News in Frames: Prayers of Patalkot

February 2, 2025

Patalkot, a remote valley located near Tamiya in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh, is not only an untouched paradise for nature enthusiasts but also a sacred land steeped in ancient traditions. Home to indigenous tribes, including the Bhariya, Gond, and several other tribal communities, the valley has long been a place where traditions have been passed down generations.

Among these traditions are the vital spiritual and cultural rituals practised by the Bhariya and Gond tribes, the Ganga Pujan and Beedari Puja.

Ganga Pujan is a ceremonial rite performed to honour and elevate deceased family members to the status of deities. After a family member passes away, a special ceremony is conducted where the villagers, alongside the ojha (spiritual healer) and gunia (traditional priest), gather to carve sacred symbols onto stones. These stones are then placed at a sacred site where prayers are offered to the Ganga.

Beedari Puja is a harvest and fertility ritual. During this ceremony, both men and women from the community prepare traditional dishes and bring them to the village temple or designated prayer site, accompanied by bamboo baskets coated with clay.

These baskets contain various seeds from their home grain reserves — maize, millet, finger millet, and sorghum — which are essential for their agricultural practices. The seeds are blessed during the ceremony and then distributed among the villagers in small leaf bundles. Each family mixes the blessed seeds with their own, symbolising the sharing of blessings for a fruitful harvest. The belief is that this ritual ensures prosperity, good health, and a bountiful harvest, with the god’s blessings ensuring the fertility of the land.

Both the Ganga Pujan and the Beedari Puja serve as profound expressions of the tribes’ deep respect for nature, their ancestors, and the divine forces that govern the cycles of life and nature.

These rituals not only preserve the spiritual traditions of the Bhariya and Gond tribes but also reflect their agricultural knowledge and reverence for the environment.

Photo:
A.M. Faruqui

Precious offerings: Women and men from the Bhariya and Gond tribal communities bring home-cooked dishes and bamboo baskets coated with clay for the Beedari Puja. The baskets hold seeds from their personal grain reserves destined to be sown in the fields.

Photo:
A.M. Faruqui

Sacred seeds: Small bundles of leaves with seeds are distributed to the men, who will mix them with the seeds brought by them, for a blessed and bountiful harvest.

Photo:
A.M. Faruqui

Unity in tradition: Tribal women walking together in devotion for the Ganga Pujan ceremony, honouring their ancestral traditions with unity and reverence.