Mahasu Devta Temple, Hanol – Festivals

Mahasu Devta Temple, Hanol – Festivals

Shaant Festival:

Shaant Festival is one of unique festival dedicated to Mahasu Devta. There are three main types of ceremonies, namely khura shau (one hundred legs of animals sacrificed), munda shau (one hundred heads of animals sacrificed) and singhaan shau (one head of lion or at least representative a cat). Khura shau ceremonies locally called as Shaant festivals are held after several years in the habitats where the tradition of such ceremonies is continuing since past. The second type of Shaant ceremony Munda Shau is difficult to arrange in comparison to Khura shau as it involves hundred heads of animals. The Shaant festival held at Hanol in Jaunsar-Bawar region in Uttarakhand was arranged after about one hundred years. About fifty-two village gods (Gram Devatas) attended the Shaant festival.

Mahasu Devta Fair:

Mahasu Devta Fair is held every year in August. It is the most important religious fair of the local tribe. Basically, Mahasu Devta fair at Hanol is celebrated by the Jaunsari tribe and people of other communities join them. This fair depicts the cultural harmony between the communities. There is a deity idol inside the temple known as Chalta Mahasu. During the fair, this deity is taken out in procession. Large crowds walk on the both sides. The prayers are continued for three days and nights. They are accompanied by music and folk dance mainly performed by locals and people from nearby villages.

The musicians and folk dancers from Dehradun and nearby districts come to participate in this fair. The materials for performing rituals (like havan, etc.) are provided by the Government of India. Since the Mahasu Devta fair at Hanol is local, the majority of the people come from nearby districts of Uttarkashi, Tehri, Saharanpur, etc. Mahasu Devta fair at Hanol is the best venue to view the cultural heritage and traditions of local tribes.

Jagara:

The Jagara celebrated for Lord Mahasu is quintessential to his cult and is unheard of outside his deitydom. Held in the month of Bhadon on the eve of Naga chauth (Bhadraprada Shukla chaturtha), i.e., the fourth day of the bright half. This day is very important because the lord appeared from the ground on that day. On this occasion, during the day the mohras images are ritually bathed and carried ceremoniously duly wrapped in the folds of a sheet of cloth. These are soiled by an ominous sight. No one is allowed to be near the image as the deity may feel offended and curse the defaulter.

After the rituals the images are consigned to the altar for none to see, and one of them is kept in a palanquin for the consummation of ceremonies during the day. By sunset that image is also taken inside the temple and placed on the altar with others. As the night falls, a tall, straight pole cut from a kail (blue pine) tree is planted firmly on the ground. On it a flag of deity is hoisted. Another pole of similar tree of much shorter length having number of forking branches is taken.

Its branches are chopped off at about half of meter from the stem so that a large squarish slate can be securely placed over the branches. This is called chira. The goat reserved for the deity is brought near the altar and offered to the deity by sprinkling water over it. If the animal shivers (bijana), it signals acceptance by the deity. As night gets darker, the men and women team around with the burning torches of resinous wood in their hands. They dance in a circle around chira.

The fire keeps on burning on chira with more fuel fed to it throughout the night. Dancing and singing continues around the chira throughout the night on the beat of Nagaras and other instruments. At times people, people fall from the circle and more take their places so that chain is never broken. At times, a man or two would drop from the circle being possessed by deity or his deputy (shedkulia) starts shouting and crying in frenzy of divine afflatus.