Nagoba Jatara concludes with rituals in Adilabad’s Keslapur

The five-day long Nagoba Jatara, a major tribal religious and cultural festival of the Mesram clan, concluded at Keslapur village in Indervelli mandal, Adilabad. Rituals including Mandagajili and Betal Puja were performed, with Raj Gond elders displaying traditional martial skills.

Adilabad: The five-day long annual Nagoba Jatara, an important religious and cultural affair of Mesrams, concluded at Keslapur village in Indervelli mandal on Friday.

The Mesrams, who had been camping around the shrine for four days, performed Mandagajili and Betal Puja on the temple premises to mark the final of the affair. Half a dozen Raj Gond elders jumped in the air reportedly after getting possessed by the Betal god. They exhibited their fighting prowess by rotating large sticks that represent the god, amazing the tribals.

Led by clan head Mesram Venkat Rao, priests Kosu and Kose Rao, chief Dade Rao and servant Thirupathi, the Mesrams conducted various rituals as part of the fair. They left for Shyampur village in Utnoor mandal by bullock carts in the evening. They would return to their native places after visiting a temple of Budum Dev at Shyampur village in Utnoor mandal, marking the culmination of the fair.

Meanwhile, around 50,000 tribals and non-tribals belonging to not only different parts of Telangana, but also Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Bihar made a beeline to Keslapur on the concluding day. They visited the temple and offered prayers. They formed serpentine queues and took darshan of the presiding deity.