Banni festival commences at Devaragattu
KURNOOL: The 11-day traditional Banni festival of Sri Mala Malleswara Swamy temple at Devaragattu in Holagunda mandal of Kurnool district began with religious fervour on Monday. The temple priest performed Ganapati puja, Kankanadharana, Nischithartham for Mala Malleswara Swamy and Parvathi Devi and Dwajarohanam signalling the commencement of the festival.Speaking to the media, temple development committee chairman E Veerabhadra Goud said that on September 30, thousands of people of Neraniki, Neraniki thanda, Kothapet and adjoining 10 villages will converge on Devaragattu where they resort to a mock stick fight while carrying the idol of Sri Mala Malleswara Swamy and Parvathi Devi from atop a 800-foot high hillock. The festival will conclude on October 4.
Call to celebrate fete peacefully
SP Gopinath Jetty said a heavy posse of police force will be posted for bandobust duties. District collector S Satyanarayana called upon the people to celebrate the famous Devaragattu Banni (stick fight) festivities on the occasion of Dasara festival without giving scope for bleeding injuries. He told the villagers to educate their brethren not to resort to stick fight and cause bleeding injuries and take responsibility for conducting the festival peacefully.
Brief history
According to a legend, two demons -- Mani and Mallasura -- lived in Devaragattu hillocks and tortured saints who undertook penance and the latter prayed to Lord Parameswara and Parvati to rescue them.
The Lord appeared as ‘moola virat’ in Kurmavatharam on a stone atop the hillock and eliminated the demons on the night of Vijayadasami. Before dying at ‘Rakshapada’, the demons prayed to the almighty to give them human sacrifice every year, but he refused and offered a fistful of blood in ‘Rakshapada’ area on the night of Vijayadasami, according to elders.
Marking the occasion, villagers offer prayers to Sri Mala Malleswara Swamy and Parvati Devi and run down the hillock carrying the idols. Thousands of people of Neraniki, Neraniki thanda and Kothapet assemble at Palabanda at midnight, vow to give personal vengeance and conduct the festival with grandeur. As the deities are carried on ‘aswavahanam’ by a group of persons, thousands of persons carrying flaming torches and long sticks having metal ring tips, dance to drumbeats, perform feats and form groups village-wise. In the fierce struggle, several persons sustain injuries on their head and limbs.