Superstition or supernatural! When ‘Goddess’ descends upon earth and ‘possesses’ this man in Odisha

Despite the ravages of time, possession by local Gods and making prophecies from a trance-like state continue to be a feature of villages. Such a phenomenon, while not uncommon in the rather rural parts of our State, this particular instance from the coastal Odisha district of Puri has caught the attention of people.

Pratap Bhoi from Jamara village in Puri’s Gop block turns ‘Kalishi’ every Tuesday as he claims Goddess Mangala possesses his body on that day. He wears garlands made of red hibiscus, gulps down fire, walks on fire, and sets up his ‘darbar’ at the village.

Many people throng him for solutions to their problems which range from health to family and business. They believe Pratap can solve any problem during this time as he turns Goddess Mangala herself.

My daughter could not conceive for 16 years. After she took the blessings of Kalishi, my daughter delivered a baby girl. This institution is far better than medical,” said an elderly local woman Ashalata Nayak.

The person who gets possessed, the “Kalishi”, is often bestowed with respect, as a rule. Though Kalishis say they can’t recall anything from the period they went into trance.

Asked about his so-called possession by the Goddess, Pratap told OTV, “I have been worshipping Maa Mangala since my childhood. When I was in class 9, I first experienced possession. And since then, I have been serving the people.”

For folklorists, possession is a basic aspect of all folk religious practices though the deities may vary and stories about them may differ. Experts say that in “institutionalized” religion, the God or Goddess interacts with the devotees through a priest. For hundreds, if not thousands, of years, these folk temples and religious practices have co-existed with institutionalized religion.

However, the rationalists term it superstition and even have been urging the government to stop this practice which can turn dangerous if allowed to go on.

A rationalist, Debendra Sutar said, “There are a lot of such Kalishi’s prevailing in almost every other village in Odisha. They are even attempting to treat people suffering from serious ailments which is dangerous.”

“There are even examples when people believe these kalishis and go on to kill their adversaries taking their words as true and Godsend. The government should intervene and stop this nonsense from polluting our society,” Sutar added.