Nagoba Jatara begins in Keslapur today

Adilabad: Nagoba Jatara, the second biggest tribal festival in Telangana state, is set to be celebrated in Keslapur village in Indervelli mandal in Adilabad district from Saturday.

According to district officials, the Adivasi festival is recognised as the state festival and it will start with Mahapuja and will be celebrated from January 21 to 24. However, as per tradition, the festival will continue till January 28. The Nagoba Darbar will be held on January 24 to discuss the issues facing tribal people in general and the pilgrims in particular.

It may be noted that the presiding deity of Keslapru temple is Seshanag (Serpent God). The fair is held during Pushya Masama and the beginning of Magha Masam. The temple is also called Adisesha Mandir.

As part of the tradition, the people of the Gond Mesram clan fetch sacred water from the River Godavari and perform special Abhishekam to the diety. The sacred waters are taken in a 1,400-year-old container called Jhari, a small, long-necked, spherical brass vessel. The sacred waters are drawn from a spot in the Godavari River called Hastina Madugu. The deity is believed to quench his thirst after partaking Naivedayam or offering. The Abhishekam is being performed ahead of the beginning of the Nagoba Jatara.

The event also includes a ceremony called Bheting, one of their many ceremonies, through which new in-laws are formally introduced to the clan. All those newly married into the clan during the previous year need to meet clan deities through Bheting. This makes them eligible to enter the deity's temple.

People of the Mesram clan fetch sacred waters after walking about 150 km, visiting the villages of Vadgam and Dodanda in Indervelli mandal; Yellampally and Kothapalli in Narnoor mandal; Lendijala and Gowri in Jainoora and Sirpur U and Jannaram mandals.

They reach the place of Nagoba Jatara and keep the fetched sacred water pots drawn from Godavari under a banyan tree at the place where Nagoba Jatara takes place. Thousands of devotees of Nagoba throng the Nagoba temple from nearby Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh states.