The Manuscripts from our Cow-cellars: Traditions of Purjo, Pataro, Pustnamo, and Bayi in Kumaon Region

Abstract

In 2004, after the completion of my grandfather’s first annual death anniversary rituals,  we were clearing up the junks kept in boxes in the cow-cellar of our house. We discovered some documents and geometrical instruments used for making astrological charts, among other things. They were in very bad condition. There were some long hand-made paper sheets, magic-mantras written on them, and these are called purjo, some annual astrological charts belonging to the mid-nineteenth century, called Patrao or Panchang, a two-meter long hand-made paper on which Kumauni Khari Holi songs were written, called Holi ko Pataro. Moreover, there was a paper titled Lakshmidutt Joshi Ko Gharo Ko Kharch, dated śaké 1808, bhadra sudi, 15,chandra, also a purjo. From the same village, later on, from an abandoned and dilapidated house, pustnamo/vamśavalì of that village and books related to the Brahmanic rituals also came to light. These documents were impressive and compelled me to reminisce about a tradition whose remnants were exposed to our eyes at that time.

This paper discusses in brief, basically, three kinds of documents. These documents can be categorized as bayi/davthar, vamśavalì/pustnamo and chitti/purjo