ADILABAD: While Ashada Bonalu is a festival celebrated across the State, tribals living in thandas and gudems of the erstwhile Adilabad district celebrate Akadi puja during the fourth month of the year, according to the Hindu calendar. As the Ashada month begins, tribals from the Gonds and Kollam sects begin their celebrations. However, they had to halt their celebrations for a few days this year due to the incessant rains that lashed the district.
Tribals worship a deity, Rajul Pane, during the month-long festival. It’s believed that tribals pray to the god so that their cattle who go to the forest areas for grazing are protected from wild animals and pests.
As part of the rituals, sweet rice is rolled into balls and offered to the deity as prasadam. People perform the sacrifice of hens and goats, whose meat people consume at a feast.
God’s gift
After the end of the ritual, the priests pluck some leaves from trees in the forest, which are then administered to people suffering from serious diseases. Locally believed to be ‘god’s gift’, they believe that whoever is administered those leaves would be cured of any disease.
Dance and song
As part of the festivities, artists play traditional instruments tudum and dolus during the puja. This apart, they also perform the Dandari (or Gussadi dance) to the beat of the percussion instruments, which dancers practise for four months.
Kanaka Venkatesh, a resident of Marlavai village, says the tribals celebrate Akkadi puja with pomp and show. They don’t shy away from exhibiting their uniqueness and cultural customs during the festival, he adds.