Bhawanipatna: The three-day annual Niyamraja Parva aka Niyamraja festival of Dongria and Jharnia Kondh tribes came to an end Sunday on the Niyamgiri hills which is on the fringes of Kalahandi and Rayagada districts.
Reports said that Dongria and Jharnia Kondhs, two of the primitive tribes living in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, celebrate this festival for three days on the Niyamgiri hill under Lanjigarh block in Kalahandi district. The festival started February 26 and concluded Sunday.
The three-day festival witnessed the participation of over 8,000 tribals living in 200 villages of Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, president, Lodo Sikka of ‘Niyamgiri Surakshya Samiti’ said.
The festival known as the festival of unity has come to become an expression of self-assertion of the Dongria Kondhs that the hills are theirs and no can claim their rights on them.
The festival is now an informal platform for ‘jal, jangal, zameen’ (water, forest, land) movement and to save the Niyamgiri hill from the evil eye of multinational companies, drawing participants from various states in India.
The tribals worship the Niyamgiri hill as their presiding deity which they believe to be sustaining them since ages. It is a form of nature worship which hardly has any parallel anywhere.
The Dongria and Jharnia tribals earn their living by cultivating hilly crops like pigeon peas (Kandul), millet (raggi), horsegram, maize, oranges, banana, pineapples on the hill.
However, they were up in arms against the attempts by the state government tried to hand over the hill at throwaway prices to a multinational company. They have resisted such takeovers alleging that the state government was trying to snatch away their livelihood.
The tribals have also been protesting the high-handedness and harassment by the police and CRPF jawans on the pretext combing operation against the Maoists.
The tribals conduct animal sacrifice in this festival before Niyamraja, their presiding deity as they believe this helps them get rid of all diseases and pain and in ensuring a good harvest.
This belief has taken the form of annual Niyamraja festival where Dongrias and Jharnias Kondh tribals attired in their traditional dress and weapons dance to the beating of drums and cymbals and sacrifice hens, pigeons, goats, pigs and buffaloes before their deity.
Later, the tribals holding the blood-stained rice in their hand vows to protect the Niyamgiri hill at all cost till their last breath. Tribal leaders Dadhi Pusika, Denje Pusika and Krushna Kulisika managed the arrangements.
PNN