JUSTICE FOR LAKHMA
Imagine living in a rural village with a population of under 5000 people in a physically close-knit community amongst your nuclear and extended family. One might not even think that any harm could come to a person in this circumstance.
Sadly, this was the case for Lakhma Kawasi when he was attacked by 2 men, one being his cousin, who lived nearby in early January of 2024.
Lakhma was a middle-aged man of 55 years old who lived in Tandapali Village at the district of Malkangiri in the tribal area known as the Hinterlands at Odisha, India.
The Hinterlands is not an area one might travel to with ease.
However, trade is good because access to the river is attainable, which, in turn, flows into the ocean.
Some, if not most, of the roads are paved with grass and trees lining each side, making it feasible for men to carry goods to other communities on their scooters.
Though the government will supply residents with concrete houses and cement outhouses, some of these tribal families still choose to live in huts made from sticks and mud.
Like most other communities around the world, these people are steeped in their cultures, traditions, and faiths.
Each community practices differing customs identifiable to their own culture. For example, the women of one tribe prefer to marry younger men so their husbands will take care of them when they are elderly. Most tribes worship nature in a special fenced off area.
However, as I understand it, Shamans, also known in Odisha as Ojahs, live amongst or near all of the tribal families.
A Shaman is a person who, after falling into a trance like state, is believed to bring spirits forth from the invisible world to the physical world in an effort to affect the outcome of a situation. In one case, a Shaman forced a group of women to drink a poisonous herbal concoction. After drinking, it was believed that one of those women would admit to being a dayan.
Well, that wasn’t the case.
Most of the women ended up in the hospital.
A report in the New India Express dated April 25th, 2024, states that due to the limited access to healthcare and lack of education, the “soothsayers take advantage.”
Yes, Shamans will often charge outlandish fees for their services, taking advantage of this community that is considered to be of lower class.
Therefore, it is very possible that a Shaman was somehow involved in identifying Lakham as a dayan, the Odisha word for “witch.” Maybe his cousin Mukand Podiami consulted a shaman sometime over the last 2 years, during which time his mother, brother, and grandmother all died of various illnesses.
Maybe Mukand was so distraught that he needed answers and succumbed to his belief that a dayan caused their deaths because he didn’t know otherwise. What I don’t know is why Mukand and Muda concluded that Lakhma used black magic to kill his family members.
However, this doesn’t change the fact that he and Muda Podiami went to Lakhma’s hut one night. After cautiously entering, the 2 men slit Lakhma’s throat and dumped his body in the Saveri River. How harrowing it must have been for Lakhma to be woken up like that in the middle of the night with his own cousin threatening his life, ultimately killing Lakhma for something he didn’t do.
Worried family searched for Lakhma the next day only to find out that other villagers had discovered the body washed up on the Saveri River shoreline, 7 miles from his home.
How Lakhma’s brother-in-law, Ganga Madkami, came to believe that Muda and Mukund ended Lakhma’s life, I don’t know. Courageously, Ganga filed a complaint, and the 2 men were dragged into court a few days later.
I do not know of any punishments bestowed upon the 2 men who murdered Lakhma. We can only hope that justice comes for Lakhma. I will keep my readers updated.
Please visit End Witch Hunts and find out more regarding how we spread awareness of ongoing deadly witch hunts and the many advocates who are working hard to save lives.
Sources:
https://pragativadi.com/man-killed-over-suspicion-of-practicing-witchcraft-in-malkangiri/
https://nomadicjj.blogspot.com/2018/04/reflections-on-tribal-region.html
