akharas, or regiments, much like an
army. Until the beginning of the nine-
teenth century, the Nagas’ primary
occupation was as mercenary soldiers,
although they also had substantial
trading interests; both of these have
occupations largely disappeared in
contemporary times. All of the akharas
have particular features, including this
spear, which signify their organiza-
tional identity.
Bhairavi
Feminine form of Bhairava and an
epithet of the Goddess. Bhairavi is one
of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of
goddesses who are both extremely
powerful and potentially dangerous.
Bhaiya Duj
Annual festival falling on the second
day(duj) of the bright, or waxing, half
of the lunar month of Kartik
(October–November). This festival is cel-
ebrated to emphasize the bond between
a brother (bhaiya) and sister. During
Bhaiya Duj, married womeninvite their
brothers into their homes, apply tika
marks on their brothers’ foreheads as a
sign of respect, and feed them sweets
and a hearty meal. Sisters also tie a string
around their brothers’ right wrists to
symbolize the emotional bond between
them and the brother’s obligation to pro-
tect his sister throughout her lifetime.
Unmarried women host their brothers in
the same way in their natal homes. In
either case, on this day women should
pray that their brothers have long lives
and that they themselves be happily
married. The brothers, in turn, give pre-
sents to their sisters.
Aside from reaffirming the normal
family love between brother and sister,
this festival also emphasizes the protec-
tive role that brothers play in their sis-
ters’ lives, particularly after women are
married. The traditional pattern in
northern India is for married women to
live with their husbands’ families. Since
women generally outlive their fathers,
for most of her life a woman’s primary
protectors will be her brothers. A woman
without brothers is in a position of
relative weakness. If nothing else, these
yearly visits give brothers the chance to
assess their sister’s happiness and the
state of affairs in her married home.
Such visits also notify the husband’s
family that they are still concerned with
her welfare.Bhajan
(“sharing”) General name for a religious
or devotional hymn, which is almost
always sung in a vernacular language. As
an expression of personal devotion, bha-
jans have no prescribed forms and in
contemporary times are often set to the
melodies of film songs. As a genre, bha-
jans can have any or all of the following
themes: detailing the deeds of a particu-
lar deity, praising the deity, addressing
the god in a tone of complaint or humble
supplication (vinaya), reminding the
deity of the speaker’s difficulties from
internal or external sources, or warning
the listeners to examine and reform their
lives. Singing and listening to such
hymns was, and remains, a major form
of religious activity in the bhakti(devo-
tional) movement. During these
sessions, devotees (bhakta) “share”
their songs and experiences with one
another. Although one can find bhajans
dedicated to all the gods in the
pantheon, from a historical perspective
this singing tradition has been strongest
among the devotees of Vishnu.
Vaishnava devotional literature is full
of tales of Vishnu coming in disguise to
take part in bhajan sessions, since the
company of his devotees is said to be
heavenon earth.Bhakta
(“sharer”) In Hinduism, this word
denotes a devotee of any particular
deity. The word’s literal meaning,
“sharer,” has a twofold sense. On one
hand, the devotee shares in the deity’s
graceby virtue of his or her piety. On theBhakta