Influence Of Bathouism In The Development Of Social Values

Abstract

Bathouism is a folk-religion of the Bodos.   The deity called Bathoubwrai and it is believed that he rules the five elements of the universe for its smooth functioning. Traditional school of Bathouism does not have any written scripture or religious books. They even do not have any temple. People worship the lord at the ‘sijousali’. They worship the Bathoubwrai through different socio-cultural activities like dancing, singing, arranging feasts etc. where all the people of the community participate. They celebrate all the changes in the season and thus contribute in developing social values.  Social value helps to understand the relative importance of the decisions we make by focusing on what is valuable to other people. It helps in increasing the positive and reducing the negatives effects in the society and ultimately results in the overall improvement of our social life. This paper focuses mainly on the different rituals and cultural celebration of the followers of Bathouism and its influence in the development of social values.