‘The One Taken by God’…

‘Shamans’ or ‘Deodinis’ among the practitioners of the Bathou religion have been in existence since time immemorial. Though now they are few and far between, the Boro society in Assam has always looked upon them with awe and reverence. While their origin, history and what they signify in these contemporary times might have taken a detour in attempts to comprehend their existence, one aspect that has never undergone change is that of their gender. Interestingly, only women have taken on the role of shamans among the Bathou practitioners of Boro society. ‘The One Taken by God…’ is an attempt to document oral histories and testimonies associated with the ‘Deodinis’, explore how private and public memory live on, find articulation in recounting her actions and status in Boro society, and to retrieve what might have been lost in translation along these years.