Hundreds of Adivasis congregate at Padmalpuri Kako temple in Mancherial

Around 10,000 Adivasis from Telangana, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh gathered at the Padmalpuri Kako Etmasur temple in Mancherial district on Thursday. They offered prayers, took a holy dip in the Godavari and witnessed traditional Dandari-Gussadi performances.

Mancherial: Hundreds of Adivasis made a beeline for the ancient Padmalpuri Kako Etmasur temple on the banks of the Godavari at Gudirevu village in Dandepalli mandal on Thursday.

Around 10,000 Adivasis belonging to several parts of the erstwhile Adilabad district and neighbouring States congregated at the shrine and performed traditional prayers. They worshipped the deity by offering naivedyam. They had earlier taken a holy dip in the river before having darshan of the goddess.

---

A troupe of tribal artistes presented various traditional dance forms while playing musical instruments. Dandari troupes, wearing crowns made of peacock feathers, performed the popular Gussadi dance form. Adivasis from different parts of Mancherial, Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Adilabad and Nirmal districts, as well as Chandrapur, Nanded and Gadchiroli districts of Maharashtra and certain places in Chhattisgarh, camped under makeshift tents. The visitors were provided food at the shrine, and security was heightened to prevent untoward incidents.

The village has come alive with the arrival of a large number of Adivasis. They visit the shrine, the only one dedicated to the deity, as a prelude to and as part of the Dandari-Gussadi festival.