Inside Malajpur's Ghost Fair, Where 'Possessed' Villagers Have Spirits Beaten Out Of Them In A Centuries-Old Ritual

Dishevelled participants, in the throes of convulsions, mumble an “alien” tongue with a vacant look clouding their eyes.

For many, the annual ‘ghost fair’ at Malajpur in Betul district has a disconcerting, otherworldly feel.

For thousands of others, however, the gathering is the final frontier in a pitched battle against “the other realm” - their only hope to salvage loved ones from "evil’s grasp". 


The famous ‘ghost fair’ is a nearly three-week affair reportedly dating back to the 18th century, when a local holy man, Deoji Maharaj, is said to have brought miracles to the village.

Local lore has it that as a child, Deoji, fed his friends by turning soil into jaggery and stone into coconut. 

These “powers” turned out to be a precursor to what would eventually prove to be Deoji’s lasting legacy - an ability to ‘tame spirits’, or exorcism. 

The priests who perform the ritual today are torch-bearers of the same tradition, passed from one generation to another over three centuries. 

The priests here say the site is a temple built by Deoji.

For an observer unused to the ritual, the exercise offers a violent spectacle.

Sitting on a raised platform adjacent to the shrine, the priest bombards the “possessed” with questions, addressed not to them but the “aggressor” within. 

“What is your name?” he asks, “From where have you come?” 

The priest then announces in a commanding voice that the person is indeed possessed and “has come to just the right place for relief”. 

And thus the exorcism begins. 

In the course of the exercise, the “possessed” are pulled by their hair and ears, and thrashed with a broom on the head as their blood-curdling screams rend the air. 

Notably, a disproportionate number of victims are women. 

Meanwhile, the gathered devotees, mostly villagers and tribals from Betul and Chhindwara districts, chant in Deoji’s honour: “Guru Maharaj Deoji Ki Jai” and “Guru Saheb ki Jai”. 

Several activists have pointed out over the years that most of the people said to be possessed are actually patients with mental health issues, but locals refuse to believe their belief is superstition.

“Over the past two decades, I have seen several possessed people successfully exorcised,” says Sanju Bhai, a restaurant owner from Chicholi block. 

"It is only the priest who understands what language these people speak."