When you travel in the car on the highways of the Western Ghats and Coasts of Karnataka you may suddenly notice these strange pile of disposals just beside the road..
At first, it looks like a pile of garbage.
But if you look a little closer, you may see old brooms, broken baskets, cane cradles , old saree, broken pots, grass mats, and beside that colorful green bangles, packets of salt, coconuts, coins and even wooden figures and a toy cart .
I have often wondered about these strange heaps.
These are not ordinary garbage disposals. It has got a cultural history and interesting rituals and belief followed by locals.
Locally, these bundles are called Maari Hore (ಮಾರಿ ಹೊರೆ) and are connected to Maari Amma, a folk goddess associated with epidemics and disease. What looks like a heap of discarded things is part of a ritual that has been carried out in villages of the Western Ghats and coastal Karnataka.
The tradition of Maari Hore (ಮಾರಿ ಹೊರೆ) is rooted in the old practice of cleaning the entire village when diseases such as chickenpox and smallpox spread. Maari Amma, the village goddess associated with these diseases, was believed to protect the community.
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| Near Sagar western ghat highway 2019 June |
This waste bundle is called 'Maari hore" (ಮಾರಿ ಹೊರೆ )in Kannada. 'Maari' is the folk Goddess/Deity of misfortunes and epidemics diseases., who is worshiped to seek her blessings for prevention of diseases like smallpox, cholera, plague and also natural calamities. The word ‘Maari’ refers to contagious diseases in Kannada. It appears that originally the concept of Maari worship was conceived to drive out epidemic diseases.
Maari is not only part of ritual and belief; the association with disease has also entered everyday language. In the villages, when people curse someone, they sometimes say “ಮಾರಿ ಕೊಟ್ಲೆ ಬಂದು ಹೋಗಲಿ” (Maari kotle bandu hogali),“May Maari strike you.” invoking Maari and the disease. It is a small but interesting reminder of how deeply Maari has been woven into everyday village life—not only through rituals and offerings, but even through the language people use with each other.
The symbolic extradition of Maari, the epidemics, still prevalent along the Western Ghats and coasts of Karnataka.
No festivals are celebrated by the village in which Maari hore is placed.
She is also known adugoolajji (ಅಡುಗೂಲಜ್ಜಿ )or gadi maari (ಗಡಿ ಮಾರಿ) (Gadi means boundary and maari is the goddess of the epidemic )Gadi Maari is always kept at the boundary of the village As time passes the village grows beyond the border but the tradition retains the jurisdiction.
The villagers of the next village used to carry the disposals on their head after conducting Poojas (ಉಡಿ ) extradite the idol and the bundles to the outskirts of their village. And this chain continues along with the villages until the bundle reaches the sea or a river .
What is this Maari hore contains?
The entire dump is called maari hore. Interestingly earlier these garbage bundles (maari hore) contained all eco-friendly discarded broken household items. Mostly it contained broken woven cane baskets, broken woven cane cradles, rice winnowing flat basket) brooms, broken earthen pots, waste cloths and loads of salt packets .. Deities also offered coins, green bangles, coconut as UDI.
The maari hore is also evolving ..earlier it was just a bundle of eco-friendly disposals. Now we can see the wooden statue of the female goddess and a male god along with disposal ..there is a big wooden toy cart also be offered as an imaginary goods carrier ..
the places it travels and the timings :
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| Near Sagar highway july2019 |
Recent maarihore contains mostly plastic waste ..Recently vehicles are hired to lift the Maarihore when it reaches to the towns and they describe the reason that Maarihore becomes a huge pile when it is almost reaching its destination.While lifting the garbage (maari hore), salt packets offered to get rid of minor diseases and piled up by devotees around the year are also cleared.
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| Photo :Nandan Aigal |
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| Photo: Nanadan Aigal |
How the Maari Hore is changing
Another interesting thing I have been noticing is how the Maari Hore itself is changing.
Earlier, from what I have seen and heard, it was mainly a bundle of discarded household things. But now, along with the waste, we also see objects that clearly represent Maari Amma. I have seen painted wooden female figures placed in front of the heap, and sometimes there is also a male figure standing beside her.
Maari Amma is a female folk deity, and things like green bangles, coconuts,kumkum and other offerings are still seen in some of these bundles. But the appearance of the male figure makes me wonder who he is and what he represents. I have asked people about it, but I have not yet found a clear answer. It may be a local addition, but I don't want to assume that without understanding the story from the people themselves.
I have also seen wooden toy carts placed along with the Maari Hore. Earlier, the bundle itself was carried physically from one village boundary to another. The appearance of a cart is interesting in this context. Is it simply being used to carry the Maari Hore, or has the cart itself become part of the ritual? I am not sure yet.
What I find fascinating is that the Maari Hore seems to be changing slowly with the society around it. The materials are changing, the way it is carried is changing, and even the way Maari Amma is represented seems to be changing.
Earlier the bundle was mostly made up of things such as bamboo and cane baskets, old mats, brooms, broken pots and other household objects made from materials that would naturally return to the earth. Today we see plastic, synthetic cloth, metal and other modern materials mixed into it. The bundle has also become much larger in some places, and vehicles are sometimes used to transport it.
The ritual has remained, but the things that we consider as waste have changed.
That is what makes the Maari Hore interesting to me. It is not just a ritual that has survived from the past. It is a ritual that is continuously changing with the village, its materials, its beliefs and its surroundings.
I am still trying to understand these changes. Who decides what goes into the Maari Hore? Who makes the figures? Why has the male figure appeared in some places? When did the cart become part of it? And do different communities and villages have different stories about Maari Amma?
These are questions I would like to follow through the journey of the Maari Hore.
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| Near Sagar high way June 2019 |
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| Sirsi highway july 2019 |
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| Aug 2016 ankola,achave |
A small ritual carries within it a story of health, community, ecology and changing material culture.
Photos: BuDa Folklore
Thanks to Nandan Aigal
Thanks to Nandan Aigal
