Zur volkstümlichen Verehrung der indischen Planetengottheit Shani

Abstract

After preliminary considerations on the meaning of Saturn in the ancient Mediterranean world and the Near East as well as in Islam, the present article examines his symbolism and cult in India. There his equivalent Shani (Sani) belongs to the group of nine planet deities (navagrahas). This powerful black-skinned “Lord of the Night” is considered particularly malicious causing serious diseases, poverty and bad luck. Ethnographic examples show how people commonly try to protect themselves from his evil deeds and how to pacify him. Notes on temples, figural representations and specific rituals investigate his veneration in Hindu folk religion. Particular attention is paid to the role of Shani priests belonging to the Dakot caste in Rajasthan and urban areas of North India who provide darśan (visual experience) of Shani on Saturdays using small movable box-shaped altars with images of the deity. The latter is also represented in the shape of black rag dolls, painted white and red, used to magically ward off his bad influences.
[Saturn, temples, cult figures, rituals, Dakot priests]