Nagoba Jatara: Thousands of tribals congregate at Adilabad’s Keslapur

The Nagoba Jatara at Keslapur village in Adilabad district witnessed a massive turnout, with nearly 3 lakh devotees from Telangana and neighbouring states participating in rituals and prayers. The event included the customary Bheting ceremony, where newly wedded women and daughters-in-law were formally inducted into the Mesram clan.

Adilabad: A large number of devotees made a beeline to Nagoba temple at remote Keslapur village in Indervelli mandal on the third day of ongoing Nagoba Jatara on Tuesday.

Nearly 3 lakh tribals belonging to several parts of Telangana and neighbouring Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh and non-tribals thronged the shrine by forming serpentine queue lines.

They then performed special prayers, presented Naivedyam and broke coconuts as a token of gratitude for their well-being. The sleepy village has become alive following the arrival of thousands of devotees.

Meanwhile, around 250 newly wedded women and existing daughters-in-laws were inducted into the Mesram clan during the customary Bheting or introduction of the women conducted in presence of elders of the clan on Monday night. The women were then allowed to visit the deity of the temple and take blessings of the elders, attaining status of daughters-in-law of the clan.

Nagoba Jatara, commenced on Sunday night, is an important religious and cultural affair of the clan. The ritual is observed in the night of Amavasya (Dark moon lunar) in the month of Poos or Pushya. It is the largest religious gathering of ethnic tribes in the country after the biennial Sammakka-Saralamma jatara in Medaram of Mulugu district.