"Truly Tribal" is a journey
that takes you through the green corridors of 'Dandakaranya'- the Dandaka
forest of Ramayana fame. The Dandakaranya belt of southern Orissa and
adjoining Chhatisgarh is an anthropological wonderland. It is home to
numerous tribal groups that belong to diverse ethnic and linguistic
identities living side by side in primitive harmony from time immemorial.
Day
01 : Bhubaneswar
AM : Arrive Bhubaneswar and transfer to Hotel.
PM : City tour of Bhubaneswar including temples, caves.
Overnight hotel in Bhubaneswar.
Day
10 : Jeypore - Jagdalpur
AM : Drive to Jagdalpur - Bastar's main town and heartland
of the tribals (Driving distance 100 kms, driving time 2 1/2 hours).
PM : Visit a colourful 'Haat'* (weekly market) to enjoy a
slice of local life. Overnight hotel in Jagdalpur. *'haat':- Here tribal
people go to buy salt, tobacco, cloth and other essentials in exchange for
produce collected from the forest.
Fire
walking is a rigorous ritual practice performed in many parts of the world.
Fire walking as a religious ceremony is common to many regions. The origin
and meaning of this custom is shrouded in mystery and very obscure. It still
survives in India, Mauritius, Trinidad, Fiji, Tahiti and Bulgaria.
The devotees who walk bare foot through the fire-pit have a strong
conviction that they would pass unscathed if they had faith.
"Knowing the secret behind fire walking can improve your life! Even if
you never do it yourself, knowing how it works can bring you better health
and increased personal power," says
Tolly Burkan,
founding father of the modern global fire walking movement. Do you know that
over two million westerners have fire-walked in recent decades?
Tamilnadu in Southern India is home to such Fire-walking festivals.
Natham is a small town in the Dindigul district of
Tamilnadu. Every year in February/March this small town bursts into an
ecstatic display of an extreme brand of spiritualism practiced by thousands
of faithful devotees of
Mariamman (goddess of rain
and epidemics) the presiding deity.
Natham is
famous for its fire walking festival known as
pookkuli
tiruvizha. It literally means 'flower pit festival'. Here the
reference to 'flower' does not mean actually 'flower' it is actually a
metaphoric reference to, 'the hot embers of burnt charcoal' As the devotees
confidently walk on the fire pit as if they are walking on a carpet of
flowers the festival instead of being called 'fire pit festival' is called
'flower pit festival'. The devotees undergo a fortnight of rigorous ritual
practice of one-meal (strictly vegetarian) a day, sleeping on the floor (not
using beds and mattress) and strict abstinence and so on. The ritual period
of restriction starts on an auspicious day (new-moon day) in the month of
Maci/Panguni as per Tamil Calendar (falls in
February/March) to be decided by the temple priests in advance and
culminates in fire-walking on the following full-moon day.
The modern world has rediscovered the essence and philosophy of
fire-walking. "Anyone seeking to explore the mind-body connection, and
ways to apply this information toward enhancing human potential, will find
value in fire-walking" says Tolly Burkan. And that is how the 'Global
Fire Walking Movement' is gaining in popularity and the terms such as
'Collegiate Fire Walking' and 'Corporate Fire Walking' has become parts of
management glossary.
We in Beyond Boundaries believe that Tourism is not about traveling and
seeing but about understanding, feeling and perceiving.
We invite to you visit The Enchanting Tamilnadu and witness Fire-walking
festivals and gain a first-hand knowledge of the age-old tradition which has
stirred interest in the modern minds.
Does it kindle a spark of interest in you?
If so write to us!
We will show you the fire and the fire-walkers.
Natham - Fact Files.
Natham is a
Taluk Head
Quarters town in Dindigul District of Tamil nadu. It is situated at a
distance of 32 Km from the District Head Quarters i.e. Dindigul. Natham can
be reached from Madurai (distance 35 km by road). The other place of
interest near by - is Alagarkoil - 28 Kms.
On the festival day (fire-walking day) if the traveler starts by car
(either from Madurai or Dindigul) he can reach Natham within 45 mts. On that
day early in the morning, the devotees carry the fire-pot (
Agni
chatti) and many devotees pierce their body parts including
tongue and cheeks with needle and spears.
In the after noon the ritual of climbing the 'flag tree' (
Kazhu
Maram) smeared with castor oil is performed. Then in the late
after noon hundreds of fire-walkers walk through the fire pit.
The tourists can be taken on a guided tour. In order to have a proper view
the tourists should take position on the terrace of some near by houses,
which can be arranged by us. Visitors can video-graph/photograph the event.
We can even facilitate the interaction between some of the fire-walkers and
the visiting tourists.
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