Celebration in tribal land
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Dusshera in Bastar is a blend of religious and royal traditions. AARTI DHAR looks at the highlights.
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CHHATTISGARH TOURISM BOARD
Colour and sound in the local market ...
WHEN the rest of the country prepared itself to celebrate Dusshera — it highlights/celebrates the victory of good over evil — the tribal people in Bastar (in the southern part of Chhattisgarh) also made merry. It was festival time for them, too, but for a different reason. It was not about the elimination of Ravana by Rama, but about their king being conferred the title of rathpati at the Jagannath temple in Puri about 800 years ago. These celebrations coincided with Navratri, or the nine days dedicated to the tribal Goddess Danteshwari.
The Bastar Dusshera, like the celebrations in Mysore, is unique, as it is about an amazing blend of religious and royal traditions. Dusshera used to be the only time when the erstwhile kings interacted with the masses and shared with them the first meal of a new harvest that marked the culmination of the two-month long festivities. And, the tradition still continues. Tribal people from across the region converge at the district headquarters, Jagdalpur. They then participate in the 10-day long fun-filled ceremonies and have a glimpse of their "king", the young Kamal Chandra Bhanjdeo, who now leads the main function on Vijayadashmi.
"Dusshera here is unique," says the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board chairperson, A. Jayathilak.
Strange as it might sound, here, Ravana is held in reverence. For Dandakaranya (the vast forests of the region and beyond) was the domain of Ravana, ruled by his sister, Shurpanakha. Dusshera here revolves round the "chariot" brought from Puri, which is taken around the city for a week and then moved out once, before the celebrations draw to a close.
History has it that in 1408, the then king of Chakrakote (as the region was earlier known), Purshottam Deo, was a devotee of Jagannath and walked up to Puri from his capital, Bade Dongar (near Narayanpur), to seek his blessings. Jagannath is said to have directed the priest — in a dream — to confer upon the king the title of rathpati and present him with a 16-wheeled chariot. The chariot is, since then, a hallmark of the festival.
Earlier, the king was seated on the tastefully decorated chariot on Vijayadashmi day but now, it is Goddess Danteshwari's idol that emerges from the ancient Danteshwari temple at Dantewada and then taken around the city. But the erstwhile rulers feel that things have changed over the years. "Dusshera has been converted into a Government festival ever since the State Government took over the responsibility of organising the function. We admit that there were family feuds in the past, but things have now been sorted out. The administration should allow the tribal people to organise the celebrations," says Harihar Bhanjdeo, uncle of the present "king". For the past 19 years, State Governments have been holding the function on the grounds that the royal family could not afford the expenses. "Even if each tribal person pays Re. 1, we can collect Rs. 20 lakhs and if each pays Rs. 5, the amount will touch a crore. The Government pays just about Rs. 12 lakhs," points out Bhanjdeo who feels that much charm in the celebrations has been lost because of administrative interference, primarily aimed at luring voters.
... and tribal goddess Danteshwari Devi.
Interestingly, the winds of change have not affected the Dusshera rituals that begin on the day of the Hareli festival, when a block of wood is chosen for making a chariot.
Whether a tribal person is settled in a city or occupies a coveted post, he is "attached" to his tribal customs and follows them religiously, says Bhanjdeo. Saoras and Dhakada tribes from Bade Umargaon and Jhar Umargaon villages are hired to build the chariot every year. A group of 40 to 50 men can complete a chariot within a week (the high point is that metal is not used. In the past, bison and goats were sacrificed five times during the festival. Not so now. A piece of wood has replaced the practice of animal sacrifice.
The celebrations begin with the members of the royal family "seeking permission" from Kacchhin Devi — the deity of the Mirgan community — when a girl of this community is said to be "possessed" by the goddess. She is then seated on a swing of thorns, which is the deity's couch.
There is an interesting story behind this ritual. In 1725, when Bastar village was made the capital of the region, Jagtu, the headman of a village nearby, sought the king's help in killing a man-eater. The brave king earned the loyalty of the community, in lieu of which the king honoured them. This he did by seeking the blessings of Kacchhin Devi, before the Dusshera festival commenced.
The movement of the chariot ceremony begins on the second day of Navratri when an old four-wheeled chariot is drawn once through the town, a ritual that lasts all seven days. It is decorated with flowers and is also known as the phool rath, or the chariot of flowers. In the past, the king used to sit on this chariot, but now it carries the umbrella of the Danteshwari.
Prayers being offered to Maoli Devi at the end of the festival.
After a day's break, Maoli Devi, or the manifestation of Danteshwari, arrives from Dantewada and is received at the main entrance of the palace and then seated on the eight-wheeled chariot. By now all the tribal people converge at Jagdalpur with their deities.
On Vijayadashmi, the new chariot is taken round the town. This time round it is drawn by the members of the Muria tribe, who are traditionally-dressed. When night falls, the tribals pull the chariot out from the town, or rather steal it, only to station it two kilometres away at Kumbhdakote, where the king offers freshly cooked rice from the new harvest to the goddess. The next morning, the chariot is pulled back into the city ceremoniously.
The tradition of stealing the chariot was the Muria's way of drawing the king's attention towards the problems they faced. In the past, when the chariot returned to the town, the king used to chair a formal meeting of the heads of the tribes but now, it is the Collector who heads the Muriadurbar.
After thanksgiving to Kacchhin Devi on the 12th day, the Goddess Maoli is accorded a warm send-off, like all the other deities, from Jagdalpur, drawing to an end the extraordinary event.
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