The Cultural Appropriation of Holi and the Shameless Co-option of Ancient Indigenous Traditions

The West is no more a stranger to the sacred Hindu festival of Holi. Large community events celebrating Holi have become very popular across many countries including the U.S. Several hundred people travel across the country to attend one of the biggest Holi celebrations on the continent at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple, in Utah. Other Hindu temples too host communal events varying in scale but not in spirit. Political leadership at the highest levels has also started acknowledging the same. Though the weather at times plays spoilsport in the colder parts of the country, the devout continue to observe the occasion. 

Holi marks the arrival of summer and as with many Hindu festivals, celebrates the victory of good over evil. Associated with the festival are the stories of Holika and Manmatha. Among the Vaishnava/ Bhagavatas Holi commemorates the destruction of the evil princess Holika by the child Prahalad’s simple Bhakti and Bhakti for the divine love of Radha-Krishna. In the Shakta-Shaiva tradition, Manmatha the god of eroticism is burned to ashes when he disturbs a meditating Shiva. Both stories serve as a reminder of a higher purpose in life, of human potential and possibilities Bhakti and Sadhana open up. These elements are then woven into the traditional Holi celebrations that can be traced back to 5th-6th century CE which continue to be followed.

Holi celebrations begin with Holika dahan mostly at local temples followed by meeting with friends and families, preparation of sweets like Gujiya, playing with colors, and singing folk songs celebrating the divine love of Radha-Krishna. In recent times good quality Gujiyas and other snacks are available to be purchased at Indian eateries making it easier on working families. Colors too widely available in assorted varieties of organic, vegetable dyes, etc. All a welcome change from not long ago when the only option was to make everything at home from scratch. It should be remembered though that, everything around Holi is deemed sacred, the music, the food, the colors, because they are a vehicle for Sadhana, something precious to every good Hindu. 

We’ve already seen the problematic proliferation of color runs that recreates the fun and joy of Holi without ever acknowledging it.

Co-opting Holi

As Holi becomes increasingly popular, there are some concerns that need to be addressed. To begin with, is the mischaracterization of Holi as a ‘South Asian’ festival, something that could not have been further from the truth. Holi is neither universally celebrated in the Indian subcontinent nor is it exclusive only to the country. On the contrary, celebrating Holi in some parts of the Indian subcontinent could lead to serious trouble. As recently as last year, a group of Pakistani Hindu students were attacked for celebrating Holi on the campus of the elite Punjab University in Lahore, Pakistan. Similarly, a Hindu temple was desecrated and devotees were grievously injured in a mob attack on the eve of Holi in Bangladesh. On the other hand, Holi is celebrated with gusto by the African and Caribbean Hindu communities. Unless the record is set straight on Holi being a Hindu festival which is also observed by some Dharmic communities, Holi too might end up like yoga, bastardized, devoid of its Hindu roots, culturally appropriated for profit mongering. 

We’ve already seen the problematic proliferation of color runs that recreates the fun and joy of Holi without ever acknowledging it. An example of asset stripping is sadly promoted by a South Asian Women’s non-profit. They chose to market their Asian event as a ‘color fest,’ though the messaging was not lost given the nature of the organization and the timing of the event. Hinduphobia can be so blatant that even when asset stripping and cultural appropriation are pointed out, we see brazen attempts to deny it or worse assert global ownership of local knowledge. This is also a general reason why South Asian labeling is so problematic.   

Profiting off Indigenous Traditions

And there is cultural appropriation and abuse of Holi by profiteers. Much like asset stripping by vulture corporate raiders, these Holi raiders-profiteers organize ticketed Holi events that are completely stripped of Hindu character and sacred context. Instead of Bhajans and folk songs celebrating Radha-Krishna, such events package genres of music unrelated to Holi. 

One such event featured ‘Sufi’ music flagrantly disregarding the contentious relationship between Sufis and Hindus going back to the medieval period, much of it owing to Sufis’ abetting the persecution of Hindus and other ‘disbelievers. Curiously though, a section of medieval Sufis despite their contempt for Hindus could not resist the charms of Holi and developed a lesser-known small-scale parallel tradition of playing with colors and called it Eid-e-Gulab. Needless to mention here Holi and Eid-e-Gulabi had nothing in common except for the use of colors, with the former being an indigenous tradition and the latter remaining a poor imitation of the indigenous tradition by colonizing settlers. 

This kind of profiteering also reminds us of earlier episodes where greedy corporations stole from indigenous knowledge systems and set up entry barriers in the market denying indigenous populations an opportunity to monetize their traditional knowledge systems. Not long ago, attempts were made to patent age-old Ayurvedic remedies like neem, turmeric, etc. Eventually, those attempts were called out as ‘bio-piracy’ and justice was served. 

But the lucre of profiteering from indigenous cultures, often to the detriment of indigenous communities continues unabated, especially true in the case of profiteering off cultural appropriation. The asset-stripping-profiteering story of yoga, of its disassociation from its Hindu roots and commercialization, is well known. We also know how difficult it is to rectify it. It is high time Americans understand the far-reaching consequences of such cultural appropriation which might seem innocuous. American Hindus should think before supporting such blatant asset stripping and illicit profiteering in the name of Holi. 

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Smitha Rai is an American Hindu, a CoHNA leader, a mother, and a dog mother. She lives with her family in New Jersey. Her interests include travel, music, food, and learning about history and culture.