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Devi
Dhura: Devotees throw stones to please deity Champawat
(Uttarakhand): In Champawat, villagers throw stones at each other to appease
their deity. This unusual fair is celebrated annually at the temple of "Varahidevi,
as a part of Devi Dhura festival held in Champawat. Village youngsters form two
teams and start pelting stones at each other.The only way to shield oneself during
the stone pelting ritual is to hide behind a large wooden umbrella. 'Bagwaal'
begins after prayers at the Goddess Varahi Temple, whose image is kept in a locked
brass casket. "The festival is celebrated to maintain our culture, to perform
acts of bravery and to give up oneself to the will of the Goddess," said Bhuwan
Chand Joshi, the chief priest of the Varahidevi Temple. Thousands of people participate
in the festival and term of their serious injuries, as the Goddess' blessing.
"We are devotees of the Goddess, and therefore, it is our duty to play the game.
We are willing to serve the goddess at the cost of our lives. We will participate
in the festival next year too," said Laxman Singh Langaria, a villager. According
to Hindu epic Mahabharat, Bhima, one of the five Pandav brothers who was exiled
after they lost a game of dice to their Kaurav cousins, had killed a demon in
this village. The ritual marks Bhima's triumph over the demon, with locals enacting
the battle. In ancient times, human sacrifices were performed to mark the occasion.
But the temple priest and locals decided to stop it after the mother of a person
to be sacrificed prayed for his life. The festivities end in the evening with
rival villagers embracing each other and to offering prayers at the temple.
- August 30, 2007
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