Chhattisgarh being a tribal territory has a plethora of festivals that act as a showcase of the indigenous tribes distinct cultures, folklores and dance forms. Besides the festivals specific to Chhattisgarh, the region and its people lend ethnic overtones to other festivals that are celebrated throughout India.
The main festivals in Chhattisgarh include:
Hareli Festival
Madai Festival
Bhagoriya Festival
Dusshera Festival
Ganga Dashera Festival
Charta Festival
Navakhai Festival
Surhul Festival
Hareli Festival
Held in the month of monsoon (sawan), Hareli Festival is celebrated in Chhattisgarh to pray for a good harvest. In this festival, the local farmers worship the farm equipments and cows and hang strings of neem leaves on their doors to ward off diseases and be blessed with healthy crops.
Madai Festival in Chhattisgarh
The festival of Gonds, an old tribal community in Chhattisgarh, Madai Festival is a means to meet relatives settled in different villages and purchase yearlong supplies of daily needs such as salt and cooking oil. Devotees sacrifice a goat beneath the sacred village tree to honor the tribal goddess; the night is marked with non-stop drinking and dancing. The best place to visit to attend the festival is Narayanpur in Bastar.
Bhagoriya Festival in Chhattisgarh
Held a week ago Holi, a Hindu festival, the Festival that originated in the Bhils dominated Jhabua district allows you to officially elope with your lover. The devotees worship the god of dance Bahgoradav on this occasion.
Dusshera and Ganga Dusshera Festival in Chhattisgarh
The Ganga Dusshera Festival is celebrated on Bhim Sen Ekadashi to mark the sowing of Kharif crops. Tribal dances, colorful processions and endless rounds of drinking mark the Ganga Dusshera festival, which are similar to Dusshera celebrations in Chhattisgarh.
Charta Festival
A harvest festival that is celebrated by all tribal communities in Chhattisgarh, Charta Festival has kids going around the village collecting rice from each household. The married girls then cook the collected rice on the banks of the nearby water body as men and women sing and dance, eagerly awaiting the community feast to be served.
Navakhana Festival
Another festival celebrated by all the communities to mark the rice harvest, Navakana festival begins with offerings of the harvested rice (new for the season) to the family deity on Navami. Some communities may even have dances and liquor during the night after the family consumes the first of the newly harvested rice.
Surhul Festival
A festival that has nothing to do with harvest, Surhul Festival is dedicated to the worship of Mother Earth and is held on the day when the Sal Trees flower. The fields are left untouched through the whole day and the farmers offer prayers at the village Sarna (a small forest within the village).
Other festivals that you can attend on your tour to Chhattisgarh include Gouri-Goura, Surti, Pola, Teeja, Navakhana, Deepavali, Holi, Govardhan Pooja, Mati Puja, Goncha (chariot festival) and Chaitrai.
