Chorok Puja
The legacy of celebrating numerous fairs and festivals all throughout the year is prominent in Cooch Behar since the period of Koch dynasty, which goes back to the beginning of 16th century. Out of the approximately 3,400 fairs and festivals held in Bengal, 572 of them are celebrated in North Bengal itself. And by North Bengal, how can one forget the City of Beauty - Cooch Behar. Rich in culture and heritage, numerous fairs and festivals are prominent in this town. Coochbehar (Koch-Behar) has in its name the indigenous people, the Koch tribe, the ‘Rajbangshi’s.
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 attracts a huge audience who pay a visit just to see this. Chorok Puja is held all throughout North Bengal .
It is a ritual to satisfy Kali by showing their sacrifice and endurance. It's a two-day event and is performed by a “Maktab” (a young-adult male from the tribe who performs all the rituals by giving instructions to the other boys who carry out the tasks and by reciting the different chants as a part of the puja). The Maktab initiates the event by reciting a mantra, with 'dhup', an aroma-filled smoke, a colored skull and a small fire. As the ritual proceeds a number of large knifes covered in piece of red cloth are brought and kept in front.
Several young-adult boys, who are the part of the ritual, come forward towards the Maktab, who continues to perform the rituals. Then a special herbal oil is rubbed in the body of the boys, which is also a part of the ritual. As the drum beats get faster, the recitation of the chants by the Maktab also get synchronized, along with his outlandish body movement.
The young boys now perform meditation, which helps them to set free their spirit from the body and move to the spiritual world.
They lie on the dust covered ground and start crawling and rolling as if they were possessed. This may seem strange to the outsiders but not to the Koch tribe - they acknowledge it as a mark of their bravery and fearlessness. This marks an end to Day 1.
At the crack of dawn, men start preparing for the big day. This may seem cruel to the outsiders but it is the main part of the ritual. With nightfall, people start gathering. The Maktab places the colored skull, some needles and flutes on the red cloth. The drum beats start growing louder and a few men bring a huge wooden log painted with different colors with a bunch of bamboos and then insert it in the foot-deep hole made earlier. This makes a huge T-shaped structure standing above the ground.
The Maktab’s recitations continue... A black goat is carried by the people and tied to the T-structure. The legs of the goat are bent forcefully, and its neck kept on the wood, for beheading. After the sacrifice it is cooked for everyone. The ritual eqipment are blood bathed in the goat’s blood.
The boy who will perform the Chorok Puja lies down with his back on top and the Maktab comes and oils his back and starts inserting hook in his skin. Amazingly the boy doesn’t feel any pain, as his spirit is no more inside his body. The hook inserted on the back of the boy is then attached to one of the sides of the T-shaped structure and then the body is pulled to the air. The boy is now marked with vermillion on his forehead and then the T-Structure is revolved with ropes tied and pulled by people. The tribal people praise the boy for his bravery and devotion. The T-structure is revolved Seven time before the boy hanging by the hooks is finally brought down. The most astonishing part is, the boy keeps smiling despite the rigorous pain which he bears during the entire ritual. This shows the devotion Koch people have on the powers of Kali. Strangely enough, after the boy is unhooked not a single drop of blood oozes from his cuts.
Map Source: www.calcuttaweb.com