This Chhattisgarh tribal community celebrates Diwali feeding rice beer to cows, bulls

As different communities celebrate Diwali in various ways, this tribal community in Chhattisgarh observes the festival of lights by feeding cows and bulls rice beer, locally known as hadiya and drinking the same liquor themselves.

Diwali for the Manjhi community in Mainpat and Surguja is celebrated by worshipping cows and bulls, followed by feeding the livestock with hadiya, a local traditional rice beer.

Hadiya is made by first cooking rice and then adding wild herbs. This mixture is sealed in an earthen pot and left to ferment for about five days. Though hadiya is formed at this point, it is typically consumed 24 hours after its full preparation.

Known for their folk traditions and customs, members of the community said the preparations span eight days before Diwali. Starting from cleaning the house and applying chohee, which is a type of clay or cow dung plaster.

“After cleaning the house, a lamp is lit on Diwali day,” said Sohan Nag from the community.

“Everyone eats cucumber and drinks hadiya. The next morning, we prepare dal-rice and give hadiya to our cows and bulls along with the food,” he added.

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The morning after Diwali, the members clean the cowshed while the cows and bulls are bathed, after which they apply oil to them when incense is burned in the shed. Simultaneously, a meal of new corn, new paddy, and new pulses is prepared.

“After cooking, we wash the feet of Lakshmi, the cow, with hadiya and then offer them the drink along with the food. We drink the remaining hadiya,” Ram Manjh, a tribal, was quoted by ETV Bharat.

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