Week-long tribal festival 'Budhi Diwali' begins in HP's Sirmaur

Over three lakh residents belonging to the Hatti community living in the 154 panchayats of the Trans-Giri area of Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district began celebrating the week-long tribal festival 'Budhi Diwali' on Tuesday.

'Maounce' (amavasya) was being celebrated on the first day of the festival on Tuesday.

The Hatti community on this occasion prepares a large number of traditional dishes, including Badoli, Cidkoo, Malpuda, Patande and different varieties of Muda dish.

During the evening, the villagers went to the temple of Kuldevta and burnt the fire in front of the temple as per the tradition. Fire burning (called Holode in the local dialect), is a ritual to please local deity (gram devta).

On this occasion, the villagers perform 'havan' by offering homemade Muda (roasted grains) in the fire and sing traditional folklores.

Kundan Singh Shastri, the general secretary of Kendriya Samiti, -- a principal organisation of the Hatti community -- said Baliraj celebration will take place early Wednesday morning in which the villagers dance together in the courtyard of every household.

This is a whole day celebration called 'Bhiuri' in the local language, he added.

During the seven-day long festival, different traditional folk celebrations like Rasa, Naati, Jhury, Jhanga, Swang, Hirani and Natak are organised almost in every village during the day and night hours.

Ram Lal Thakur, a social worker of Aanj Bhoj of Trans-Giri area, said all the married women come to their parents home to join the festival celebrations.