Jeypore tribals keep kingship custom alive

KORAPUT: Kings may have been long buried under the dunes of past, but tribals have kept a tradition of the erstwhile Jeypore kingdom alive.
This Durga Puja, around 70 tribal groups from Koraput and Nabarangpur districts congregated at Jeypore with their 'sacred lathis'. These are kept at the local temple, as has been the practice for ages.
Legend has it that Jeypore king used to appoint headmen, who were called pujaris (priests).They collected land and forest revenue and other gifts for the king. The tribal heads walked barefoot to Jeypore in a procession for Durga Puja celebrations. They carried a small idol of Durga and the sacred lathi in a palanquin. It took them more than a month to cross the hilly terrains to reach the erstwhile kingdom.
They usually reached Jeypore on Asthami and handed over the revenue collected and gifts to the king. A special Raj Bhet was organized before Vijaydashmi to welcome them. "The villagers used to apprise the king of their problems. Their grievances were redressed on the spot," said K C Sahu of Jeypore.
Durga Puja then used to be a 16-day affair, he added.
On Vijaydashmi midnight, people gathered around a celestial fire. The rituals continued till early morning. After the celebrations, the tribals returned to their villages with the lathis.
"The tribals worship the lathis all year round. They keep the lathis at the village altar with a belief that these will bring them prosperity," said local MLA and Jeypore puja committee president Tara Prasad Bahinipati.
"The tribals have stuck to the age-old practice and relive the glorious past of Jeypore kings and kingdom with this tradition," he added.