Kechadmaru
Kechadmaru is celebrated by the tribals called Mathuras
who inhabit Utmur Taluq in Adilbad district. This festival is
meant, for unmarried girls. This is celebrated on the new moon
day in the month of Shravana. All the unmarried girls of the
village gather at the Naik's house on that day and sings songs in
the name of the guru to the accompaniment of drums and eat gogri (mixture
of wheat or bengal gram and jaggery).
All the girls dance in
the morning and evening for nine days. On the the tenth day
they get clay, wheat or bengal gram and wet them with water.
The clay is placed on the patasa leaves. This ritual is known
as Dhovi. This wheat or bengal gram is sown in this clay.
The girls continue singing till the next full moon day in Rakhi Purnima.
They tie the rakhi to the Mathura men present there. The men
folk offer presents to the girls. The group singing continues
for three days. On the third day, the girls observe a fast and
each one of the unmarried girls prepares feminine idol in her house
and worship it. After the worship, the fast is broken. This
is called Teez. In the morning of the following day, the brothers
of the girls, kick away the clay idols of their respective sisters.
Then the girls take the idols to front-yard of the Naik's house and
keep them there. All the Mathura men folk, young and old, gather
at the Naik's house and dance around these idols. The Naik offers
them tea and paan. The girls collect the idols, remove the seedlings
from the clay and later the clay is immersed in the nearby stream.
The girls take' purampuri' with them and eat it here. The seedlings
are distributed among the male members after they return to their
houses. The men offer some presents and with that the festival
concludes.
