BALI YATRA

Nabrangpur is home to an agrarian community known as Bhottada. Believed to be the original settlers of Barthagada, the Bhottada are today settled in several villages of Nabrangpur, Koraput, Kalahandi and Malkangiri districts of Odisha. It is Celebrated by the entire village, there are many reasons for organizing this festival.

During this festival, the Bhottada community conduct rituals to appease the earth goddess, Dharini. They also worship the 12 Bhimas and 21 Matas. The gradual tilting of the idols of Bhima and Kondani till they touch each other is considered as an auspicious sign, indicating the festival should be held in a village. The Yatra can also be held when a village faces hardships, disease or poor harvest. The residents of a village may also come together and decide that it is time to organize the festival.

During Bali Yatra, an enclosure is created where carved chairs represent deities like Pardesini Mata, Thakorani Mata, Telangani Mata, and Budha Raja. The Gurumai, a spiritual medium, oversees the Bali Yatra rituals, where children possessed by divine spirits, called Sira, dance in a trance like state and are offered incense.

Preparations for the final rituals of Bali Yatra begin with setting up a platform at the shrine of Bhima and Kondani at the village's edge. Villagers create a mela with stalls and games. On the penultimate day, ritual chairs are cleaned, and neighbouring villages join the celebration. A feast is prepared, followed by a procession led by the Gurumai, Sira, and women carrying baskets of seedlings to the shrine. Men twirl and lift ceremonial chairs to invite the divine spirits. At the shrine, the oracle answers questions, and new idols are installed with a pig offering to Bhima before returning to the village.