Boddemma
The Boddemma festival commences nine days prior
to the Batakamma festival and concludes on Mahalaya Amavasya. Bodemma
is a worship of goddess Gauri. This is the festival of unmarried
girls. The image of Boddemma is prepared with ant - hill earth
in seven layers in the shape of a gopura. It is decorated with flowers,
turmeric and Kumkum and placed in the courtyard which has been cleaned
and decorated with designs.
All
the girls of that street gather around the Boddemma during the evenings and
dance and sing, praying to Gouri for their early and successful marriage.
This festival is a counterpart to Gobbillu, popular in coastal Andhra.
Tribal Worship
Hurmur in the Utmur taluk of Adilabad district is
inhabited by Pradhans and Gonds. It has Akipen, Avul pen, Masoba
and Sathi pen deities located outside the habitation area.
Akipen,
the guardian deity of the village, is worshipped at the time of the sowing.
It is represented by two small wooden poles fixed to a big pole with a white
flag. While installing the deity, some leaves are placed beneath it. The
day for the festival and ceremonial rites is chosen according to the convenience
of the village elders. This deity is worshipped for the successful
germination of seeds. A fowl or a goat is sacrificed and prayers are
offered for a good harvest. The ceremony concludes by midday and the
villagers sow seeds immediately afterwards.
Avul
pen also called pochamma is worshipped in the month of Chaitra and Shravana
toward of epidemics. A goat is offered to the deity and its meat is
distributed equally among all the house holds in the village. Newly -
married couples worship the deity for a happy and prosperous married life.
Masoba the boundary deity represented by a triangular
stone is worshipped during the Dussehra festival. A goat is sacrificed to
the deity and its meat is distributed. The
village deity, Satti pen is worshipped in the month of November. Soon
after the harvest on a convenient day all the villagers place a small quantity
of their new crop before the idol and invoke the deity to bless them with
prosperity. The villagers cook and eat only after the Puja is over.
