Puttur: Five-day Annual Nemothsava of Yenmakaje Concludes on Grand Note
Pics Dayananda Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Perla
Perla, Mar 6 : The five-day spectacular annual ‘Nemothsava’ of Yenmakaje Tharavadu which began here on Monday, March 01 concluded on a grand note here on Friday, March 05, at the Yenmakaje Beedina house in Kasargod district.
The festivities pertaining to the Nemotsava began on the first day, Monday 01, with the customary ‘Shuddikalasa’ (purification) ceremony. This is an annual ritual performed to please the nagas - snake gods as part of Nagaaradhane. The puja was performed under the supervision of chief tantic - Balakrishna Tantri along with others, in the presence of the current head (Yejamana) of the family Y Vishwanath Rai. Also the traditional pujas were performed. One is the Ganahoma puja by which blessings is sought from Lord Ganesha. Pavana homa was performed to receive the new 'Muga' (symbol of the face of diety made out of pancha loha varna alankara) Later in the evening after 7.30 pm began a ‘Bhakti Geete’ recital by Ramakrishna Bhat 'Katukukke', a well known devotional playback singer. He kept a 650 strong audience enraptured in devotion till 9.30 pm with his varied bhakti songs meant to show devotion to the Gods.
Also the next day Tuesday, March 02 of the Nemothsava from evening 8.30 pm onwards there was again rendition of classical bhakti songs by another famous singer Puttur Narasimha Nayak who kept the an appreciative 650 strong audience enthralled with the devotional songs. During his performance here he sang several bhakti songs in his mellifluous voice which was thoroughly enjoyed by the appreciative and knowledgeable audience. After nearly 3 hours of singing ( huge- plz delete) his efforts were rewarded by a big round of applause all round.
Wednesday, March 03 - Day 3 of the Nemotsava comprised of Bhajana seva by Ganesha Bhajana Mandali of Bedrampalla and Hariseva in the form of offerings made by house members for Tirupathi Venkataramana. The story goes that in ancient times, Lord Vishnu has taken a loan from Kubera, which he was unable to repay back in time. Therefore Vishnu devotees with a view to saving their Lord's reputation started collecting money for a year and at the end of the year, put it inside a 'hundi' (pot) and send it to Tirupati Venkatramana, as a repayment of Vishnu's dues to Lord Kubera. This tradition too has been carreied forward till date in the form of Hariseva and offerings, which on conclusion is dispatched to Tirupati and deposited at the temple there.
Thursday March 04 - Day 4 as is the usual practice since olden days,early morning around 9.00 am the Naga puja was done at the ‘bana’ (snake pit) by the priests with elaborate rituals, which concluded at 11. After which the ‘Nema’ started, which is quite an intricate religious ceremony associated with the traditional Pilichamundi Raktheshwri and Parivara Daiva Nema of the Enmakaje house. A brief idea of the ritual: The Bhoota Khola is a form of spirit worship which is a major part of the Nemotsava. During the Bhoota Kola, the impersonator is in possession, in a trance like state and there is a dialogue between the possessed impersonator and the devotees. The Bhoota impersonator behaves like an incarnation of a concerned spirit, listening, solving problems, warning, comforting the devotees. He acts as a healer and solves the legal and judicial problems of the village.
Therefore accordingly as per this ritual, a Bhoota impersonator was adorned with ornaments and swords taken from the main deity inside the temple. After which various rituals associated with the Bhoota Khola was performed. After which he danced and went to the main field where the wooden pilli (lion) was kept. A guy then brought the ‘Pilli Chamundi’ in a procession. On seeing the ‘Pilli Chamundi’ daiva, the Bhuta started getting ‘darshana’ and in a trance like state started talking and yelling and charged towards the Pilli Chamundi and then a dance ritual took place. They were then taken to the wooden tiger and once there the ‘Pilli Chamundi’ headgear was taken and tied on to the Bootha (impersonator). After this he was seated on a wooden tiger and pulled by the devotees, was brought to the edge of the field and from there amidst music and dance the procession reached the main portico of the temple.
Various such rituals were performed here watched by more than 5000 villagers and guests went on till evening. Later in the course of interaction, the ‘Pilli Chamundi’ told the headman and elders of the house about the various ‘doshas’ and other aspects pertaining to the house. Prasadham was then distributed to devotees.After the elaborate rituals associated with the Rajan (head) bootha namely the Pilli Chamundi Bhoota the family holy spirit of the Enmakaje family, next was the turn of various other smaller bhootas. Later after 9 pm these Bhootas namely Satya bhoota (Posa Bhoota), Gulige, Korati, Kavale, Kini Jaal Korati, Balakula Gulege and finally Rakteshwari Bhoota all performed the ritualistic dance through the night.
On the final day, Friday, March 05 at around 7 am was the Bhoota Khola performance by the last but important Bhoota - the Rakteshwari Bhoota. During the darshana she blessed all and promised to give protection to the villagers and the family particularly with regard to their livestock and animals. In the course of the ritual she ran inside the temple precincts and sitting in front of the family head Vishwanath Rai declared in loud tones "Don't underestimate my powers. I have descended directly from Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva. I am a direct descendant of Goddess Parvati. Have faith in me, I will take care of all the problems of your family. If someone comes in your way, I will drink his blood and give you milk." After saying these words, she offered milk to all those present. Later she rushed to the ground and started doing the ritualistic dance against the beating of drums and background music. After which as part of the 'Asura Kriye) she was offered as 'Ahuti' (sacrifice) chicken blood, along-with tender coconut water, bananas and 'poddol' (puffed rice).
At regular intervals she kept saying 'Santosh Andu' (am happy) and to visitors from other parts of the country she said "I have made the name of Yenmakage known all over the world. Even if you stay far away across seven seas in a foreign land, I will still protect you from far. Just have faith in me."The Nemotsava finally culminated with the Rakteshwari offering prasadam to all devotees and in an interaction trying to do her best to solve the problems of the devotees who gathered around her. After every program on each of the five days, sumptuous lunch was served to the devotees, family members, friends & guests of the Yenmakaje family. In all around 7,500 people from in and around the villages and from far off cities partook in the Nemotsava festivities..