Informant: “This is the story behind Holi. It’s a festival we celebrate in India, but this is the story of why we do it. A long time ago there was an evil king called Hiranyakashipu. He was a tyrant with a very devout son. His son was quite upset with his father’s rule, so he more or less disagreed with him and set out to do better. The king didn’t like that, so he tried to kill him. He tried a few ways to kill him, but what’s important for this story is he tried to use his sister (holica) and her fire proof garments. She took the king’s son and sat in a burning fire, but his devotion saved him and burned the woman. Because of the son’s devotion, Vishnu sent someone to kill the king. That’s the story as I remember. There’s more to it that I don’t have a great memory of, but that’s how I would explain Holi.”
Me: “What do you think the story means aside from explaining Holi?”
Informant: “It’s just a story about devotion and victory of good over evil.”
Context: The informant is from India and says he has heard the story from a lot of people but mostly remembers how his parents tell it. The myth serves to explain why Hindu people celebrate Holi, which is the festival of colors, love, equality, and spring. Additionally, according to my research and the informant, the festival celebrates the victory of good over evil and is a direct commemoration of Vishnu’s victory over the king, Hiranyakashipu.
Analysis: This myth clearly serves to explain the festival Holi and also reveals some relatively basic values about the culture behind it. The story upholds devotion as a very desirable trait and goes so far as to paint it as something that can protect you from everything. At first, I figured there must be more to the story than “just a story about victory of good over evil”, but my research seems to confirm that my roommate was accurate in his description. However, I did find that some of the myth that was left out makes this story of devotion more compelling. Hiranyakashipu’s son was put through immense suffering and remained devout through it all. After reading more, this myth reminds me a bit of the story of Job in the bible. It seems to be making the case that devotion must be maintained at all costs and that god will make all right in the end.