Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and Jain traditions, the ''

mundan In Hinduism, head shaving, also known as tonsuring, is a symbolic act of purification and spiritual transformation. It features prominently in various rites of passage, such as the act of shaving the baby's first hair on the head; as well as in m ...

'' ceremony marks a boy's entry into formal education, involving the tying of a sacred thread around the torso and a girdle made of '' munja'' grass around the waist, typically at the age of seven. He is known as Munjya when he puts on the ''munja'' grass girdle. According to folklore in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and the

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

coast, Munjya is believed to be the

ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

of boys who died after this ceremony but before marriage, inhabiting

peepal ''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, bo tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipala tree or ...

trees. Munjya's are described as restless bachelor ghosts who roam trees at night, possessing cleverness and

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

abilities. While most Munjya's are not harmful, they may retaliate against those who defile their tree homes, potentially pelting offenders with stones or causing accidents. Some stories depict more malevolent Munjya's causing harm to humans, such as causing accidents or possessing living beings with dangerous intentions, including forcing them to commit acts of violence. One feasible rationale for the belief in Munjya is that peepal trees, known for their expansive canopies, emit substantial

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

during the night. The apprehension surrounding ''Munjya'' probably deterred individuals from lingering under these trees after dusk.

In popular culture

*The

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language horror-thriller '' Munjya'' is based on the this legend, stars

Abhay Verma Abhay Verma (born 27 July 1998) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He first gained recognition for his supporting role on the second season of the thriller series '' The Family Man'' (2021), and had his first lead role in the indepe ...

Sharvari Sharvari Wagh (born 14 June 1997), known Mononym, mononymously as Sharvari, is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She began her career as an assistant director for Luv Ranjan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali in 2015, before making her acting ...

Mona Singh Mona Singh (born 8 October 1981) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and series. Having first gained prominence in 2000s for playing the eponymous heroine in the soap opera series '' Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin'' (2003–06), she has sinc ...

, S. Sathyaraj and

Suhas Joshi Suhasini Joshi, popularly known by her screen name Suhas Joshi, is an Indian actress in Marathi theater, film and television. She has also worked in many Bollywood films. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2018 for Acting. In ...

. *''Vikram Aur Munja'', a animated TV show on Big Magic.

References

{{Reflist Male ghosts Asian ghosts Superstitions of India Indian folklore Maharashtra folklore Indian legends Indian legendary creatures Legendary creatures in Hindu mythology Mass excitability in South Asian culture