Traditional pujas performed at Nagoba temple

Adilabad: A good number of devotees thronged the Nagoba temple for darshan of the serpent god at Keslapur in Indravelli mandal of Adilabad district on Sunday.

The Nagoba Jatara in Keslapur is cited as the second most-prominent adivasi festival, after the Medaram Jatara, in the Asian continent.

Mesram clan adivasis performed ‘Persapen’ and ‘Bhankpen’ pujas and other rituals at the temple on Sunday after the Mahapuja late at night on Feb 9.

Mesram clan women made balls with sacred clay and created an ant-hill-type edifice with these in a pyramid shape.

The women performed the special rituals in the designated sacred place behind the Nagoba temple.

A large number of Mesram clan adivasis including ‘daughter–in–law’ (white-clad Bheti Koriad) were introduced to their god, Nagoba. The clan elders too were involved in making the clay balls and ant-hills.

Devotees including tribals and non-tribals kept thronging the Nagoba temple to have darshan and blessings of Nagoba.

Nagoba Jatara had been declared a state festival by the previous BRS government. Chief minister A Revanth Reddy recently announced a fund of `7 crore to take up the pending works of the temple and additional development works at the Nagoba temple.

A traditional darbar will be held on Monday, for which Panchayat Raj minister Seethakka will be the chief guest. Local MLAs and collectors and other officials would participate in the event.

As per tradition, leaders of various adivasi groups and individual adivasis will submit memorandums to the officials and the minister at the Darbar, seeking their intervention in resolving their long-pending problems of the shrine area and for additional help from the government side.