The Chhau dance is an indispensable part of the puja in Hahap village

Ranchi, June 6: Villagers at Hahap are all set to celebrate the Manda Puja keeping the tradition of the Chhau dance in the festival.

The small tribal village, 25 km from Ranchi, celebrates the occasion with much fanfare. Manda Puja is one of the traditional and historical festival of the tribals that dates back to hundreds of years.

The Manda Puja basically stretches for a span of five days in which the ?Bhoktas? (Bhakts) remain without food for the entire stretch. The main puja would be conducted today after which the ?Bhoktas? would have to undergo tough and severe rituals as part of their show of devotion and love for their god.

While some of the villagers were busy erecting 60 feet long bamboo poles which forms an integral part of the puja, some were busy making last minute efforts for the erection of the stage where the Chhau dancers from as far as Purulia in West Bengal are scheduled to perform late in the night after the puja ends.

The organisers of the puja maintained that the bamboo poles were being erected because after the main puja in the night, the ?Bhoktas? would be hooked through sharp iron on the poles, which would in turn pierce into their skins. They would then be towed to the poles and kept hanging there for a while. There are nine ?Bhoktas? in all and they would undergo the procedure one by one. The ?Bhoktas? do it as part of the tradition of the puja, the organisers and villagers maintained.

The villagers along with the ?Bhoktas? would have to undergo another ritual, which involves walking on fire.

The villagers informed that after these rituals are over, the ?Bakra-Bali? is performed and then the villagers proceed to witness the Chhau dance.

The organisers informed that the puja is not complete without the Chhau dance and is an integral part of the occasion. This has been an age-old tradition. No other dance form of Jharkhand except the Chhau can be used, the villagers maintained. They, however, rued that they used to perform the dance even fifteen years ago but now they have to hire out dancers from outside. This year, two artistes have been engaged from Purulia to perform the dance.

Nondo Tuti, one of the villagers and organisers of the puja said: ?There are two reasons for this. First of all, for the Chhau dance, one needs all those masks and other things, which are costly. Another reason was that we got busy in our own jobs and due to our negligence we completely stopped dancing.?

But the children are very interested in this dance. The children would carry on the tradition and also the rituals, Tuti optimistically added.