The agonized community of people who wrote ‘Ram’ all over their
bodies as a mark of both protest and rebellious identity when upper
castes refused to let them enter Hindu temples. Many of them have the
tattoo not just all over their body, but even on their eyelids and
tongue.The Ramnami movement was begun in the early 19th century by a
village Untouchable Saint named Parasuram.
It was more than a 100 years ago when some Satnamis of present-day Chhattisgarh, forced by the Hindu caste system to the bottom of the social pyramid as untouchables and refused entry into temples, had tattooed the name ‘Ram’ on themselves under the leadership of Parasuram. Denied access to their god, they had tattooed his name all over their bodies,clothing and houses to become inseparable from him.
The Ramnami movement had gripped large sections of Dalits in Champa, Janjgir, Raigarh, Bilaspur and other districts by the banks of the Mahanadi river. Some, like Teerathram, who called themselves nakhshikh Ramnamis, went to extremes to lodge their grievance, spending excruciating hours to fill up every centimeter of their bodies, even tongue and eyelids, with the ‘Ram’ tattoo.
The highlight of the yearly gathering of this sect is ritual in reading of the Ramayan. A copy of the text is placed on a makeshift platform and the elder Ramnamis sing Ram Bhajans in the local dialect. Those who don’t have Ram tattoo on them wrap a cloth around that has the word printed all over it. At the end, the priest, who wears a headgear made of bamboo and peacock feathers, distributes prasad
It was more than a 100 years ago when some Satnamis of present-day Chhattisgarh, forced by the Hindu caste system to the bottom of the social pyramid as untouchables and refused entry into temples, had tattooed the name ‘Ram’ on themselves under the leadership of Parasuram. Denied access to their god, they had tattooed his name all over their bodies,clothing and houses to become inseparable from him.
The Ramnami movement had gripped large sections of Dalits in Champa, Janjgir, Raigarh, Bilaspur and other districts by the banks of the Mahanadi river. Some, like Teerathram, who called themselves nakhshikh Ramnamis, went to extremes to lodge their grievance, spending excruciating hours to fill up every centimeter of their bodies, even tongue and eyelids, with the ‘Ram’ tattoo.
The highlight of the yearly gathering of this sect is ritual in reading of the Ramayan. A copy of the text is placed on a makeshift platform and the elder Ramnamis sing Ram Bhajans in the local dialect. Those who don’t have Ram tattoo on them wrap a cloth around that has the word printed all over it. At the end, the priest, who wears a headgear made of bamboo and peacock feathers, distributes prasad
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