Dakin i.e. Witchcraft:
The superstition about Dakin i.e. witch is one of the major problems in Adivasi Community in Satpuda. It is said that a lady who does witchcraft is called Dakin. Whenever a village faces any problem regarding the simultaneous deaths of persons or children, the blame is put on any lady in the village by villagers. Lack of knowledge and fear about death compels villagers to think like this.
Janardan Maharaj always took meetings of the villagers and tried to teach them the reasons of the happenings. He is assured that there is no Dakin or like that. But he faced many problems so he understood that only Education can make difference in the lives of these people.
Once there was a problem of Malnutrition in the Bamani area in Satpuda. So Shri Amritsing Vasave the Medical Officer of Dhule Civil Hospital visited the area. He asked Janardan Maharaj to come with him. They were told that in old days the villagers of a pada in the area blamed a lady to be a Witch. The Lahya was called by the Patil of the village. The Lahya is a tradition in Satpuda to help any villager in his farms for free of cost. So, all the ladies from the village and nearby villages were called there for Lahya. The lady who was blamed as Dakin was unknown to the consequences and even the blame. In the afternoon the lady was taken out of the field by the villagers and was cut into pieces before all the ladies. The lady was killed before all because it was a threat for every lady that they should not indulge in the Dakin activity. The pieces were thrown into a ditch and a message was sent to the police station at Dhadgaon that the lady was killed and eaten by a bear.
Such was the condition of the Akrani in those days. So it was a challenge for Janardan Maharaj and Shri Dr. Amritsing Vasave to banish this terrible tradition from their community. Coincidently there was a person who was suffering from Appendix so he always had severe stomach-ache. The family members and he himself believed that the ache is given by any Dakin i.e. witch. Dr. Amritsing Vasave and Janardan Maharaj persuaded them to have an operation for the disease, they would not agree. Then Janardan Maharaj followed the way of the family.
He told them, "I agree with you that it is the work of a Dakin, but this man is a Doctor and he is smarter than the Dakin. He is very clever. He'll take out anything from his stomach that is put by the Dakin."
The family somehow agreed to have an operation. After operation Janardan Maharaj showed the appendix which looked like a bug to the family and the patient himself and said,
"Look this bug was put in your stomach and is now taken out from the stomach by this Doctor. Now tell me who is clever?"
"Doctor", said all of them.
The superstition about Dakin i.e. witch is one of the major problems in Adivasi Community in Satpuda. It is said that a lady who does witchcraft is called Dakin. Whenever a village faces any problem regarding the simultaneous deaths of persons or children, the blame is put on any lady in the village by villagers. Lack of knowledge and fear about death compels villagers to think like this.
Janardan Maharaj always took meetings of the villagers and tried to teach them the reasons of the happenings. He is assured that there is no Dakin or like that. But he faced many problems so he understood that only Education can make difference in the lives of these people.
Once there was a problem of Malnutrition in the Bamani area in Satpuda. So Shri Amritsing Vasave the Medical Officer of Dhule Civil Hospital visited the area. He asked Janardan Maharaj to come with him. They were told that in old days the villagers of a pada in the area blamed a lady to be a Witch. The Lahya was called by the Patil of the village. The Lahya is a tradition in Satpuda to help any villager in his farms for free of cost. So, all the ladies from the village and nearby villages were called there for Lahya. The lady who was blamed as Dakin was unknown to the consequences and even the blame. In the afternoon the lady was taken out of the field by the villagers and was cut into pieces before all the ladies. The lady was killed before all because it was a threat for every lady that they should not indulge in the Dakin activity. The pieces were thrown into a ditch and a message was sent to the police station at Dhadgaon that the lady was killed and eaten by a bear.
Such was the condition of the Akrani in those days. So it was a challenge for Janardan Maharaj and Shri Dr. Amritsing Vasave to banish this terrible tradition from their community. Coincidently there was a person who was suffering from Appendix so he always had severe stomach-ache. The family members and he himself believed that the ache is given by any Dakin i.e. witch. Dr. Amritsing Vasave and Janardan Maharaj persuaded them to have an operation for the disease, they would not agree. Then Janardan Maharaj followed the way of the family.
He told them, "I agree with you that it is the work of a Dakin, but this man is a Doctor and he is smarter than the Dakin. He is very clever. He'll take out anything from his stomach that is put by the Dakin."
The family somehow agreed to have an operation. After operation Janardan Maharaj showed the appendix which looked like a bug to the family and the patient himself and said,
"Look this bug was put in your stomach and is now taken out from the stomach by this Doctor. Now tell me who is clever?"
"Doctor", said all of them.
Thus the people of the village started going to the hospital and Doctor whenever they had any disease and the thought and fear of Dakin was automatically banished from the minds of those ignorant people.
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