UCAN: Non-stop dancing helps Indian Catholics take new steps in faith

RAIGARH, India (UCAN) - Hailing Jesus' name, local Catholics sang and danced non-stop for two nights and days, their celebration reverberating through the sleepy Banhar mission.

Several of them told UCA News the Feb. 2-4 akhand keertan, a program of non-stop devotional chants, helped revive their weakened faith. The Catholics, members of Raigarh Diocese in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, are Gada people, a dalit group. They adopted this form of worship from Hindu practice. The Sanskrit term dalit literally means "trampled upon" and denotes people belonging to groups formerly called "untouchable." "Faith is dying here, (and we) want to bring awakening," Bishop Paul Toppo of Raigarh explains. Akhand keertan "has become an entry point," the prelate told UCA News on Feb. 4 at the rural Banhar mission. He is based in Raigarh town, 1,750 kilometers (about 1,085 miles) southeast of New Delhi. For their akhand keertan, the men sing and dance in circles, repeating the name of Jesus, to the accompaniment of musical instruments including drums and trumpets. As the singing reaches a higher, faster pitch, the steps become quicker. Both then come down, but the dance goes on. When one group gets exhausted, normally after two hours or so, another group steps in. Without a break, the chanting and dancing go on with one refrain: "Sing of Jesus, who conquered sin and death. Hail Jesus, our redeemer." Some 4,000 lay Catholics, nuns and priests from most of the diocese's 20 parishes attended the concluding day. Catholics from neighboring Raipur Archdiocese and Sambalpur Diocese also joined. They came as pilgrims to a newly built grotto that houses a life-size statue of the blessed mother. The program has "boosted our faith," attested Lakhara Prasad Chauhan, a Catholic who was not a regular churchgoer. If Church authorities organize such programs regularly, "we can go ahead in our life," the government schoolteacher told UCA News on Feb. 4. Suresh Kumar Tandi, a Gada teacher from the neighboring Mahuapali mission, told UCA News nobody thought there would be so many people. "It is a deserted place. This has brought life here," he declared. The diocese's Catholics are from the Oraon tribe and the Gada and Sathnami dalit groups. While the tribal group's Catholic faith is vibrant, the dalit fell away as material benefits dwindled. However, the lapsed Catholics returned, with some Hindus, after the diocese encouraged akhand keertan. Bishop Toppo, an Oraon tribal, says the program is "very touching." The diocese adopted it to inculturate the faith. "Only then we will succeed," said the prelate, who was the diocese's vicar general prior to his appointment as bishop when it was reorganized into two dioceses a year ago. Keertan groups from the Raipur Archdiocese and Sambalpur Diocese also participated. The Banhar group has Hindus of other castes also, Father Tarcitius Kaleth, the diocese's only Gada priest, told UCA News. He is the secretary of the Raigarh diocesan commission for dalit welfare. Father Kaleth said he was baptized at 10, along with his family members. Villagers were attracted to the Church then by Father John Vianney, a missioner of the indigenous Carmelites of Mary Immaculate congregation. The Syro-Malabar Church missioner visited Gada families. He offered free medicine, prayed for the sick and helped them get food from Catholic Relief Services, the overseas social-service organization of U.S. Catholics. Father Kaleth said Father Vianney visited Gada people even when others considered them untouchables and avoided them. They were "impressed" when the priest also ate with their families, and many were baptized, he added. Raigarh Diocese, which is Latin rite, later entrusted the mission to its own priests, as it did not want Oriental-rite priests to work in the area. The Banhar mission was set up in 1959 and at one point had about 300 Gada families. Now it has only 25 practicing Catholic families. They and others hope for more programs like the keertan to revive the faith. The church also should initiate student hostels, health centers, and other welfare programs, they insist. Pratap Tandi, an elderly Catholic, said the recent program helped him feel "great love, affection, joy and devotion." In his view, "We need such programs often to strengthen us in our faith." Madhu Nag, a catechist from Raipur Archdiocese, wants akhand keertan at least once a year in different Gada parishes. "This will strengthen our faith. This will dispel our fear" of people outside their communities, he added. Super Philip Singh, another Gada catechist, said the program, attended by tribal and dalit Catholics, helped his people realize "we are not alone." Earlier, they felt alienated, he added. Gada and tribal people view themselves as socially different. The Gada Catholics live in the region divided among Raipur Archdiocese and Raigarh and Sambalpur dioceses. Though Raipur and Raigarh are in Chhattisgarh, Sambalpur Diocese is in neighboring Orissa state. Father Kaleth says Gada Catholics in both states share a common culture and speak Oriya, the language of Orissa. Gada Catholics from Chhattisgarh marry Gada Catholics from Orissa. The priest wants to see the Gada region become a separate diocese headed by a Gada prelate. Currently, Raigarh and Sambalpur dioceses have tribal prelates, while the archbishop of Raipur is a native of Kerala, a southern Indian state. A Gada bishop for the region would help "better understanding of the Gada people," Father Kaleth said. Unlike in other Hindu-dominated areas, Christians here face no opposition from fanatics. "Rather, Hindu villagers have contributed rice, vegetables, coconut and money" for the akhand keertan program, said Father Munnu Emmanuel Tirkey, the Banhar mission's parish priest.

---

Republished by Catholic Online with permission of the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News), the world's largest Asian church news agency (www.ucanews.com).