Nava Khani

Nava Khani is the biggest festival of tribals and the people of Muria tribe of Bastar region are known to celebrate this festival. This is the biggest festival of Muria society. In fact, it is a festival celebrated to welcome new food. The Muria tribal society calls it "Punang Tindana. "Punang" means new and "Tindana" means food. The Muria tribe of Bastar region celebrates this festival very extensively. What is the meaning of Nava Khani festival in his life can be gauged from the fact that he celebrates it for about one to one and a half months. After offering new food to the village god, Mati Mata (Talur Mute), Dumadeo (Pitrudev) after offering new food to the god of his pargana, first of all he sits with his family and eats Nava. On this day, he invites his relatives, celebrates Nava Khani with them. Then he roams around for a month and celebrates Nawakhani with his friends. This festival is so important for the Muria tribe that when the person eating Nava goes to someone else's house and if Nava Khani is not done there, then that person does not even drink the water of that village.

The Nawakhani festival of tribal Muria society is organized from the third day of Bhadavan (Bhadra Pada) month. First of all, "Mandadev" (main deity) of Nava Khani Pargana, also known as Gotra Devta, is celebrated in that village. For this, the people of the village where the main deity of the pargana is installed, the people of that village organize a brief meeting, here it is decided when Nawakhani will be celebrated in Mandadev. After the day is fixed, to inform the pargana, two or three groups of people of that village are formed, carrying the flag and todi symbolizing the deity and go to each village under that pargana. This group is called "pen joining", it means an invitation to the deity. "Pen" means deity and "joining" means invitation. As soon as these people reach the village, they blow the ball, so that the people of the village know that Dev is being invited. The people of this group are the heterogeneous clan people of those who believe in the deity of the pargana and their invitation is binding on all the villages under the pargana. Where to stay, where to have lunch, where to eat dinner and where to rest, all this is decided in advance. The people of the village offer rice, alcohol, chicken etc. to these groups.

This team of pen joing takes the rice liquor chicken given to them by the people of the village, on the third day of Bhadav month, on the day when women of other societies observe a fast of Teeja (Haritalika Vrat) for the longevity of their husbands, the deity of Pargana reaches the temple. On this day, these groups have to sleep at night in this temple. They cook rice and chicken received from the villagers at this place and consume alcohol. They are the only ones who have the right to receive gifts from the villagers. On the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, people of all the villages under the pargana reach the temple of the pargana with their respective deities. All the deities are honorably given a place and enthroned. They are worshipped by their priests. The people of the village give the gift brought in honor of the deity of their pargana to the chief priest. The priest then worships the main deity and offers a new paddy earring. "Bal" is also offered at this time to the main deity of the pargana.

Here "bal" means kheer which is made by cooking rice, milk and jaggery or sugar. This kheer is made from new rice. At this time paddy does not ripen, but some people sow early maturing paddy in the rice to eat new. Kheer is made from rice from that paddy. When this type of paddy is also not ripe, the old paddy is crushed with a raw earring of paddy. The part of the new paddy earring is mixed with the rice extracted from the old paddy. The tribal Muria society makes kheer from this rice and offers it to their deities. Here this hair (kheer) is not consumed by anyone as prasad, only touching each other's feet by applying tilak. Because their gods have not yet been offered new rice kheer. After this, everyone cooks the rice and meat brought with them and eats alcohol and consumes alcohol. After the Nawakhana of the Pargana deity, the people of the village under the Pargana decide when to celebrate Nawakhani in the deity of their village.

After eating the new food of the main deity of the pargana, the people of the village gather in the temple of each village on the fixed day with rice, chicken liquor. Here the priest of the deity worships his deity in the presence of all the villagers, offers new paddy earrings and offers hair (kheer) made from new rice. On this day, everyone gathers at the village Jagarani (village deity site. Here Mati Ganyata worships Mati Mata, offering her new paddy earrings and hair made from new rice. After this, everyone goes to the "Ana Kurma" of the village. It is the place of the ancestral gods of the entire village people, its structure is smaller than the Dev temple. Here too, after worshiping, new paddy earrings and new rice kheer are offered. People still do not consume this hair, only touch each other's feet by inoculating them. The reason is that Nava Khani has not yet been celebrated in their family god and ancestral deity.

A brief meeting of the entire village is held to celebrate Nawakhani in their respective homes. In this, on which day to celebrate Nawakhani in that village, it is decided. The whole village has to celebrate this festival on the same day, so enough time is kept for the new eating in this meeting. So that people make all preparations to celebrate their biggest festival and inform their relatives in advance to join their happiness. In this meeting, it is also seen whether all the families have adequate arrangements to celebrate the festival? If a family does not have arrangements, then it is fulfilled by the previous donation of the village or all the villagers together. This system is the beauty of the community life of the Muria tribe. After all the preparations are done, after inviting all the relatives, the tribal Muria society celebrates its biggest festival Nawakhani on the fixed day.

On this day, all the family members of the village wash their bath in the morning and wear a new cloth or clean cloth. There is a tradition of wearing new clothes, which is compulsorily followed. The head of the house worships his family god and his "Dumadeva" (ancestral gods) in the room of "Nukang Adka", offering sacrifices in their honor. Here too, the deities are offered new paddy earrings and hair (kheer. Alcohol oblations are offered to their ancestral gods. After this, all the people of the house, who are entitled to go to that room, bow down to all the family gods and dooma devas by offering kheer

After the puja at Nukang Adka, the people of the Muria tribe sit with their family and celebrate Nawakhani by eating hair or kheer made of new rice. In this, people of the same clan, even if they live separately, come to the big house of their ancestors to eat new food. On this day, Sagas (people related to different tribes) are also invited, but they do not sit with that family at this time. After the people of a clan are seated, the oldest woman of the family serves hair or kheer made of new rice to everyone. Everyone bows down to the new food, tilak with it and then takes it as prasad. After eating kheer, everyone touches the feet of the elderly woman who served the kheer. After this, small people in all ages touch the feet of their elders. This means that they have eaten a new meal. All the elders bless their little ones by caressing them. After this, all the relatives invited on that day drink alcohol together and eat cooked food with meat. On this day, goat meat is cooked in almost every house. In this way, the tribal Muria society celebrates its biggest festival Nawakhani.

On the second day of celebrating Geeta Johrani Nawakhani, all the family members of the village take some alcohol from their respective homes and go to the house of the village Mati Ganya to seek his blessings. It is called "Thakur Johrani". Here all the women and men of the village gather and take blessings by touching the feet of Mati Gayata and offer them the wine brought in her honor. All the people of the village are gathered in the house of Mati Gayata. All the little ones touch the feet of the elders. All the elders of the village stand in a line and bless everyone. "All be happy like this, all live together, progress towards the village and yourselves. After this, all the people sit in a circle and drink the liquor brought with them and all together dance "Kolang". In this dance, all the men and women dance while singing "Kolang Pata" (songs of happiness) with galbahis. On this day in the evening, all the boys and girls go to the hill near the village. Boys and girls from other villages have come to this place, dancing and singing take place. There is a singing competition. The people of the Muria tribe then roam around with their brothers and brothers and celebrate the Nawakhani festival. This cycle lasts for about a month and a half.