up and say "hi, i'm freddy, i'm here to see betty, we are going to eat spaghetti, is she ready?" the farmer again looks over the man, and sends the two on their way.

The last man shows up and says " hey, I am chuck,." the farmer shoots him in the chest.

reply to post by KSPigpen


Sounds like a lot of girls are going to be sunburnt in some very inconvient places.

reply to post by silent thunder


Exactly so, silent thunder, sex is Creation in many ways, and part of the Old Religions, which many are going back to. People seem to think the old Gods just went away when the Christians came to power, but they didn't. My wife and I practice sex magick all the time. Maybe we should all do this, perhaps we can change a few things.

Wrong thread for this information. Sorry.

[edit on 26-7-2009 by Fullblast]

Effects of global warming?

Droughts as expected producing mass famine to almost a billion people or greater in future.

Hope their calls get answered. Somebody would be happy anyway, maybe the local men had their prayers answered.

Shame there's no pics.....