BERHAMPUR: At a time when modern lifestyle has taken the sheen off traditional practices, a few like Danda Nacha continue to retain their significance. Performed in Chaitra month of Odia calendar, the festival began in the Silk City on Monday and will continue for 21 days. The rituals usually begin 21 or 13 days before Maha Bisuva Sankranti, which falls on April 14.
Those performing Danda Nacha or the dance for penance, are called ‘Danduas’ who go through painful procedures for worshipping Goddess Kali and Lord Shiva seeking their blessings. They stay away from their near and dear ones and take food only once in a day during the festival period. The dance is performed in three phases - Pani Danda, Dhuli Danda and Agni Danda.
While performing Dhuli Danda, the Danduas sleep on sand during the day and after sunset, remain inside pond for more than one hour which is called Pani Danda. The last and most crucial phase, Agni Danda, begins at midnight when Kali and Shiva are worshipped together.
Unlike previous years, households and bazaar committees have invited Danda Nacha troupes to perform the dance this time. Dressed in orange or yellow dhotis, holding red flags and walking barefoot, ‘Danduas’ move around the city and villages of Ganjam district. Wherever they pass by, people stand on either side of the road to seek their blessings.
Each group of Danduas is led by a person called Patta Dandua (Bhukta) who confines himself to a Kali temple and comes out on Sankranti day after his group has performed the last rituals. Bhukta plays the most crucial role of appeasing the Goddess. He hangs himself upside down from a bamboo attached to two poles over a fire pit till blood oozes out of his nose. After the entire ordeal is over, the ‘Danduas’ go to the Kali temple to offer their gratitude to the Goddess.
Despite restrictions and difficult rituals followed during the dance, the number of ‘Danduas’ has been increasing every year. Of late, the ‘Dandua’ groups are taking the assistance of some opera artistes to entertain the people, who are usually shocked to witness the stringent rituals from morning till midnight. The restrictions and rituals are, however, not imposed on the artistes, who participate only with an intention to earn for survival.
The festival does not any fixed source of fund or sponsorship and is celebrated with donation from public.
Though not much is known about the origin of the dance, historians opine that the dance may have originated 400 years ago. According to legends, in earlier times, the kings used to build temples with the funds collected as tax from the citizens. People, who were not able to pay the tax, were made to walk barefoot on hot sand and even asked to remain immersed in water. The intention was to inflict pain on the defaulters. The innocent citizens, unable to revolt, went through the ordeal while praying to Goddess Kali to save them.
There are over 100 groups of Danduas in various districts including Boudh, Kandhamal and Sambalpur districts.