Sebakas

Sebakas are those who perform the ritual services in the Jaganath Temple of Puri. The sebakas who are present in the temple generally acquire their position by means of hereditary. In the 13th century AD and during the British period it was recorded that there are 36 categories of sebaka but presently the account says that there are around 250 categories of sebakas who perform the daily ritual services in the temple of Jagannath. The first sebaka or the sevayat of Lord Jagannath was Gajapati, the ruler of Puri.

The sebakas are very closely associated to the Jaganath Temple of Puri. The sebakas have a very different life style. Historical record says that during the time of the independent kings the sebakas used to be paid in gold for the services they performed in the temple. Later on, the payment in gold changed to payment in consecrated food. The dues of foodstuff that a sebaka was entitled to get for his service in the temple are called Khei. The sebakas lead a kind of life that was in conformity to their belief system and the public image. The family and the society of the sebakas are the basic institutions serving to check any deviation from their traditional thought-ways and work-ways.

With regard to the dressing patterns of the sebakas it can be said that in like the early days different types of cloth produced at different places of Orissa were used for the dress (besa) of the deities, the Sebakas also use hand woven cloth of special types produced in Ranpur and Bolgarh. But with time a lot of changes have come about in the dressing pattern of the sebakas of the Jaganath Temple of Puri. For instance it can be said that towards the end of the British period the sebakas used to shave their hair in the front portion of the head and keep the hair intact at the back. This type of hair dressing is called Gospada. Similarly in the early day`s mill made cloth was prohibited for the sebakas but in the present age mill made cloth has become very popular in the present age.

The sebakas of the Jaganath Temple of Puri use different type of forehead marks indicating that they belong to different sects. In the past, invariably all sebakas used to mark one type of tilak which is called Udhra Punda. Later some of them added another mark called Tripunda along with Udhra Punda. Those who used Tripunda generally belonged to the Panda group of sebakas. Subsequently certain sebakas groups such as Mahanayak, Bhitarchha Mahapatra and Sinhari were influenced by the Sri Sect and adopted the mink of that sect.

As far as the education of the sebakas is concerned it is said that before joining the service in the temple the sebakas, particularly the Puja panda sebakas, used to undergo training at the Gobardhan Bhogbardhan Math in the methods of Seba Puja. The sebakas of other categories used to receive training in Sanskrit knowledge and doctrines of the Jagannath cult from the Sanskrit pandits of Puri. But unfortunately during the British regime the traditional educational institutions imparting instructions in Sanskrit knowledge scriptures, and religious doctrines started declining and the organizations established by the Sanskrit scholars began to be disintegrated. As a result, many sebakas of the Jaganath temple could not receive any training in the methods of ritual services and gather necessary knowledge about the Jagannath cult.

It can be said about the sebakas that traditionality in dress and ornament, food habits and social relationship is the special feature of their social life. The sebakas live in different wards or streets of Puri town which run in different directions from the temple of Lord Jagannath. The sebakas of the temple are very averse to anything that is western. Even they do not use western medicine and so does not have faith in allopathy and on the contrary rely on ayurveda for the curing of all their diseases.

The sebakas of the Jaganath Temple of Puri consider Puri as the holiest place of pilgrimage and therefore rarely visit other pilgrim centres located in other parts of the country. They consider Indradyumna Tank as the foremost place of pilgrimage, because it was Indradyumna who built the temple in Puri and had got it sanctified by Lord Brahma and had installed Lord Jagannath in it.

The sebakas who serve the Jagannath Temple of Puri have been categorized based on their nature of appointment and importance of their services. Different sebakas have assumed different status in the constellation of ritual services. The various categories of sebakas are Swata Sebayat, Mahashrama Nijoga, Kotta Sebayat, Khatani Sebayat, Parajatra Sebayat and the Khatanihara Sebayats.

Swata SebayatorAngilaSebayat : The Suaras and the Chaitas belong to this category. Cooking foods and making sweets which are offered to the deities are the birthright of the Suaras and safeguarding the deities is the hereditary duty of the Chaitas. There is no need on the part of these sebakas for obtaining permission from the authorities to perform such services. They do not adopt children from other sebaka communities and keep the homogeneity in their castes and ritual services intact.

Mahashram Nijoga : The sebakas belonging to this category are temple authorities who supervise the temple affairs. The Parichhas fall into this group. Though they perform services in the temple on a hereditary basis they are required to obtain special permission from the king. They keep accounts and supervise various works specially meant for maintaining liaison between the temple and the king.

Kotta Sebayat or Raj Angila : The sebakas who belong to this class are Pratihari (Gochikar.Bada-duara, Dhokadi, Bhogamandapa, Duaraghar and others), Supakar (Suara, Badusuara, Panti badu and others) and Bhitar Sebayat (Khuntia, Garabadu and others). The Bhitara Sebayat is a big group which consists of 34 Nijogas of sebakas. Though the sebakas of this group have birthright to serve the temple in their respective ritual duties it is necessary for them to obtain permission from the king for performing ritual services in the temple.

Khatani Sebayat : The sebakas of this category may be doing certain services on a hereditary basis or they may be of any additional group or caste. Considering the necessity of some services the king permits certain persons to do some specific jobs in the temple for a specified period of time. The sebakas included in this category are Daraji (tailor) Page patuka, Mandali and Kottasuansia.

Parajatra Sebayat : The sebakas included in this category have right to work in the temple on a hereditary basis; but their services are confined to festive occasions, and they are qualified to perform their duties only after they undergo the ceremony of Saddi bandha, a ceremony of investiture performed when a sebaka is granted to do a seba in the temple.

Khataniham Sebayat or Sahayakari Sebayat : When the inflow of tourists increased in Puri due to better facilities the sebakas of the temples realised that the business of looking after the pilgrims were more remunerative than their hereditary ritual services in the temple. As a result they devoted more time to the pilgrims and looked after their comforts during their stay at Puri and earned substantially from this source. Finding little time to perform ritual services by themselves the sebakas appointed their deputies to perform services on their behalf. These deputies are called Khatanihara sebakas whose number has increased in the present age with the increase in flow of pilgrims in Puri.

Social life of the sebakas is quite traditional. The sebakas of the Jagannath Temple of Puri live close to the temple in large concentration. In fact, the streets occupied by the sebakas start from the temple occupying the central place in the sacred geography of Puri and then run in different directions. The houses are constructed on elevated platforms made of stone and are in most cases without windows. Small opening are provided in the walls which let some light into the rooms.

It is said that after a sebaka has studied up to the primary standard he enters into temple service. The sebakas are much averse to western medicine and allopathic treatment for their illness. They have strong faith on Ayurvedic medicine and spells and divinations. They regularly practise gymnastic performances and physical exercises at the recreational centres called Jegaghar and take milk, ghee and cheese in sufficient quantity.

The women of the sebaka family rarely come out of their houses. Most of them are in the habit of wearing traditional ornaments. In the lives of the Sebaka there is hardly any touch of modernity. As far as the dresses of the sebakas are concerned they wear locally woven silken clothes which are generally woven and available at Berhampur. They do not wear shoes. They use necklace made of tulsi shrub and gold. They are fond of music and practise child marriage. Endogamy is the rule and therefore marriage relationship is found among near relatives.

In every sebaka house the front door has a painting of Lord Ganesha and Bhairab which are worshipped everyday by the sebakas. They observe all the festivals which are observed in the temple. In addition they worship I`micha Devta (five gods)-Narayan, Ganesh, Rudra, Ambika and Bhaskar.

The young girls of the sebaka community observe a ritual called Neta which is held on the 8th day of the bright half of Aswin. On this occasion they are dressed in the most traditional ornaments and worship Durga at the tank of Markanda, one of the Panch Tirthas five places of pilgrimage located in Puri town.

They worship Lokanath (Shiva), another important sacred centre located in Puri town. They hold Lokanath with great reverence and do not dare take oath upon his name. They have no such fear for Lord Jagannath whom they consider as one of their relatives. Though they live along the seashore they rarely visit it, because the sea is the father-in-law of Lord Jagannath and it is not good to visit often a relative`s house.

According to the sebakas of Jagannath Temple, Puri is the holiest pilgrimage of all the places that are present in the country. The sebakas observe certain customs which qualify them to be the sebakas of Lord Jagannath and it is because of this type of life-style that people look upon them as Tirth gurus.