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The festival of 'Chaitra Parva' is known as "Bija Pandu"
among the tribal people known as "Koya" who are concentrated in
the Malkangiri sub-division of the district of Koraput. The Koya villages
are situated on patches of clearings in the midst of dense forests. In
each village there happens to be a 'Bijigudi' or house of Cod. The tribes
worship, 'Gudimata', the Mother Earth and also the earth whom they call "Bhumu".
During the festival they worship the 'Godlings' with liquor and sacrifice
an animal or bird.
The
Festivity
The "Bija Pandu" is the sacred seed from which the festival
takes it name. During the festival the men go out hunting and fishing in
groups and return home before dark. During the days the women keep on
singing and dancing, waiting for their men to come. In the evenings they
unite, feast, drink and dance together.
The Dance Costumes
The Koyas have special variety of dance for the festival. Men wear huge
headgears of 'Bisson'-horns, which are richly decorated with peacock
feathers and cowries. The drums are cylindrical and unusually long. Women
wear brass-caps and hold sticks fitted with tinkling bells, which they
strike during the dance in between the beats. They dance in circles
singing songs of love.