A woman in Sitaramdera performs Karma rituals. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, Sept. 4: Hundreds of unmarried devotees of the Oraon community danced to tune of drumbeats to celebrate the Karma festival in city this evening.

An annual festival organised by the Adivasi Oroon Samaj Samity (AOSS) and tribals from in and around Old Sitaramdera, it is celebrated with tribal song and dance in Kuruk—their regional language. Birsa Nagar, another tribal-dominated region also celebrates this occasion.

Unmarried and young couples dance to traditional songs like Bhotan, Saheykarm and Dhuryakarma.

According to tradition, the festival begins when bachelors bring three karam trees from a nearby river and unmarried girls welcome them by dancing and singing regional songs. The entire group passes through the densely populated areas of the Oraon Basti (Old Sitaramdera) and places the auspicious trees at a spot near the office of the samity.

Village headman and secretary of the AOSS, Budhan Tirkey said the unmarried youths sing and dance all night long.

“According to tradition, the village priest will deliver a lecture on the genesis of the festival. A religious ceremony will also be conducted and prasad distributed among the devotees,” Tirkey said.

On the following day, the karam trees will be submerged in a nearby river and the festival will come to an end. “This is one of the biggest festivals of Oraon tribe and we wait for months to celebrate it,” an exultant youth said.

He added though the number of boys participating in this festival has decreased, all who participate are very religious.