Baha parab

"Baha parab" is a great festival of santhal, kol, oraon, munda etc. tribes. "Baha" means flower. At "Baha parab" men, women and children attired in traditional clothes thronged to the festival. The beats of Madal reverberated. This festival takes place in the spring. [1]

Ritual

Marking the festival, the naikey (the priest) performed a ritual. A kula with flowers and leaves of the sal tree is offered to a Jaherthan (the altar) and devotees pray to "Jaher Ara", the god. After performing the rituals, the naikey along with others goes from door to door with the kula to bless everyone. People in the household, in particular young girls or women, offer food to the naikey. The naikey's feet are washed with water as he is welcomed by a family. After performing the rituals, the 2nd part of programme start with dances, songs and archery practice. The festival starts, end and carry on with Hariya and joy.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Folklore, the Pulse of the People: In the Context of Indic Folklore By Mazharul Islam p.212
  2. ↑ Bharater adibasi, samaj
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/8/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.