Sakhigopal: We all have heard of cock fight, sheep fight, bull fight etc being organised and enjoyed on occasion of various festivals. However, the idea of a fight between two coconuts might not seem real.
That said, this old age tradition is extant in Sakhigopal area of Puri district. This unique fight is held on the occasion of ‘Rakhi Purnima’.
Regarding the provenance of the fight, some elderly persons attribute it to huge number of coconut trees in Sakhigopal area.
Even though hundreds of coconut trees were uprooted and broken in cyclone ‘Fani’, the traditional sport was observed with all the same spirit and enthusiasm. As clichéd as it may sound, seeing is believing.
Small size coconuts are not entitled to take part in the fight. For this, comparatively bigger and longer coconuts with thicker shells are picked up. In Fact, there are some coconut trees in the backyard of some villagers which are considered as the best fighters. The contestants are required to pay well in advance to procure the coconuts of those specific trees.
Only procuring bigger and longer coconuts would not suffice to win the fight. It has to be kept in water for days together after peeling it off, to make it extra stronger.
The participants then go to the battle field holding the coconuts, proudly.
At the designated battle field with hundreds of onlookers standing around, and some cheering up their side, two participants come from opposite sides with their coconuts and go on to clash them with each other. The next moment, one of the coconuts can be found scattered on the ground and the winner side takes the pieces. This year, at some places fortune smiled on some participants who came triumphant by braking as many as 100 coconuts with their single one.
This year the price of one such coconut even touched Rs 300, an all time high, thanks to cyclone Fani.
These fights were organised at Dolabedi square, Bus stand, Pattanayakia, Baral, ShreeRamchandrapur, Biragovindapur, Biswanathpur, Kadua, Alaguma, Bidharpur and at some other areas, adding zest to the ‘Raksha Bandhan’ festival which coincided with Independence Day Thursday.
PNN