Holi discussion.

[filipsky at site.cas.cz]

>Is the festival named from the goddess or the goddess from the festival?
>Allen Thrasher
>
>
>On Tue, 13 Feb 1996, Girish Beeharry wrote:
>
>> >Apparently, the name of Holi is connected to HolikA, a rAk.sasI who
>> >is either the sister or the niece of PrahlAda, the pious son of
>> >Hira.nyakas'ipu, the king asura who was shredded to death by Narasi.mha.
>> 
>> As far as I know, HolikA was the sister of Hira.nyakashipu. 
>> 
><snip>
> 
>> Girish Beeharry
>> 
>> 

     According to Goesta Liebert (Iconographic Dictionary of the Indian
Religions,
Brill, Leiden 1976, p. 105), HolikA (Hi. HolkA MAtA) is the patroness of the
holi festival; may originally have been a rakSasI or a female demon. During
the Holi festival she is represented as a straw puppet which is chased by
the children and finally burnt in fire. 
For further reading  one is a bit disappointed to be offered only the
time-hallowed H. von Glasenapp's Der Hinduismus (Muenchen 1922, p. 354: "Am
Abend wird ein Feuer angezuendet, auf welchem eine Strohpuppe <HolikA>
verbrannt wird), further L'Inde classique by L. Renou and J. Filliozat, vol.
1, p. 590, and W. Koppers, Die Bhil in Zentralindien, Horn-Wien 1948, p. 149.
     N.N. Bhattacharyya in his Glossary of Indian Religious Terms and
Concepts (Manohar, Delhi 1990, p. 99) calls holi also holikA (as well as
HutAS'anI and PhAlgunikA) and suggests that the word may be derived from homa.
     NyAyakoS'a or Dictionary of Technical Terms of Indian Philosophy by
MahAmahopAdhyAya BhImAchArya JhalakIkar first published as early as in
1874, but later thoroughly revised and substantially enlarged by
MahAmahopAdhyAya VAsudev ShAstrI Abhyankar (The Bhandarkar Oriental Research
Institute, Poona 1978, p. 1086), quoting PuruSArthacintAmaNi, has the
following to say on the subject of HolikA (s.v.):
"savaduSTApaho homaH sarvarogopaS'AntidaH/ kriyatesyAM dvijaiH pArtha tena
sA holikA smRtA//309// 
atra viSeS'aH sArdhayAmatrayaM vAM syAddvitIye divase yadA/
pratipadvardhamAnA tu tadA sA holikA smRtA//312//"
     An even earlier authority, Edward Moor, in his The Hindu Pantheon,
first published in 1810 and reprinted by Asian Educational Services (New
Delhi 1981), refers to the festival as Huli, and goes on saying (p. 157):
"The Huli, among the Hindus, reminds one strongly of the Saturnalia with the
Romans: people of low condition take liberties with their superiors in a
manner not admissible on other occasions. The chief fun in public  is
throwing coloured powders on the clothes of persons passing in the streets,
and squirting about tinted waters. Dignified persons avoid, as much as they
can, appearing abroad while these jocularities are passing, unless with the
view of gaining popularity they condescend to partake in them: in general
they confine themselves to their houses, and sport with their women...
Sending simpletons on idle errands contributes also to the delights of Huli:
this is performed exactly similar to our ceremony of making April-fools on
the first of that month and is common to all ranks of Hindus; and
Mahomedans, indeed, join in this, as well as in other items of Huli fun and
humour."    
     An interesting possibility to speculate about is suggested in the
Dictionary of Vedic Rituals by Chitrabhanu Sen (Concept, Delhi 1978, p. 168,
s.v. holAka): "a minor rite performed by maidens who are desirous of
attaining good fortune; RAkA is the deity; also called HolAkA, RAkA, etc. -
KATHaka gRhyasUtra LXXIII.1."
     But we should probably be wary of the pitfall referred to in the
following quote from Moore (p. 212): "A punster, as he ought to be called,
rather than an etymologist; or, perhaps, he was ridiculing the strained
application of a pliant etymology; derived our holiday from huli day."
Jan Filipsky

Jan Filipsky, Oriental Institute, Pod vodarenskou vezi 4, 182 08  Praha 8