An Erotic, Scary, and Sacred Image of the Fairies of Uttarakhand: A Study

Mamta Sharma is a PhD scholar

Dr. AC Kharingpam

Abstract: This paper examines the complex representation of fairies, locally known as ancharis, matris, paris, guris, and bhararis, in the folklore of Uttarakhand. Drawing on folk narratives, jagar songs, and scholarly accounts, it explores their simultaneous portrayal as sacred, erotic, beautiful, and harmful supernatural beings. The study argues that their worship is primarily an act of appeasement arising from fear of their perceived power and destructive nature. It further examines how these narratives construct ideas of female sexuality, social conformity, and gendered desire. Finally, the paper considers the changing status of fairy beliefs and their preservation through literary, musical, and cultural retellings.

Keywords: Uttarakhand Folklore, Ancharis, Fairies, Jagar, Folk Beliefs, Supernatural, Female Sexuality, Gender and Folklore, Sacred and Erotic, Himalayan Folklore

 

In Uttarakhand, the abode of God, ghosts are as significant in the folk beliefs as the deities are. Known as bhut, pret, masan, sayyad and so on, tormenting spirits are always present in the culture of Uttarakhand. One of such spirits are fairies. They are known by different names such as anchari, matri, pari, guris, and bharari. According to Nand Kishore Dhoundiyal, an academician from Uttarakhand, they are the spirits of kumari (unmarried or adolescent girls), and fall in the category of apsara (celestial nymph). Numerous legends, folktales, and jagar^[1] songs discuss their origin, beauty, love for men, and their likes and dislikes. In Uttarakhand, fairies like other spirits are worshipped through jagar ceremony. This paper is an attempt to outline that this worshipping is the result of erotic and harmful nature of fairies. They are worshipped because folks are scared of their character. Textual as well as web sources about fairies recorded and collected by eminent scholars of Uttarakhand are the primary readings of this paper.

Nand Kishore suggests that folks consider fairies as the daughters of Ravana^[2] who handed them over to Lord Shiva who is majorly worshipped in Uttarakhand. Therefore, these fairies live in Uttarakhand and are called devadasi^[3] of Shiva. Govind Chatak, a leading folklorist from Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, has also made the same statement. Chatak further points out that in their next life, ancharis became Lord Krishna’s gujariya ‘gopi’/ ‘cowherders’ and would perform rasleela (dance) with him. Chatak’s information is closer to Mohanlal Babulkar, another Uttarakhand based academician, who notes that ancharis, in some parts of Uttarakhand, are often related to the gopis of Lord Krishna. In another rendering, they are called the seven sisters of the Rawat^[4] family. These folk narratives, collectively, ascribe them a sacred and lofty background.

Interestingly, when these folk narratives are observed minutely a different character of fairies comes into being. One version of their origin related to the Rawat family refers to a village named as Chaundana in Tehri Garhwal where the King Asha Rawat had six queens. Having no child with any of his six queens he married to a woman of another village called Thaath inhabited by Panwar^[5] caste.  This queen gave him nine daughters who were named as Kamla Rauteli, Devi Rauteli, Asha Rauteli, Basdei Rauteli, Egula Rauteli, Bigula Rauteli, Sadei Rauteli, Bardei Rauteli, and Gardua Rauteli. These nine sisters, according to the folk story, were not ordinary but miraculous. Only within the five days of their birth they started walking, and just at the age of twelve they started appearing as young maidens. One day they asked their father for fine clothes and jewellery. Wearing the traditional ornaments like nathuli (a big round nose- ring), besar or bulank (worn by piercing nasal septum), shishphool (used to put the bun intact), anklets, and gulaband (a strap of cloth with gold work on it worn around neck) they started dancing. At night, all of them dreamt of Sem ka Nagraja^[6]. They dreamt that he had made them his queens and found him playing with them making physical relations. Thereon, they moved to Kahint^[7] hills where they are still believed to be residing.

The second name i.e., “rauteli” attached with their names locally implies liveliness and spark which definitely suggests the strength of their beauty. Secondly, the jewellery they wear is supposed to be worn by a married woman only. Their demand to have these ornaments hint at their innate desire to become a ‘woman’. Their dreams are the result of the same desire. It is not acceptable to be overtly suggestive of your sexual desires; thus, they are reflected in their wish to adorn themselves like a woman and dreaming of losing their virginity.

Sung by Guman Singh, a folk singer, in jagar form in 1979 and recorded by notable folk-singer of Uttarakhand Chander Singh Rahi, this folk narrative explains the behaviour of fairies. According to this narrative, Goddess Gaura made nine dolls in play and asked her consort Shiva to give them life. Getting life, they turned out prachand^[8], and Gaura threw them in the river Ganga, packing them in a gold closet. This closet is swallowed by a fish which was caught by Bhanu, the fisherman of the island of Lanka^[9]. On being spotted in Lanka, they requested not to be thrown away and hence, were accepted as Lanka ki lankvali^[10]. Here, the term “prachand” is suggestive of their uncontrollable behaviour, and Gaura’s throwing them away is an act of repentance for her wish to give them life.

The anchari jagar, recited on a specific time and place to worship them, is more or less a hymn referring to the stories of the fairies accompanied by a dhol, dmaun, huraki and thali^[11]. Like other local gods and ghost spirits, ancharis are offered various items during jagar. It includes flowers, milk, sweets, beauty items such as sari, shawl and jewellery. One of such jagar noted by Chatak from Garhwal^[12], Uttarakhand discusses the same:

I will offer you sari^[13],

I will offer you nine-coloured choli (blouse),

I will offer you dahej (gifts/dowry) like a sister,

I will invite you to my home, and

Fare you well^[14]

I will smear you with turmeric^[15], and

Will offer you a doli (palanquin).

As said earlier, here as well the offerings include what is presented to a married woman. Offering a palanquin and smearing turmeric directly hints the same. In Uttarakhand, as in many parts of India, smearing haldi (turmeric) is one of the ceremonies related to weddings. Seeing off a bride in a palanquin is also one of the other ceremonies^[16]. Other than this, conventionally, married women in Uttarakhand are invited (or are supposed) to visit their maternal homes in months like chait (February to April) and bhadu (August to September). This is what the speaker/singer (always a man) is saying to the fairies while referring to them as sisters.

Another such song from the Ravain region of Uttarkashi district in Garhwal is noted by Dr. Jagdish Naudiyal. It differs from the above song only in terms of dialects of Ramoli language it originally has been collected in^[17]. It reads as follow:

O Matri I shall offer you Sari.

O Matri I shall offer you jewelleries.

O Matri I shall offer you nine-coloured bali^[18].

O Matri I shall offer you seven-coloured shawl.

O Matri I shall offer you seven types of grain.

O Matri I shall offer you Dola^[19].

O Matri I shall offer you Kajal^[20] for your beautiful eyes.

O Matri I shall offer you Invitation.

O Matri I shall offer you worship.

O Matri I shall offer you rice Arsa and Swala (puri and rice sweet).

One of the most popularised versions of anchari jagar is “Chait ki Chaitwal”^[21]. This was once performed in Lok Sangeet Karyakram (A Programme of Folk Songs) in 1979. This jagar narrates the story of the origin of anchari by Lord Shiva and Goddess Gaura as discussed above. This jagar also explains their beauty and love for beauty enhancing accessories as follow-

O ladies, I will present you

Nine types of jewellery, bindi^[22], kajal, and Banarasi sari.

O my sisters I shall invite you.

O my lovely sister,

How nicely you have worn kajal, sari and jewelleries.

You are soft, chubby, fleshy, and peppy^[23].

The last line is not merely hinting at their beauty but has a sensuous and erotic tone as well. The adjectives attributed to their beauty have sexual connotations reminding us of their desire for sexual union mentioned earlier. It seems that their violent behaviour, which forces Goddess Gaura to throw them away, is linked to their sensuousness only.

In the narrative noted by Ram Prasad Bhatt et al. from the Bangan area of Garhwal, fairies are shown as the daughters of the Rawat clan and their mother belongs to the Panwars^[24]. This narrative equates them with, as Dhoundiyal has also pointed, the fairies of Lord Indra^[25]. Ram Prasad Bhatt et al. further document that these

spirits are not sent away empty-handed, but are given their beloved items such as colourful bangles, vermillion, flowers, and small pieces of colourful clothes, comb, bindis (a coloured round mark on the forehead of women, particularly married women) and other makeup items. A cock or a goat is sacrificed. Roṭs ‘thick-sweet chapaties’^[26] and satanaja ‘seven types of grains’ are also offered in the sacrifice^[27].

Relating ancharis with the apsaras of Lord Indra is again something positive. But the offering of vermilion powder^[28] underlines their married appearance. The researchers point out that:

In common Central Himalayan folk lore, fairies - acharis, mataris, guṛis, and bharaṛis – are believed to be demoniac spirits of young girls of Brahmin and Rajput families, whose desires, especially for sexual union, remain unfulfilled. They are cursed to remain in mrtyuloka ‘the world of mortals’ because of their inauspicious death and dwell on high hill tops, mountain ridges, pastures, river valleys and caves^[29].

Most importantly, folks define them, as the researchers have noted, as “loose character types of goddesses”. They also refer to a curse on them by God Mahasu which turned them into bees. These fairies were cursed due to their “questionable moral conduct”. Talking about the appearance of Bangani fairies, Bhatt et al. observe folks’ views that fairies are white having blue eyes and heel-length golden hair, and they are like “the wives (mime) of the Europeans” according to the older people. They like to wear a “silvery, lightish transparent skirt” which is questionable as light colours are regarded as bad by Banganis. Undoubtedly, their outfit is exposing, and thus repelled by folks. Nand Kishore Dhoundiyal also offers something along these lines saying that their dance is “gentle, tender, gracious, intoxicating and mellow.”^[30]

As Bhatt et al. have termed them “goddesses”, Rev. E.S. Oakley, a European working on the folklore of Himalaya, opines likewise as he notes that fairies of Kumaon, Uttarakhand is “A peculiar class of deities […] known by the names of Ancheri, Kechari, Pari, or Chauchari”^[31]. But as Bhatt’s goddesses are of “lose character”, Oakley’s fairies are harmful. Despite being deities, Oakley himself suggests that they stimulate young women to dance as their incarnations during jagar ceremonies. They are offered a goat to be sacrificed, rice-milk, halwa (a sweet-dish made up of clarified-butter, flour, and sugar), clothing, and ornaments. Then he himself says that “Fairies are not regarded as goddesses, but as spirits, troublesome and destructive to those who are possessed by them”^[32]. This trouble is faced by Goddess Gaura in the above-mentioned narrative. The eroticism appearing in the narratives of Garhwal region by Bahtt et al., Dhoundiyal, and Chatak is observable in Kumaun, Uttarakhand as well. Oakley documents that these fairies are believed to be sumptuously clothed young females of exceptional beauty who belong to the court of Indra as dancing-girls. He further points out that they “[...] correspond to the Apsaras, or heavenly nymphs […] whose principal occupation seems to have been that of tempting ascetics to break their vows […]”^[33].

In one of the folk-legends of Kumaon called “Rajula-Malushahi” a small reference to anchari is found. In her literary adaptation to the mentioned legend, Deepa Agarwal, the author, represents them as “decked out in gossamer shimmering garments” dancing on the music of flute and huraki played by Sidua and Bidua Ramol^[34]. “They were more beautiful than any mortal could be – their ethereal features, large glowing eyes […] the way they moved, fluidly, as if they did not possess a single bone in their bodies. An eerie phosphorescence surrounded them”^[35]. Another author Girdhar Joshi, in his version, has exhibited them as “[...] odd beautiful women wearing snow-white complexion and dressed in blood-red bridal attire danced around them (Sidua and Bidua) […] the rhythm of the drum chased the clink of the tiny bells kissing ankles of the unearthly women”^[36]. What is clear from these two narratives is fairies’ exceptional bodily features that differentiate them from humans, their love for music, and bridal appearance.

Tara Dutt Gairola, an influential folklorist of Uttarakhand, in the “General Introduction” to the book Himalayan Folklore says that acharis unlike the “malignant spirits of other countries” are kind and adore youthfulness. He supported this positive side of fairies saying that in the legend of Surju Kunwar they recovered Surju’s full beauty. Likewise, they allowed Jitu Bagdwal to meet his beloved Bhana. This is, however, only a part of the long story.

The legend of Surju Kunwar, as noted in the book itself, contradicts what Tara Dutt says about the fairies.  Lord Krishna appointed Surju to bring Jotramala who lives in Tibet to Dwarka to marry her. Knowing this, Surju’s mother warned him not to go to a land of magicians. She speaks of the ill-omens occurring before Surju leaves for Dwarka (from where he would go to Tibet): “The water soaked in ashes for washing his clothes turned black instead of red. Surju’s pet goat Tila sneezed. The hair of Surju’s head began to fall out”^[37]. Despite this he left for Dwarka via Mount Kailash, the abode of seven “witches”. There they feasted him and converted him into a ram. Sidwa, a magician, sent by Krishna to help Surju, blew his seven-mouthed conch which made “fairies” at his beck and call. Hereafter, both Surju and Sidwa moved to Tibet, where the “nymphs” took away Surju’s half beauty. They restored his full beauty only being promised to be married to Surju on his way back from Tibet. Likewise, Jitu overlooked the ill-omens his mother pointed at such as Tila goat sneezed, his clothes getting blackened, and rot (sweet-meat made up of jaggery and rice flour) getting dried. On his way to his sister’s village (where he could also meet his beloved Bhana), he was trapped by ancharis. They only freed him on the condition to be taken away later on the appointed day. Both of these folk narratives imply that Jitu as well as Surju were not overjoyed to be chosen by fairies and their beauty. Making a promise was not more than an option to stay secured for a while. Promise is just a compulsion suggesting the absence of their own choice and wishes. More than this, Gairola himself used two different words for ancharis other than fairies. Where “nymphs” is positive, the term “witches” has a negative connotation. It is used for a female having supernatural powers which she uses selfishly, primarily to harm others. This is what ancharis did to Surju by first turning him into a ram and then taking his beauty. Similarly, Jitu was sucked out of his blood by fairies. The following lines from the legend of Jitu Bagdwal noted by Chatak underline his condition on being trapped by fairies:

Few sisters rest on his eyes,

Few on his ears’ channel!

They slurp his blood and devour his flesh,

------------------------------------------

O Jitu, you did not listen to your mother,

Now ancharis have trapped you!^[38]

To come across ancharis is, as Chatak notes, not more than “vipda” (crisis) for Jitu. At this moment, he recalled deity Bhairo (Bhairav) and his kuldevi Kali^[39]. They only could give him relief for a few days. On the day of ploughing in his field, the day to be taken away by fairies, fiku hve ge jiyu Jitu ji ko (Jitu was pale and disheartened)^[40]. Moreover, not only he but his entire family of thirty-two members is also devastated. This only makes the presence of ancharis unfavourable for Jitu.

Talking of Bangan village’s fairies, the researchers document that the fairies “[...] plague women (the term for this is chaya lagana ‘shadow contact’), but it is not difficult to stop this through worship and the usage of amulets”^[41]. According to them, fairies  possess women if they are involved in misconduct like shouting or falling asleep in the woods or partially revealing themselves. And, if a woman is possessed, she gets fever and headache, and feels weakness. In order to be treated, she has to strictly follow the “purity prescriptions with regard to caste, food, etc”^[42]. This exemplifies that fairies promote social conformity for women, and deviance from this leads to retribution. Where fairies possess women only as a punishment for their misbehaviour, they seem to seduce men to enjoy their beauty. This is what Jitu and Surju’s legend hint at. Bhatt et al. suggest likewise when they say that fairies “[...] do not attack men, but they fall in love with them and abduct them, but having enjoyed them they jilt or even kill them”^[43]. Jitu had the fate to be killed by fairies in the absence of any help unlike Surju who had Sidwa. This reiterates fairies’ desires for sexual union only. When Jitu gets ready to depart, he is said to appear like the kantha ma ka sa suraj (the bright sun of hills), gaad ko si machau (a shiny fish in the pond), and sarp ko si bachha (a baby-snake)^[44]. All these similes depict him full of youth, attractive, and a harmless man respectively. It is his playing of fife which awakened the ancharis of Khaint hills, who in turn were enamoured by his beauty^[45].

There is another folktale, documented by these scholars in their article, having sexual overtones linked to fairies:

Once a shepherd slept on an alpine meadow when fairies came, took off his penis and covered the place with earth. They took away his penis in order to “play” with it. Later the shepherd woke up and noticed what had happened. But he fell asleep again and in a dream he saw the fairies. He bade them to return his penis. They told him: “Come the other day to this and this place. There we will return you your penis.” So it happened.^[46]

Keeping these narratives in mind it would not be wrong to say that despite being equated with deities, goddesses, Indra’s apsaras, and called as sisters, fairies in Uttarakhand are repelled. This repulsion comes out of their being erotic and harmful. Thus, though they seem to be worshipped through jagar ceremony, it is done to avoid their evil eyes. In the introductory note to anchari jagar, Govind Chatak says that ancharis like bhut ‘ghosts’ are worshipped to avoid anisht (“misfortune”)^[47]. It is notable that Chatak compares ancharis with bhut (ghost). Consequently, worshipping fairies is an act of appeasement. Bangani men and women, as Bhatt et al. have recorded, prefer traditional dark clothes in order “to be protective against attacks from fairies.” They further say that “Some Bangani villages that are located at the lower end of a ridge […] have put up at the uphill border of the village a menhir the task of which is to stop the fairies from entering the village”^[48]. Apparently, this is to maintain a distance due to their attacking nature. Be it legendary figures like Surju Kunwar or Jitu Bagdwal, or village people or women, no one wishes to be observed and overpowered by fairies. All the mentioned instances exhibit fairies as a ghost of bodies. Where they desire men’s bodies for their sexual gratification, women’s bodies are desired to make them comply with social norms.

Except Bhatt et al. the fieldwork by Govind Chatak, Tara Dutt Gairola and E.S. Oakley’s were done in the early and middle twentieth century respectively. This was the time when folks were rooted in their culture and belief system. Due to excessive migration for a better job, quality education and lifestyle, folks’ apathy towards their folklore has increased since the beginning of the twenty first century. As a result, their belief in spirits, ghosts, and fairies have become a matter of village life only which does not exist in cities. As a result, it would be an upheaval task for a researcher to find a region in Uttarakhand now which might have these beliefs still intact in their culture. Thus, one can locate the references of fairies in the retellings only. These retellings are done through different genres. Literary adaptation, songs, movies, and stage performances have emerged as a supporting system for the propagation of fairy lore for migrated folks of Uttarakhand. The web sources, videos, audios, and texts mentioned in this paper are case in point. 

Works Cited

1.   Agarwal, Deepa. Rajula and the Web of Danger, India, Hachhete India, 2012.

2.   Bhatt, Ram Prasad, et al. “Fairy lore in the high mountains of South Asia and the hymn of the Garhwali fairy ‘Daughter of the Hills’.” Acta Orientalia, 2014.

3.   Chatak, Govind. Garhwali Lokgeet: Laghu Geet – Khand Ek [Garhwali Folksongs: Short Songs – Part One]. Sahitya Sadan, Dehradun, 1956.

4.   ____________. Garhwali Lok Gathayen [Folk Legends of Garhwal]. Mohini Prakashan, Dehradun, 1958.

5.   Dhoundiyal, Nand Kishore. Garhwali Jagar: Lokgeet tatha Prakriya [Garhwali Jagar: Folksongs and Process]. Winsar Publishing Company, Dehradun, 2018.

6.   Joshi, Girdhar. Blood Red Message: Story of Rajula Malusahi. PRESS, Mumbai. 2016.

7.   Oakley, E.S. Holy Himalaya: The Religion, Traditions, and Scenery of a Himalayan Province (Kumaon and Garhwal). Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, Edinburgh and London, 1905.

8.   Oakley, E.S. and Tara Dutt Gairola. Himalayan Folklore. Superintendent Printing and Stationery, U.P., 1935.

9.   “Uttarakhand ki Lok Kahaniyan (17): Kahani Garhwal ki Pariyon ki” [“Folktales of Uttarakhand (17): Story of Fairies of Garhwal”]. Ghaseri, 20 July, 2019,

10.            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Ygrv4wtR4&t=44s [accessed on 21/12/2024]

11.           “Anchhari/Matri Hantya Jagar: Folk Songs about Awakening Ritual For Calling Fairies - Part - 3.” Bedupako.com, 23 June, 2103, http://bedupako.com/blog/?p=6732#axzz6yIucfPWo 

12.           “Chait ki Chaitwal”. C.S. Rahi Foundation, 13 Sep, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19Yu6G1gAis. Transcript of lyrics. [accessed on 2/1/2025]

13.           “Original Chait ki Chaitwali by Chander Singh Rahi”. Uttarakhand Lokgayak, 24 Oct, 2021,

14.             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OU5mK0nXT8. [accessed on 2/1/2025].

 About the author: Mamta Sharma is a PhD scholar in the department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia University. She is interested in finding and studying the folklore of Uttarakhand. She has published her papers in Routledge and Bloomsbury, and has presented papers in national and international conferences. She translates English and Hindi texts into Garhwali. Recently, a Tamil text Tirukkural has been translated by her into Garhwali that is published by Central Institute of Classical Tamil.

Dr. A C Kharingpam is an Assistant Professor of English at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. His area of research includes Folk Studies, Tribal Literature, Bible and Translation. He writes poems in both English and in his mother tongue, Tangkhul and is committed to not only resuscitating the vanishing tribal culture and art forms but also promoting and conserving the endangered tribal languages and literatures.