Venerated and Venomous Village Members: The Nāginīs and Nāgas of Garhwal in a Bigger Picture

Abstract

Throughout the Western and Central Himalaya, from Kashmir to Nepal, the serpent deities known as nāginī (f.), nāga or nāg (m.) are worshipped, loved and feared as underworld beings who bring the water up from the netherworld, through springs and fountains. In Garhwal, there is barely a spring or mountain lake without a nāga temple. Especially well-known is the temple of Krishna Nagarjā, the serpent king, in Sem Mukhem, but also mount Nāg Tibbā, various lakes and villages in the upper Bhagirathi river valley, and the regions to the east and to the west of the Mandakini river are known as the dominion of nāga kings. In contrast, a group of nine nāga queens is venerated as the queens and mothers of the valley of the Pindar river in the Southeastern corner of Garhwal. These nāginīs, locally known as Naiṇī share with the other nāgas of Garhwal an intimate connection to springs and irrigation channels (dhārā), which are crucial for the water supply to the rice fields. An elaborate creation myth tells how they were born as the daughters of Vāsuki nāg and later brought up to the world of mortals to take part in a big sacrifice that brought cows, water springs and cherry trees onto earth. Seven of these goddesses establish the rule over their territory through a half-year-long journey (yātrā), during which they are carried around in the shape of a bamboo pole. This journey and all the rituals performed in its course are meant to make the Naiṇīs happy and to ease their anger about a lack of worship.