Gods too hit by drought

Adivasi Devul  (  traditional wooden gods)

The ongoing drought has affected the Adivasi’s gods, rituals and their food grains in the district.

Adivasis of most villages are avoiding taking their traditional wooden Gods to the river Godavari and sacred streams to bathe them and are instead washing them in stored Ganges water as the Godavari is dry.

They also haven’t been able economically to celebrate their traditional feasts or make pilgrimages to religious places such as Demmalrajul, Peddaiah, Pulikaschar, Jangubai, Godavari and Thotulakasa due to severe drought.

Pusyamas is the festival season for Adivasis and old age tradition is that they take their Gods Jangu Bai, Bheemal pen, and Persapen, Jallidevara to Godavari or sacred streams to bathe them.

Only priests, called Katodas and village elder are going to Godavari or nearby streams and collecting muddy water in copper pots and performing rituals back at the villages with that water.      

Most of the Adivasis say that food grains have gone dry in their houses unlike in the past and were not even in a position to drink Ambali ( liquor made of jowar) leave the alone rice to fill  their stomachs.

Neither are they in a position to repay the loans taken from bank and moneylenders due to the crop failure. Most Adivasis are now anxiously looking for the ration rice to fill their stomachs.

Mr. Kursinge Thanaji of Jamini in Jainad mandal said successive severe droughts have affected their traditional Gods and their rituals and instead of the entire village, a group of people including village headman (patel), Katoda, Mahajan, and Ghatya are going to the Godavari or any identified place to collect sacred water.

“Adivasis gave a bath to their gods in the village itself in Sangi and Pataguda with the sacred water they have collected from a stream unlike in the past and added that drought made the Adivasis financially so weak and can’t afford celebration with non – vegetarian feast now”, Thanaji observed.

Sidam Devrao of Jainoor said, a team of Adivasi elders of Ushegoan and Para brought sacred water from Toplakasa (sacred stream) near Dabholi and gave bath to Bheemalpen in the village itself and asked how Advasis can celebrate their traditional festivals when they had no crops, no money and no water due to drought.

Adivasis had incurred huge crop loss in the last Kharif and Rabi due to drought and pest attack after investing a lot.  They were also unable to get fresh crop loans due to pending loans.

Adivasi leader Atram Bhujangarao of Utnoor said that the drought has started  having an impact on their lifestyle. He said that Adivasis generally did not celebrate marriages without “Pari Bakra” (non-vegetarian food) but in the last two months, most marriages had only served vegetarian food.

He added that they had also performed a mass marriage to nine couples to reduce the expenditure in Ginnedhari village in Tiryani mandal. He said that the drought would now start affecting the health of children, pregnant and lactating women and elderly persons who were anemic.

Jugnaka Laxmi Bai of Bheemjiguda of Narnoor mandal said, some of the poor Adivasis especially primitive Kolam tribals were not in a position to take Jonna Ambali (liquid made of jowars) and struggling to meet both ends due to drought.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) has failed to provide the work to the Adivasis in the tribal areas though the scheme is aimed to prevent migrations and to provide work to the poor in the villages during the summer. The Adivasis have also not gained much from the collection of minor forest produce from the forests this summer.

The Adivasis have appealed the state government to supply traditional food grains such as Maize and Jowar in addition to the regular ration to save them from the ill- effects of the drought and prevent them falling prey to the seasonal diseases in the coming rainy season.     

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.