Baripada: Damodar Mela is all set to kick start at Baruni ghat of river Budhabalanga in Mayurbhanj from Thursday.
Thousands of Santhali tribals throng here from various parts of Mayurbhanj, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Balasore, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Kendrapara. People from other districts are expected to throng the ghat to immerse the ashes of their forefathers.
An organising committee has made necessary arrangements for devotees at the fair place.
The fair, which will go on for three days, assumes importance for tribals as they immerse the ashes of dead persons in the river during the festival.
Not only tribals in Mayurbhanj, but also those living in the entire north Orissa, neighbouring Jharkhand and West Bengal will make a beeline to the site for mass immersion of ashes.
As per tradition, tribals preserve the remains of the dead till this festival. Setting afloat the urns at the confluence of rivers Budhabalanga, Jarali and Sarali is believed to be a hallowed act.
Some tribals call the ash immersion in water as ‘Jilinj Dahar.’
They believe that the souls of the dead persons rest in peace after their ashes are immersed in the holy confluence.
Earlier, tribals used to go to Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, for which they had to spend a lot of money.
It is said that taking note of the miserable condition of tribals, the erstwhile Mayurbhanj king had brought some soil and water from the Triveni Sangam and buried it Baruni ghat.
Since then the place is believed to be as holy as the Triveni Sangam and tribals started their holy rituals here. The festival draws about four to five lakh tribals every year.
PNN