In the Ballari district of Karnataka, which is located in southwestern India, the Bōyas, a huntsmen caste who serve the ruling powers, are rewarded for their services with rent-free land, known as inām. To ensure the prosperity of this land, the Bōyas participate in a fertility ritual called bhūta bali. At midnight on the day before the festival, the Bōya priest shaves himself and sacrifices either a buffalo or sheep. The blood of the animal is then mixed with rice and formed into balls, which are distributed to members of the community. As the priest performs his ritual the following day, the entire town bolts their doors to avoid witnessing the act in fear of disrupting the priest’s propitiation of the village goddesses. In addition to the rice balls, the Bōyas also display colorful silt drums during bhūta bali to symbolize the fertility process. These carved figurines possess bells around their necks and grasp a large detachable phallus that can be stored in their bellies.[1]
Works Referenced
Thurston, Edgar. Omens and Superstitions of Southern India. London: T. Fischer Unwin, 1912.
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[1] Thurston, 22.
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