The Santhal community’s annual festival Damodar Yatra began on Tuesday here amidst much fanfare. The festival, known as ‘Jangbahatupu’ in Santhali parlance, began at the confluence of Budhabalanga, Jarali and Sarali rivers near the district headquarters town.
The confluence named here as Sunamuhin Ghat is now witnessing the arrival of lakhs of Santhals drawn from not only different parts of Mayurbhanj, but also from other areas like neighbouring Keonjhar and Baleswar districts and also from Jharkhand and West Bengal. People have gathered here to pay homage to their ancestors, by doing Shraddha and Tilatarpan in their own age-old traditional way.
People are found to be coming to this holy site in colourful processions, being dressed in traditional attire. They are seen to be arriving at the spot, beating their traditional drums like Dhumsa and Madal. Then they are being tonsured, doing “asthi bisarjan” in all the three rivers and after that they are taking a holy dip at the meeting point of these three rivers. Thus they are seen to be completing their rituals.