We have always comforted ourselves by searching for our arbitrary meanings in Death, yet for the Dom Workers of Varanasi, Death is but an objective and materialistic necessity for survival; the rituals of cremation being their only source of legitimate income. The hell they find themselves in is derived from Hindu mythology, a punishment by Lord Shiva for the crime of theft on Goddess Parvati where they were ‘knighted’ guardians of the flame some thousands of years ago. Their association with the uncanniness of Death has sunk them to the lowest of the Caste, The Untouchables, which further scrutinizes them into an inescapable lifestyle and fate.
Despite the significance of their symbolic identity in the rituals of Moksha, the Dom Workers are outcasts of society and are only regarded as a means to liberation. The upper classes of the Hindu Caste system have for long taken access to Moksha for granted as a right of theirs with little regard nor understanding of the sufferings of the Dom Workers that are subjected to with the assumption that they have willingly accepted their responsibility in society.
“One cannot enter the gates of heaven if their bodies are cremated without the presence of a Dom. But people only respect us when it’s time for death, so we have made a life, living amongst the dead”, said Devi, a Dom worker of the Manikarnika Ghat (Shankar 2017).
From the perspective of the Dom workers, their identity and dignity are granted through the reality of Death. The essence of religion and rituals has instead transformed into the business of Death. The marketable goods are the intangible meanings that the Hindu culture has prescribed to the assemblage of materials and rituals found in Death, the Dom Workers themselves as an entity of intrinsic value. What is unseen in this curse is the monopolization of Moksha and the material entities involved. Wood, Ghats, and the Dom Workers themselves as irreplaceable objects of the larger Assemblage.
The principal thesis of this report hinges on the exploitation of the evolving conditions and context – the crisis of the depleting wood supply in Varanasi, India. Written from the perspective of a Dom Worker, Aastha, the chapters unfold and elucidates the concepts, struggles, and rituals revolving around Death in Varanasi. Aastha narrates the story of Varanasi as it was, as it is, and as anticipated. He is found agonizing at the situation of the Dom workers and seeks to use the crisis as a catalyst to ameliorate the status of the Dom Workers. This is done through the thorough investigation of the working conditions in which the Dom Workers find themselves in, alongside the materiality and spirituality of the rituals involved. Through its comprehension, Aastha acknowledges the potential evolution and progress that these practices can embrace. The maturity that transpires within these primitive practices translates into a specialization in the skill of the Dom Workers, providing them an opportunity to be re-evaluated as Architects of Death, liberating them from the stigma of defilement and filth.
我們總是透過尋找死亡中的意義來安慰自己，然而對於瓦拉納西的多姆工人(Dom Workers)來說，死亡僅僅是一種為生存所需的客觀且物質性的必然；火葬儀式是他們唯一合法的收入來源。他們所處的地獄源自於印度教神話，據說是因為他們曾經偷竊女神帕爾瓦蒂的物品，而受到濕婆神的懲罰，於數千年前被“冊封”為火焰的守護者。他們與死亡的神秘聯繫使他們淪落到種姓制度的最底層——賤民，這進一步將他們困於無法逃脫的生活方式與命運之中。
儘管多姆工人在莫克沙(Moksha)儀式中的象徵性身份具有重要意義，但他們卻是社會的棄民，僅被視為通往解脫的工具。印度教種姓制度中的上層階級長期以來將獲得莫克沙視為他們的權利，對多姆工人所承受的痛苦既漠不關心，也缺乏理解。他們理所當然地認為，多姆工人是心甘情願地接受了這種社會責任。
「如果沒有多姆的在場，遺體火化後便無法進入天堂之門。但人們只在面臨死亡時才會尊重我們，所以我們只能在亡者之中尋找自己的生活。」——來自馬尼卡尼卡河壇的多姆工人黛薇（Shankar 2017）。
從多姆工人的角度來看，他們的身份與尊嚴是通過死亡的現實而被賦予的。然而，宗教和儀式的本質卻被轉化為一種圍繞死亡的生意。可交易的商品是印度文化賦予死亡中各種材料與儀式的無形意義，而多姆工人本身也成為具內在價值的存在。在這詛咒之中，未被看見的是對莫克沙及其相關物質的壟斷：木材、河壇以及多姆工人本身，作為這更大儀式組合中不可替代的元素。
本報告的核心論點圍繞著印度瓦拉納西日益惡化的木材短缺危機及其所引發的條件與背景之剝削問題展開。以一名多姆工人阿斯塔（Aastha）的視角書寫，章節逐步展開，闡述圍繞瓦拉納西死亡儀式的概念、掙扎與傳統。阿斯塔講述了瓦拉納西的過去、現在以及未來的可能樣貌。他對多姆工人的處境深感痛心，並試圖以這場危機為契機，改善多姆工人的地位。
為此，阿斯塔深入調查多姆工人的工作環境，以及與死亡儀式相關的物質性與精神性。透過對這些元素的全面理解，他認識到這些傳統實踐所蘊含的演化與進步潛力。這些原始實踐的成熟演變，轉化為多姆工人技能的專業化，為他們提供重新被評價的機會，將他們定位為“死亡的建築師”，從而擺脫污穢與汙名的枷鎖。
