GULBARGA: When it comes to deities, India has a bizarre assortment of practices. On Nagapanchami, the popular Hindu festival, the residents of Kandakoor village, Karnataka, worship the scorpion.
Nagapanchami is celebrated as the Chelina Jatre (Fair of Scorpions) at Kandakoor. All villagers, irrespective of caste, creed and community, celebrate this fair by preparing sweets in their houses to offer to the Scorpion divinity. Even women, born in the village but living elsewhere, return home to worship the Scorpion Goddess (Kondammai).
On the Nagapanchami day, the villagers go to the nearby hill, popularly known as the “Chelina Betta” (Hill of Scorpions) between 3 pm and 6 pm. They make a beeline for the hill, singing folk songs. Children also rush uphill in large numbers. After offering milk to the idol of the Scorpion Goddess and a statue of a snake, the worshippers start catching live scorpions that live beneath the stones on the hill. The villagers, then, bring the scorpions to the temple, collect them in a container and pour them before the idol. After the prayers and ceremonies are over, they return to the village—the odd thing is that no scorpions are seen on the hill the next day.
At least one scorpion, small or big, can be found under each big stone of the hill on the holy day. The village children play with the scorpions by putting them on different parts of their bodies, including their tongues. Miraculously, the scorpions do not sting them. The adults aren’t scared either.
Priest Babu Siddapur told this newspaper that the worshipping of scorpions has been going on in the village since many decades. “More and more people are coming in recent years thanks to the media coverage.
The scorpions found on the Nagapanchami will not sting anyone. All people, including children, play with scorpions and feel happy after celebrating the festival,” he explains. Curiously, there is no record of any scorpion bite at the primary health centre, adjacent to the scorpion hill. This remains a mystery to outsiders: the word scorpion sting itself is enough to instill fear among people. Curiously, there is no record of any scorpion bite at the primary health centre, adjacent to the scorpion hill.