Sarna tribals protect wrong depiction of mother Mary

Here is a procession of women wearing red bordered white sarees protesting something… does the Nation want to know what it was ?

Two weeks ago a group of teenage girls from a village on the outskirts of Ranchi in Jharkhand achieved something that sportspersons with the best facilities and support in cities often aspire for but don’t always succeed. On July 13, the 18 tribal girls representing Yuwa India under-14 all-girls team were placed third among 10 teams playing for the Gasteiz Cup in Victoria Gasteiz in Spain. The girls — a majority of  them  played outside their village in Ormanjhi for the first time – immediately upon the announcement they ran into the dressing room and draped themselves in traditional sarees

They are the members of Sarna tribal community from Jharkhand.  To them, Lord Dharmesh is the most powerful and most important deity. He is responsible for the creation of the Universe  besides acting as  protector. The great one Dharmesh’s purity demands that he be offered sacrifices only of things that are white.

Back in their land they are protesting depiction of Mother Mary wearing a red border sari and holding Jesus Christ in a way tribal women of Jharkhand hold their babies, by tying them to a white cloth. [full report in Times of India and Indian Expresss]. A procession was taken out by the Sarna society against this statue on Monday. The statue was unveiled by Cardinal Telesphor P Toppo in a church at Singpur village in Dhurwa recently.

Dharmguru (priest) of Sarna society Bandhan Tigga said, "Anybody can wear a white sari with red border but making Mother Marry wear it seems to be a tactic to convert the Sarna tribals into Christianity. Mother Mary was a foreigner and showing her as a tribal woman is definitely not correct." The Sarnas worship Mother Nature or Maa Sarna. Tigga said the Christians are trying to establish Mother Mary as Maa Sarna to confuse the people of Sarna society. "Red border means a lot in Sarna dharm. Our women wear white sari with red border during auspicious times. If the idol of Mother Mary is shown in the getup of a tribal woman then 100 years from now people will think that Mother Mary was a tribal from Jharkhand," he said.

Sarna society is demanding the removal of that particular statue. Tigga said, "We do not want any kind of conflict between the two communities. All we want is that either the statue should be removed or the attire should be changed so that Mother Mary doesn't look like a tribal woman. If it is not done then we will intensify the protest."

Cardinal Telesphor P Toppo, is reportedly in Rome. Talks between church representatives and the Sarna faith have broken down and the Sarna elders have set August 24 as the deadline for their demand to be met. The statue shows a dark-complexioned Mary in a white saree with a red border, her hair in a bun and bangles around her wrists. She is carrying the infant Jesus on a sling, just as tribal woman do. Bandhan Tigga, dharmguru of Sarna society, said, "We have invited all the people of the Sarna religion from across the country to join us for a massive protest at Singpur on August 25. We are expecting lakhs of people, particularly from Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh andJharkhand, will turn up to join our protest."

There have been many such attempts in the past and the way things are now is well known to all of us, who chose to be silent all the time.

Thanks to Times of India and Indian Express for the reports.