Navanna or popularly known as Nuankhai is one of the several popular festivals celebrated with much fanfare in western Odisha. It is an agriculture-based festival observed in the month of Bhadraba in adoration of the Mother Earth and the Nature which provide everything to human beings.
Nuankhai which literally means eating of new crop of the year is celebrated in almost the same manner across western Odisha. It spreads over three days. The first day is Upas (Fasting) second is Nuakhia (eating new crop)and the third day is Basi (celebration with scrumptious food).
There is, however, a little difference in observance of rituals and practices among the Dalits.
"We worship our Pidar (ancestors), our Ista Devi and the Gosein (soul of a Brahmin who was sacrificed by the ancestors) on the day of fasting. Pidar - because they invented the crops that we eat to survive; Mahalakshma and Kanabhaira because they are our family deity (Ista Devi) who represent the Mother Earth and Nature and Gosein because one of our ancestors had sacrificed the Brahmin," says Fakira Jagat of Tukula village.
"The family deities are different for different clans like for some the deities are Kalisundri, Dulha, Mirchuk etc." he adds.
The village deity in Tukula village is Gadien who is the protector of village (Gada Rakshak). She is known in different names in different villages like, Bastaren, Pardesen, Raktamauli, Mahuli Budhimaa and Baburay etc.
The heads (husband-wife) of the house observe fasting on the first day. The Pidar, Istadevi and Gosein are worshipped in the evening. In the second day morning all village people will gather near the adobe of the Gadien which is commonly known as the Gudi. The Jhankar (traditional priest) would offer the crop to the Gadien through various rituals and would distribute paddy crop pinnacle to each household. Returning from the Gudi, each household would start the process of Nuakhia in their respective houses.
The first step is to prepare the dish of flattened rice in the newly harvested paddy (mixing the paddy brought from Gudi Ghar). Various kinds of delicious food items would be prepared. After offering foods alongwith the flattened rice to the Pidar, Mahalakshma Kanabhaira and Gosein, the Nuakhia by family members would start. It is an usual practice to eat flattened rice in Kure leaf and all the members of the family would eat at the same time sitting at one place.
The celebration of Juhar Bhet then follows. The younger ones bow before the elders in the family and village and are blessed by the latter. The third day is for merrymaking with delicious and non-vegetarian food and by some people through drinking of liquor.
*There is a story of why the soul of a Brahmin is worshipped by certain groups of Dalits in Nuapada. The story narrated by one Jagat reveals the ancestors killed a young cow belonging to a Brahmin ( Gosein) of the village, which strayed in to the house. The Gosein, who was following the cow arrived after some time and asked the ancestors to hand over the cow. The ancestors said that they didn't have any. Gosein was sure that the cow was inside. So he vowed if the cow was not found inside, he would offer his head to the deity. The ancestors went into the house and prayed the deity to save them from embarrassment. The deity converted the beaf in to a pork. The Gosein was thus falsified and he was sacrificed. His soul is worshipped by the ancestors since then.