Migrants from Odisha bring along new set of customs 

​Bhadrachalam: Residents of Odiya camp, a colony of migrant workers from Odisha, at Sarapaka are unique with their characteristic customs, culture, rituals and practices. They have established their colony near the ITC factory main gate. The colony is home to about 250 families from Odisha.

The customs they practice at the time of wedding, deaths and when a girl attains puberty are different from those of the people of the Telugu states. Here is an account of their lifestyle. On the occasion of Uga festival, all male members of the village go hunting in the nearby forest and the village elders cook the food. Everyone in the village should forget their differences, if any and should have a community feast on the occasion.

The members of the colony will eat mangoes only after making an offer to their God. In January, the workers celebrate Pushparup on a grand scale. They decorate their front yard with colours and give a bath to a cow before worshipping it. It is the occasion for them to celebrate the festival of colours-Holi. On the occasion, a youth sprinkles colour water on a girl of his choice. If the girl likes him, it is as good as they are man and wife. The caste elders or parents would not say no to the alliance.

Strange wedding rituals When a girl attains puberty, if the relatives want to get their son married to her, the prospective groom’s father would enquire with the girls’ parents: “What is the price of the flower that blossomed in your backyard?” Whatever is the bidding of the girl’s parents, the bride groom party has to shell down the amount without any bargaining.

The groom’s party should pay dowry according to the bidding of the bride’s party. At the time of the marriage, the groom’s party should provide everything to the girl’s family including salt and pulses. At the time of the muhurat, when the bridge groom party goes to the girl’s place to fetch her, they should present the bride’s party with basketful of ariselu (sweets), bunch of bananas, a rooster, a male goat and a can full arrack to mark the engagement of the girl with the boy.

The bride’s party will tie the rooster, brought for the prospective brother-in-law, to their legs and indulge in playful activities. At the time of the bride leaving the home, her maternal uncle would block her path by sitting on the floor with spreading a towel in front of him. The bridge groom should fulfill his wish presenting him with arrack, coconuts, beetle leaves as demanded by him. Otherwise, he would not allow the girl to leave the home.

The bride’s party will offer hot water to the groom’s party, as a prank, to wash their feet. At that time, everyone in the village, young and old, will perform wonderful Dhimsa dance. After the dance, when the groom goes to the house of the bride, the in-laws will give him an axe asking him to cut wood. The groom will be asked to dress the rooster to test his skills.

The dowry payable to the girl has now reached Rs 3500. If anyone dies in the village, the bereaved family members would not cook food for three days. Neighbours will provide them with food which is devoid of turmeric and oil. No villager would sweep his front yard during the mourning period. Those who are related to the dead should cover the body with a white cloth. When a baby was born in a family, the naming ceremony should be conducted without fail on the 21st day. Otherwise, nobody in the village will ever touch food or water from that house.

A provisions store dealer Kora Sampath said that the customs of the people of Odisha are different. He said that he had paid Rs 300 as dowry to marry the girl of his choice. A casual worker in the ITC Bisai Sonia said that their customs are strange, but they follow them scrupulously. She said that she received Rs 350 as dowry at the time of her marriage.

By PV Satyanarayan