New Delhi/Jeypore
As Dussehra approaches in southern Odisha, sacred bamboo staffs make their way from tribal villages to Jeypore, carrying a tradition that has survived the disappearance of the former royal establishment.
Known locally as lathis, these staffs are not merely ceremonial objects. They are revered in their home villages as symbols associated with village deities and prosperity, and their annual journey to Jeypore preserves a distinctive link between indigenous religious practices and the region’s historical institutions.
The tradition is one of the defining features of Jeypore’s Dussehra, setting the celebration apart from many other regional festivities. While Goddess worship remains central, the participation of tribal communities and the arrival of sacred lathis give the festival a particular cultural and historical significance.
More than 60 tribal groups are expected to participate in this year’s celebrations.
Sacred staffs and the village deity
The lathis are kept at village altars throughout the year and are associated with the communities’ local deities. Their movement to Jeypore during Dussehra is therefore a religious act as well as a public procession.
Historical accounts describe the staffs as sacred objects brought by tribal chiefs and village headmen from different parts of the former Jeypore kingdom. The participants travelled to the royal centre to pay homage to Goddess Durga and take part in the ceremonies.
The Odisha District Gazetteer records the importance of the lathi tradition in the former Jeypore kingdom’s Dussehra celebrations. The staffs were associated with the village mother deity, and their arrival formed part of a wider ceremonial relationship between the king and the tribal communities of the region.
The procession brought together local worship, community leadership and the royal festival. Tribal headmen were historically associated with village administration and the collection of land and forest revenue, while the king honoured them with ceremonial gifts.
These practices must be understood in their historical context. The former royal establishment operated within a political and social order that differs from contemporary administration, but its ceremonies helped shape the traditions through which communities interacted with the royal centre.
The former kingdom’s Dussehra
Jeypore’s Dussehra was historically a major event in the former kingdom. Reports describe a festival lasting 16 days, with the scale of the celebration once compared with Mysuru’s Dasara.
The royal family worshipped its family deity, Maa Kanka Durga, also referred to as Kanaka Durga in published accounts. Historical narratives associate the establishment of the goddess’s worship with the former ruling dynasty and its links with the Gajapati rulers of Puri.
During the royal celebrations, the king would reportedly proceed through the town on a decorated elephant after offering prayers at the temple. Tribal headmen carrying sacred lathis accompanied the ceremonies, with processions culminating at the Dussehra grounds.
The rituals included the performance of a yagna as part of the Aparajita Puja observances. Historical accounts also describe the occasion as an opportunity for villagers to bring grievances before the ruler.
Tribal communities from across the region travelled to participate. Published accounts identify communities including the Bhumiya, Gadaba, Paraja, Soura, Bhatra, Gond, Didai, Durua, Kondh, Bonda and Koya among those associated with the tradition. Some accounts describe arduous journeys on foot through the hilly terrain, accompanied by traditional music, dances and religious objects.
The participation of these communities was thus not incidental to the royal festival. It formed an important part of the ceremonial relationship between the former kingdom and its surrounding villages.
What changed after the end of the royal order?
The abolition of the zamindari system in 1951 marked a turning point in Jeypore’s traditional Dussehra celebrations. With the end of the former political arrangement, the scale of the royal festivities declined, and tribal participation in the earlier form gradually diminished.
The tradition of bringing sacred lathis, however, did not disappear permanently. It was revived in 2006, with villages once again bringing their sacred bamboo staffs to Jeypore during Dussehra.
The revival represents an important distinction between the survival of a cultural practice and the survival of the institution that once organised it. The former royal order no longer governs the festival, but the lathi tradition continues to provide a connection with its history.
Today, the celebration is organised through contemporary festival committees and local institutions. Tribal communities continue to participate, although the scale and organisation differ from the royal ceremonies described in historical accounts.
The sacred lathis retain their association with village deities and prosperity. Their journey to Jeypore also serves as a reminder of the customary relationships between communities, their places of worship and the town’s historical role as a regional centre.
A tradition that is more than a procession
The significance of Jeypore’s lathi worship lies in the meanings attached to the staffs and the communities that bring them to the festival.
They represent local religious traditions that continue to be observed in village settings, even as the larger public celebration has changed. The procession creates a shared space in which tribal customs and regional Goddess worship intersect.
It is important, however, not to treat all participating tribal communities as culturally identical. The groups associated with the Jeypore tradition have their own histories, languages and customary practices. Their participation in a common festival does not erase those distinctions.
Nor should Jeypore’s Dussehra be confused with Bastar Dussehra in Chhattisgarh. Both have distinctive indigenous and historical dimensions, but their rituals and institutional histories differ. Jeypore’s celebrations include Goddess worship and have also featured Ravana Podi, or the burning of Ravana’s effigy, unlike Bastar’s festival, where Ravana’s effigy is not burnt.
That contrast underlines the diversity of India’s regional Dussehra traditions. The presence of tribal customs does not make all such festivals identical; each must be understood through its own history and community practices.
Keeping the cultural connection alive
Jeypore’s sacred lathi tradition demonstrates how indigenous customs can outlast the political institutions with which they were once associated. The royal ceremonies have changed, the organisation of the festival has evolved, and participation has passed through periods of decline and revival.
Yet the staffs continue to travel from village altars to the festival, carrying their religious significance into a public celebration.
The story of Jeypore Dussehra is therefore not simply about preserving an old procession. It is about the continued presence of village deities, customary practices and tribal participation in a festival shaped by centuries of regional history.
As the celebration evolves, documenting the voices of the communities that bring the lathis remains essential. Their accounts can help establish how the tradition is understood today, how it has changed across generations and what its preservation means to the people who sustain it.
