The Dussehra is one of the oldest festivals in Jeypore. In terms of its grandeur and royal linkage, it is compared with the Mysore Dussehra.
The uniqueness of the festival here is its mix of royal and tribal traditions. Starting from Sasthi to Dashami puja, pandals witness huge numbers of people hopping from one to other. The colourful lights and different cultural programmes add to the glamour of the puja.
This year in Madala Street, replicas of Odissi dancers and costumes have been displayed to recount the ancient traditional and classical dance of the State.
On the last day of Dussehra, there might not be any horses or elephants to lead the procession as it used to be during the royal time but the beating of huge drums and above all, the presence of the King would create an aura of the past glory of the Jeypore kingdom.
The tradition of lathi is still a craze during the festival in Jeypore. The lathis are representatives of the deities and they come from different parts of Jeypore. The visiting of the tribals from different places with their traditional drums and swords along with the lathis is an important part of the festival.
The tribal priests and associates like Pujaris, Nayaks, Bariks, Gondas and Disaries (village headman) get prepared to conduct various rituals. They collect sarees and various offerings, including money and rice, from the villagers. On the first day of Dussehra, the tribal headman observes a special ritual. The ritualistic lathi is then taken out to the Jeypore palace for the famous 'Aparajita puja’.
This year a total of 115 lathis came from different places like Narayanpatna, Nandapur, Umarkote and Raighar.