As a member of the Rakshabandhan tribe, my first encounter with Ryujinx (a common Indian name for Raksha Bandhan) was during an annual festival held by the village elders in our village. This festival is dedicated to the lord God of death, and all other living beings that have been departed, including spirits. On this occasion, there would be many ceremonies, and I remember watching as a young man carrying a long stick, called a Sarpagandha, performs a ceremony with the dead on the funeral pyre of his father. It seemed like such a morbid scene, but the elders always had a strong feeling that they were performing the right ritual because the deceased loved their family and children dearly and was doing so in the belief that he was at peace with them.
The Rakshabandhan festival is known for many different types of rituals, but all of them are performed in similar ceremonies. One of the most important rites is known as the 'Raksha Yatra', which means'sacrifice' or'spiritual process'. This rite is performed at the cremation of the dead in order to perform a series of rituals which include offering the deceased body as a sacrifice to the Gods. This sacrifice can be performed by men and women alike; however, Raksha Bandhan usually includes women performing their own sacrifice. The Raksha Yatra is accompanied by the 'Rakta Yatra', which is a series of other rituals performed by the community members, which all serve to bring balance back to the community.
Another ritual that is performed is known as 'Jati', which translates as 'joining together.' There are several different ceremonies that are performed to join up the souls of the deceased with their ancestors, including the Ksheeram, Bhasma, and Khichdi. When this is completed, the souls are said to join back with their former lives and live happily in the spiritual realms. Raksha Bandhan is also the celebration of life and death, and this event can be very important in the lives of many Indians who have recently passed away, as the spirits of the departed are allowed to leave and the spirit of life enters.
