Bolangir: The shrine of the presiding deity Sulia Budha at Khairaguda Badakhala and Kumuria Sanakhala villages of Deogaon block in Bolangir district is all set to get soaked in birds and animals blood as the traditional festival begins Tuesday.
The festival is held every year on the first Tuesday of the lunar fortnight of the Hindu Pousha month by the tribals.
According to the age-old gory tradition, a white hen and a white goat will be sacrificed first at the shrine. Thereafter, the devotees coming from different parts of Odisha and neighbouring states like West Bengal and Chhattisgarh offer birds and animals to the deity. Folklore is that, if the deity is appeased with animal blood, there will be good rain and resultantly good harvest. However, these days, devotees offer birds and animals for the promises they made for fulfillment of their wishes.
Notably, the Sulia Yatra puja committee had convened a meeting January 14 and decided that the rituals concerning the puja and animal sacrifice would be performed according to tribal customs during the festival sans major celebrations following COVID-19 guidelines.
PNN