Devaragutta Dasara festival is a festival celebrated during Hindu festival, Dasara in Devaragutta in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India.[1] It is a violent form of celebration where people from five villages fight with long bamboo sticks. Many devotees who participate in the fight get injured.[2]
History
As per legends, Mani and Mallasura were two demons who lived in the hillock areas of Devaragutta. The demons regularly tortured the saints performing penance. The saints prayed to Lord Parameswara and Parvathi to save them from the demons. On the night of Vijayadashami, the lord took the form of moola virat in Kurmavatharam and appeared on the Devaragutta hillock to slay the demons. While dying, the demons prayed to be given human sacrifices every year which the lord denied and instead gave a fistful of blood in Rakshapada.[3][4][5][6]
Rituals
Popularly known as the Banni festival of Sri Mala Malleswara Swamy temple in Devaragutta, it spans eleven days and culminates on the day of Vijaydashami where people from five villages form two separate groups to fight with each other for the purpose of claiming the idol of the deity.[3][7]
The head priest commences the festival with Ganapati puja, Kankanadharana, Nischithartham for Mala Malleswara Swamy and Parvathi, and Dwajarohanam. Then the devotees offer prayers to Sri Mala Malleswara Swamy and Parvati, and carry the idols of the deities down the hillock. Thousands of devotees from the villages of Kothapeta, Neraniki Thanda, and Neraniki join the procession; they carry long sticks with metal ring tips and flaming torches to dance and perform feats.[3][5]
At the same time, devotees from the rival villages of Yellarthi, Sullivan, Aluru, Netravatti, and Arizona prepare to divert the procession towards their villages as it is considered auspicious. Both groups of devotees clash, which often leads to injuries. The deities are taken to Padalakatta the next day where the temple head priest slits his thigh with a knife to offer the blood to Lord Mala Malleswara Swamy. The priest then addresses the gathered devotees and predicts the future of the villages as well as comments on the crops grown in the region.[3][5]
The deities are taken to Simhasanakatta and the priest performs rituals to mark the end of that year’s Devaragutta Dasara festival.[3]
People from nearby states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu travel to Devaragutta during the festival.[4]
References
- ^ "Weird festivals in Kurnool villages". The New Indian Express. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^ "Seventy injured in annual bloody sport in Andhra". Yahoo News India. 7 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e archive, From our online (26 September 2017). "Banni festival commences at Devaragattu". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Residents of this Andhra village fight to show love for local deity on Dusshera". ANI News. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ a b c "Devaragattu's annual Banni festival celebrated with traditional stick fight". India Today. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ "In pics: A temple in Andhra Pradesh where devotees go to kill or be killed". Hindustan Times. 5 October 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ "Over 70 injured at Devaragattu Banni stick festival during Dussehra celebrations". The Times of India. 13 October 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 19 February 2025.