Synopsis: "The legitimisation of a North Indian form of Skanda
worship in the UK: the transmigration of Baba Balaknath from rural Punjab to
urban centres of Britain"
Ron Geaves and Catherine Barnes
The regional cult of Bababalaknath arrived in Britain from
the Jalandhar Doab in the Punjab with migration from that region. Traditionally
the followers of the deity have been drawn from both Hindu and Sikh communities
in the Punjab and they demonstrate the informal and eclectic religious life
associated with the region. The increasing attempts to place Baba Balaknath at
the heart of Sanatana Dharma provide a case study to illustrate the processes
whereby a rural 'folk' tradition seeks access to a perceived orthodoxy
represented by several traditions within contemporary Hinduism. The dominant
tradition associated with Baba Balaknath is that he is an incarnation of the
son of Shiva usually known as Skanda or Kartak. Visual depictions of Baba
Balaknath are very similar to South Indian visualisations of Murukan.
The article explores the regional folk cult of Baba
Balaknath as it moves from its major centre of worship in the Himalayan
foothills of Himachal Pradesh down to the plains of the Punjab and then to on
to several cities of the West Midlands in Britain. At each location the cult
picks up practices and beliefs which are dominant in the religion of the new
locality but retains the dominant motif of Skanda worship.
On its arrival in Britain, the priests of the cult have
adopted a variety of strategies that legitimise the folk tradition and aid it
in adapting to the new environment. These strategies fall into the category of
universalisation or sanskritisation. Study of the transmigration of the worship
of Baba Balaknath from the Punjab to Britain provides a unique insight into the
transformation of a regional Hindu folk cult as it attempts to legitimise
itself through moving closer to the 'Great Tradition' in Hinduism or adopting
an eclectic universalism.
Authors
Ron Geaves is Head of the Study of Religions at
University College Chichester. He has published several articles on a variety
of faith communities that have successfully transmigrated to Britain from the
subcontinent. His last book was entitled The
Sufis of Britain and was published in 2000. He has traveled extensively in
Northern India and last year completed a tirath yajna in Himachal Pradesh
accompanying a group of devotees of Baba Balaknath.
Catherine Barnes is a secondary teacher of religious
education who completed her degree in Religious Studies at the University of
Leeds. Her interest in Baba Balaknath arose from her studies of Hinduism in
Britain. She collaborated on the article after a visit to the guffar of Baba Balaknath in Himachal
Pradesh.
See also Dr. Geaves' related article "Baba Balaknath: an exploration of religious identity" delivered to the British Association for the Study of Religions' Annual Conference September 16th - 19th 1996 at University College of St. Martin, Lancaster.
Dr. R. A. Geaves
University of Wolverhampton, UK
Religious Studies Division
Walsall Campus, Gorway Road
Walsall, WS1 3BD
England UK
Tel: +44(0)1902 323280
Fax: +44(0)1902 323177
e-mail: R.A.Geaves@wlv.ac.uk
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