Deekshalu to protect Adivasis' unique culture

Adivasis are resorting to take ‘Jai Jango Jai Lingo’ deeksha to protect their Gondi Dharma from cultural pollution and carry forward their culture to new generations.

The Adivasis take 31-Day and 21- Day deekshalu in pusya mas every year to encourage their children to become familiar with their traditions and customs and to prevent them from ‘getting polluted culturally’.

Jango denote Adivasi goddess Jangubai and Lingo denotes God ‘Pahandi Pari Kupari Lingo’. Devotees who took the deeksha will end deeksha at Siddikasa on the borders of Telangana and Maharashtra.

Adilabad MP Gadam Nagesh said ‘it was the high time the Adivasis not only protected their Adivas culture, but also preserve and carried it forward to new generations or they would lose their unique identity over a period of time.

He reiterated that ‘the Gondi Dharma which was their religion, was not categorized under any religion in the Indian Constitution’.   

Even Adivasi women have been taking the ‘Jai Jango ..Jai Lingo Deekshalu’ for long time. Most of the Adivasi of this district take these deekshalu at a temple at Jamgoan village in Jainoor.

Former Adivasi MLAs Atram Sakku, Soyam Bapurao, former Zilla Parishad Chairman Sidam Ganapati and many Adivasi ZPTCs, MPTC, Sarpanches irrespective of their parties have taken the deeksha in the past.   

Gondi Dharma Pracharak Sedmaki Seetharam said that Deekshalu was started by their elders, former minister late Gadam Ramarao, Sidam Arju, Gangadas Maharaj and Kusram Hanumanthrao Maharaj and added that a decision being taken to introduce ‘Jai Jango Jai Lingo’ deekshalu in the ‘Akhilbharatiya Gond Mahasabha’ held in Jamgoan in Jainoor in the year 2000.

The Adivasis started taking deekshalu in 2001, the first year itself seeing nearly 3,000 Adivasis take it.

Adivasis welcome season of festivals with Bheemalpen

An Adivasi with wooden deity 'Bheemalpen' 

Festival season for Adivasis has begun with ‘Bheemalpen’ festival which is popular as Bheemanna pujalu and they take ‘Devul’ (wooden deities) for bathing at sacred place ‘Demmala rajul’ near Dhammannapet in Utnoor mandal.

Adivasis celebrate Bheemalpen festival in the month of ‘Margashira’ every year. Adivasis are busy in celebrating their traditional festivals these days in the district.

Adivasis of Asifabad take their Devul to ‘Khariyar’ and Kerameri to ‘Patteda’, Tiryani to Danthanpalli ganga, Narnoor to Gundala ganga, Indravelli to ‘Pulikakchar’ and Adivasis of Neredigonda bathe their wooden deities in the Kuntala waterfalls. Most of the Adivasi jataras will follow their festivals in the Adilabad district.

The popular Adivasis jataras are Jagadamba jatara in Lingapur in Sirpur( U),  Kamdev in Narnoor, Keslapur in Indravelli, Budumdev in Shyampur in Utnoor, Mahadev in Sirpur (U), Balaji in Kerameri, Bhadi jatara in Bela mandals in district.                             

Adivasis do their cooking with the new crops or beans like ‘chikkudu’, ‘Anapa’, pulses like redgram, rice only after performing special puja called Satti to the Bheemalpen.     

Adivasis festivals continue with Jangubai to be held from January11- February8 in the dense forests near Parandholi in Keremeri mandal on the borders of Maharashtra.

Mesram Mothirao of Gangapur village in Utnoor mandal who led a group of Adivasis to the Demmalrajul, said they have started their journey by walk and they returned to their village three days later after performing pujas to Bheemalpen.   Bheemalpen festival is the first one in their festival season and they perform puja with devotion’, he said.    

The wooden deities called ‘Devul’ (gods) are bathed (Gangasnan) and taken to their village and to be installed in the sacred place as usual. The Kolam and Gond Adivasis will perform special puja to the Bhemalpen in this season.

These rituals reflect the Adivasis’ sacred bond with the nature and crops they cultivate and sacredness attached to the food grains they consume.

Gondi Dharma Pracharak Sedmaki Seetharam said ‘Bheemaldev festival has much importance in the festival calendar of the Adivasis and they cannot avoid the Bheemalpen festival’.

He said Adivasis will be busy in their festivals Jangubai and Jallidevara (Persapen) which are important for the Adivasis and the popular Adivasi jataras will follow their festivals.