Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal by Ritesh Ghosh

Bengal is a culturally diverse State which is known to celebrate various rituals throughout the year. ‘Gajon’ being one such ritual is absolutely worth documenting for its many unique practises, some of which can easily be deemed as primitive in modern times.
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

Magazine

Our printed editions, circulating throughout various galleries, festivals and agencies are dipped in creativity.

The spirit of DODHO’s printed edition is first and foremost an opportunity to connect with a photographic audience that values the beauty of print and those photographers exhibited within the pages of this magazine.

We invite professional and amateur photographers from all around the world to share their work in our printed edition.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ban30.jpg

Bengal is a culturally diverse State which is known to celebrate various rituals throughout the year. ‘Gajon’ being one such ritual is absolutely worth documenting for its many unique practises, some of which can easily be deemed as primitive in modern times.

The event is celebrated every year among the villages across Burdwan district during the last few days of the Bengali calendar month of Chaitra. Gajon derives its name from ‘Ga’ meaning village and ‘Jon’ meaning folk. Hence it is a folk ritual for the common people. Although the exact theory behind the origin of this ritual is unknown, there are two beliefs that presently exist. Firstly, it is believed that the event was triggered by few Buddhist monks who took shelter in Bengal. They got themselves converted into Brahmins and worshipped ‘Dharmathakur’ an alternate form of Lord Buddha which named the ritual as Dharma Gajon. Secondly, Gajon is considered to be the celebration of the marriage union of Lord Shiva with Harakali. Shiva is worshipped in the form of a Stone Linga where as Harakali symbolises mother nature. Just as the male reproductive organ (Linga) fertilises the female to create a new life their sacred union is considered to be fruitful for the farmers who make a living out of crop harvesting. The rituals are performed by the village folks to appease mother nature to bless them for prosperity. Thus the ritual is alternatively called Shiva Gajon. Coming to the rituals there are an array of them including face and body painting and some of the harsh one’s that include face and body piercing and the fire ritual.  There is no gender restriction on the participants undertaking the ritual.

Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

They are commonly known as Bhoktos or Gajon Sanyasis. However, the piercing ritual is mainly executed by the males. They are believed to derive pleasure from the pain through piercing in a non sexual manner to match the pain a woman bears when delivering a baby. One other ritual involves dancing with the carcass of new-born’s and severed heads obtained from nearby burial grounds. These are highly primitive practises and illegal yet they still  continue to exist and can be quite a gory sight for the weak hearted. The last day of Chaitra is for Charak Puja. The primary objective is to worship the trunk of the Charak tree which is believed to be the abode of ‘Ardhnariswar’ a deity who is half male and half female. The truck which is obtained from the river bank is around 30 to 40 feet tall with no roots and branches. It is cleaned thoroughly before erecting it placing one end inside a ditch dug on the ground. The top has bamboo sticks with ropes mounted. The devotees generally pierce their backs using needles and then suspend themselves mid air onto the dangling ropes. Some of them are seen to carry infants in their hands while performing this ritual as it is believed to protect them from ill health. Post completion of the ritual the tree trunk is immersed back into the river from where it was obtained. It is believed that the trunk would float back again to the same spot where it was immersed. 

Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh
Gajon – The folk ritual of Bengal | Ritesh Ghosh

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact [email protected]
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Do you have an idea or something you'd like to share? Please use the form provided, or contact us at [email protected]
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
WE WANT YOU TO SHOW US YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS SO WE CAN SHOW IT TO THE WORLD
AN AMAZING PROMOTIONAL TOOL DESIGNED TO EXPOSE YOUR WORK WORLDWIDE