The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2

Teej
Teej
Teej is a name denoting two different
Hindu religious observances, both falling
in the lunar month of Bhadrapada
(August–September). Kajari Teej falls on
the third day of the dark (waxing) half of
the month and Hartalika Teej two weeks
later, on the third day of the bright
(waxing) half. Both of these observances
have a mythic charter connected with
the god Shiva and his wife Parvati, but
the latter is far more important. Kajari
Teej is a festival marking the coming of
the monsoons, a season that once
rendered travel impossible. For lovers
who were together, the monsoon
months were very sweet, but for those
who were apart, the coming of the rains
foretold a time of separation. One of the
standard poetic images is the woman
watching the darkening sky, wondering
whether her beloved will make it home
in time. On this day people sing songs
in the Kajari raga, a melodic mode associated
both with the rains and with
songs of separation and longing. On this
day people also welcome the rainy season
by setting up swings and swinging on
them. The festival is celebrated through
much of India, but especially in the
Benares and Mirzapur districts of the
eastern part of Uttar Pradesh.
Hartalika Teej (also known as
Hariyali Teej) is a religious observance
practiced by young unmarried women
in order to gain a good husband and
have a happy marriage. In Hindu culture
the model for the ideal husband is the
god Shiva, who despite his wild appearance
and his unusual habits, is completely
devoted to his wife. One sign of
this devotion is that Shiva and his wife
Parvati are married only to each other,
no matter which forms they take—as,
for instance, when one or the other is
cursed to be born as a human being. As
the ideal divine couple, Shiva and
Parvati are the patron deities of this religious
observance. Women observing
this festival should worship Shiva and
Parvati (as the model couple whose happiness
they hope to share), decorate
their houses, put on new clothes, and
pass the night singing songs of auspiciousness.
This festival reveals the cultural
importance of marriage for Indian
women. Because the identity for many
Indian women is still formed primarily
through their traditional roles as wives
and mothers, for many women their
marriage is the most important event in
their lives.
The charter myth for Hartalika Teej
not only underlines the importance of a
happy marriage but also points to the
woman’s role in gaining her husband.
After the death of the goddess Sati, she is
reborn as Parvati in the house of
Himalaya, the mountains personified.
Very early in life, Parvati vows that she
will have no husband except for Shiva.
Her parents try to discourage her from
this wish because Shiva has taken a
vow of asceticism and passes his time
deep in meditation on Mount Kailas.
Undeterred, Parvati goes up into the
mountains and begins to do harsh physical
asceticism (tapas) of her own. The
power generated by her asceticism eventually
awakens Shiva, and on Hartalika
Teej he comes to where she is staying,
disguised as an aged brahmin. He first
tries to discourage Parvati by making disparaging
remarks about Shiva’s lifestyle
and personality, but Parvati refuses to listen
and remains unshaken in her resolve.
Eventually Shiva reveals his true form to
her, and on that day they are betrothed to
be married.
Teli
Traditional Indian society was modeled
as a collection of endogamous, or intermarried,
subgroups known as jatis
(“birth”). These jatis were organized
(and their social status determined) by
the group’s hereditary occupation, over
which each group had a monopoly. In
traditional northern Indian society, the
Telis were a Hindu jati whose hereditary
occupation was making vegetable oil by
pressing oil seeds.
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