GADAG: As we celebrate Deepavali by bursting crackers, distributing sweets and embarking on holidays, we tend to forget that there are communities which are siloed from such forms of enjoyment. Their celebrations may seem idiosyncratic, stemming from a firm belief system that is bequeathed to them by previous generations.
These nomadic shepherds, even as others are picking crackers, are busy hunting for places for their flock of sheep to graze. It does not matter whether it is raining or it is painfully hot, but they keep moving with their family and sheep.
Amidst this trekking and leading the hard life, they do not forget to celebrate Deepavali in their own unique way. We caught up with a group of shepherds near Naregal town in Gadag district. They had been forced to camp on the outskirts as it was raining incessantly. They said that they celebrate the festival for five days and most years, far away from their hometowns.
On the Padya morning, they worship their flock and boil milk, which shows them the direction to find the next grazing ground. On the rest of the days, they perform Lakshmi puja and other rituals. They place a lamp in front of the flock, put kumkum and turmeric on them, and offer prayers as others do to deities, for prosperity. The dung is collected and spread on the floor, while a portion of it is kept in a pot. The place where the pot is kept is decorated with sugarcane sticks and marigolds, while a saree goes into the pot. Weapons like axes, knives and others are arranged in front of the pot and worshipped. Shepherds prepare sweet dishes, rice, sambar and papads, and offer them to their flock first. Only later do they have their meal.
They purchase a new clay pot, into which they put vermicelli, tur dal, and milk, and boil the mixture. That is when they know which direction to lead their flock next. Women in the group sell sheep milk in nearby villages, fetch water and cook food. Some women also stitch dresses and sell them.
Kalakappa Rathode, who celebrated Deepavali with his family near Naregal, said, “We came from Gajendragad. Incessant rain forced us to halt. This time, the boiling milk showed us the way towards the south and we will go in that direction. We are lucky that during our journey, we will find Kappatagudda, and will reach there in two days. We are a group of 12 people with a flock of 70 sheep.”
Members of another group from Rajur village of Gajendragad said, “We celebrated Deepavali on the outskirts of Nagendragad near Bagalkot district. We are 19 of us and we had to around hillocks and forests in search of a place for our flock to graze. We boiled the milk near Nagendragad and it showed us the way towards Ballari. Incessant rain has made moving around with a flock of 114 sheep difficult.”
Lalavva, a woman from Gajendragad, said, “We sell sheep milk to those who want it. Some of us are sending our children to school as we want our children to get good jobs. They should not be deprived of education because of our migration.”
WORSHIPPING PANDAVAS
Nomadic shepherds prepare Pandavas using cow dung. They offer marigolds and worship God for health and prosperity. They call their rituals that coincide with Deepavali as Hatti Puja.
Deepotsava
The shepherds clean up their hatti, or a place for the flock to rest, and light numerous lamps every morning and evening on all five days of Diwali. Every evening, they gather to celebrate deepotsava in their hatti. This year, after the solar eclipse, the shepherds visited nearby temples and worshipped on Amavasya day. After coming back, they worshipped their presiding deity.