Chhattisgarh Festivals & Fairs

Chhattisgarh is famous for its festivals. Pola, Nawakhana, Dussehara, Deepavali, Holi, Govardhan Pooja are celebrated with much gaiety and festivity.

Hareli or Hariri

Hareli or Hariri falls on the day of Sravana (Between July- August) Amavasya. In Mandla, it is celebrated on the new-moon day of the same month. The festival is significant for the agriculturists of central India. On this day, all peasants and farmers offer puja to their implements. No one works the whole day. Paddy seedlings are stuck over the doors of houses by Dewar priests in Mandla villages. Men go and plant green twigs in the field with certain rites, wishing to have good crops. Anadai, the goddess of crops, is invoked to give them prosperity. Young boys give an additional touch to the occasion by display of walking and running on stilts. In Malwa, the festival is called Harya Gondiya, with the difference that it is observed exclusively by women as Vrat, in the month of Asadha (June- July).

Pola

Pola follows Hareli. It is celebrated by worshipping bullocks. Children play with idols of Nandi bull (the vehicle of Lord Shiva) made of clay and fitted with clay wheels. A bull race is a major event of the festival.

Nawakhana

This  festival is observed in Chhattisgarh in the Shukla Paksha or the bright fortnight in the month of Bhadon, which coincides with the month of September.
The Gonds offer newly harvested food grains and liquor to their ancestors on this day. The festival is celebrated in various forms in different districts.

In the Kondagaon tehsil of the district, Buddha Deo is worshipped on this particular day, while in the Jagdalpur tehsil, the festivities are observed by taking sweets and gifting new clothes to the members of the family.

Bastar Dussehra

The most important and longest festival in the region, of which the ten days of Navaratri are celebrated with great fervour. The tribals celebrate Dussehra as a congregation of Devi Maoli, and all her sisters. Hundreds of priests bring flower-bedecked local deities to the Danteshwari temple in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar District, arriving with all pomp and show. Rath Yatra (Chariot pulling) by devotees accompanied by dance, music, processions and unique rituals can be witnessed during this festivities. This festival is believed to have been started, in the 15th century, by Maharaj Purushottam Deo, the fourth Kakatiya ruler.

Govardhan Pooja

The  Govardhan Pooja is performe in the state of Chhattisgarh with lots of gaiety and festivity and has its origins in the legends of Hindu mythology. On the day of this festival the people of Chhattisgarh build cow dung hillocks and then decorated them with flowers after which they worship them. In some regions this day is also observed as 'Annakoot' meaning 'mount of food' . After the traditional worship comes to an end, an assortment of sweets is offered to the deities also known as 'bhog', following which the people consumes the prasad themselves.

Madai fair

In the tribal villages of Bastar, the Madai fairs record their social consideration as of vital importance to all the ethnic groups of the area. The festival which showcases the rich culture and traditions of Chattisgarh is held at several districts of the state. The Madai fairs of Narayanpur, Kondagaon, Dantewara and Dhanara, falls within February, March and April every year.

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