Bhubaneswar
The Purnima or full moon of Chaitra is considered auspicious and heralds the start of a three-day Kondh festival. It’s the time of the Matigan, quite literally, music of the earth. Chaitra Purnima falls on April 23 this year.
The Matigan is an earthen pot (handi) whose mouth is covered with goat or sheep hide and is ubiquitous to the Lori dance of the tribals
Tribes across southern Odisha worship their presiding deity, Dharini or Jatri Devi, from the Chaitra Purnima. She is revered in the form of a sword, stone or a piece of wood in individual homes.
Preparations are in full swing from a week before, as the tribals clean up their homesteads inside out, store the puja requirements and make the indigenous drinks of Lenda and Penam.
The puja begins collectively, after which the families retire to their homes to individually offer obeisance to their personal symbols for Jatri Devi. She is called upon to bless them for the betterment of their community.
PP Nayak, vice-president of the Nabarangpur Zilla Kala Sanskruti Sangha, explains to The Indian Tribal that the old and the young join hands to do the Lori dance thereafter. This is a swinging synchronised movement to the beat of the Matigan. One of the musicians also rhythmical generates sounds by hitting ‘lotas’ (metal pails) with sticks, when ‘Lori’ is going on.
After the piety of the moment, everyone sits down to enjoy the typical seasonal delicacies prepared for the festival. Fun, feast and frolic are the fundamental features from the beginning to the end of the three-day festival, according to Nayak.
