Baripada: The Kudumi community in Mayurbhanj celebrates Tusu festival on Makar Sankranti. Tusu is basically a harvest and most important festival of this community.
The festival is a time for celebrations, drinking and dancing for tribals. But over the years, the 15-day festival seems to be losing its charm in Mayurbhanj.
Now, cock fights have been made part of the merrymaking in the festival. Elderly persons recalled their childhood days when their family members used to sing Tusu songs in all simplicity as part of worshipping Tusu Devi.
The festival is mainly about the collection of songs sung by the unmarried girls during the nights, throughout the month of Poush.
Legend has it that Tusu was the only daughter of a landlord of Kudumi community ages ago. She was extremely beautiful. At that time, the Moghuls were ruling the country. A Moghul king was charmed by her beauty and wanted Tusu to be her queen.
But Tusu’s father was against this. Her father searched for a groom for her daughter. The Moghul king was furious at this and killed the would-be groom of Tusu and tortured her family.
To save herself from the Moghul king, Tusu ended her life by jumping into a river on Makar Sankranti. Since then, the Kudumi community has been celebrating Makar Sankranti to remember Tusu’s sacrifice. Kudumis call Makar Sankranti as Baundi.
On Makar Sankranti, unmarried girls in groups along with puja materials sing songs dedicated to Tusu Devi as per rituals.
Makar rice and various food items are offered to the Goddess and the people indulge in merrymaking throughout the night. Later, Tusu idols are immersed in rivers and water bodies. People organise sports activities, cock fights and various competitions.
Kameswar Rana, an idol seller, said that people are now attaching much importance to entertainment. Like previous years, idols of Tusu are not being sold, he added.
PNN