No pushkaralu for Adivasis

Adivasis' wooden deities 

Despite being attachment to the river Godavari since a long time, Adivasis do not practice Godavari pushkaralu and will not take holy dip in the river Godavari as they have no such tradition.

However, Adivasis give bath popularly known as ‘Ganga Snan’ to the wooden idols of their traditional gods like Bheemanna, Jalli Devara and Nagoba in the river Godavari twice in a year.

Adivasi leader Sidam Shambu said, “We do not observe Godavari pushkaralu. We have our own set of customers and traditions on various occasion”.

They Adivasis take their traditional gods in a procession to give them bath at identified local streams and also some places at river Godavari.

“It is must for the Adivasis to take dip in the water along with their gods to purify themselves (Shuddi)”, Sidam Shambu said, adding that they will give bath to their traditional gods in Pushyamas and Vaishakam’.

He said they too do Pindapradan called ‘Thoomu’ to their ancestors and forefathers while giving bath to their gods.

There is a tradition among the Adivasis that they equate their elders who died, to that of gods, by performing rituals in their names on the occasion of giving bath to their gods. This traditional is called ‘Karun’ merging the elders who died into their gods.

Adivasis give bath to their traditional gods at ‘Padmalpuri Kako’ at Rampur in Dandepali, considered to be a sacred place as they believe it was a birth place of Adivasi dance ‘Dandari’  to be performed by the Gussadis on the occasion of Diwali.

Another place was Kalamadugu in Jannaram mandal on the banks of river Godavari. The ‘Kattodas’, traditional priests of Adivasis, will perform rituals. Various clans like Atram, Nitham, Sidam, Mesram among the Gods will perform their traditional rituals to their specific gods.