Odisha records rising sea level
· Dalit women enjoy exclusive rights on deities
From A O News Service
BHUBANESWAR | Apr 20 | Ma Panchubarahi in Satabhaya village, under Rajnagar tehsil of Kendrapara district of Odisha, is unlike any other temple in the country. Men can’t touch the five idols in this sea beach shrine; only married Dalit women from the local fishing community have the exclusive privilege of performing rituals.
There has been no exception for 400 years. With rising sea waters – brought on by climate change – threatening the very existence of the temple, the curb has been reluctantly lifted, albeit for a day.
Compelled to relocate to a new temple 12-km inland, the priestesses are left with no option but to allow men into the sanctum sanctorum to transport the heavy black stone idols. “It is not possible for women to pull it off. We need many men and sculptors to move the idols,” Sabita Dalei, one of the five priestesses who work in shifts, says.
The rare exercise took place on Friday to transport the 1.5-tonne deities piggyback by male labourers to reach their destination in Bagapatia, before the priestess ‘purified’ them with a ritual.
“At a time when many temples in the country are out of bounds for Dalits, and women face restrictions in places such as Kerala’s Sabarimala, Ma Panchubarahi is a beacon of hope for women,” former college principal Dharanidhar Rout says.
“The sea has been advancing towards Satabhaya for sometimes. It has swallowed many houses and agricultural plots. The temple was 5-km from the beach 50 years ago, but now only a few metres remain between it and the sea,” says Dalei.
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