The Forest Department has fortified surveillance to prevent entry of tribals into the Kuldiha sanctuary on the eve of their Akhand Sikar (mass haunting), a custom of the primitive community from time immemorial. “We have stepped up our surveillance and are more vigilant in the border patches, Mankadpada, Jharnaghati and Oupada, adjoining Mayurbhanj district near Kaptipada. The menace of Akhanda Sikar is more acutely experienced during this period. However, besides our staffs including foresters, guards, we have deployed 150 personnel including the anti-poaching squads and Sabuja Sathis in the border areas,” said Kuldiha Range Officer Rabindra Mohapatra.
The tribals armed with their traditional weapons like bows and arrows and choppers venture into deep jungle areas en masse guided by their Dehuri (priest), who performs rituals, and stay days together for poaching of wild animals. The tribals generally enter the forest areas on two occasions, after Makara Sankranti and Vishuv Sankranti.
“Particularly after the Maha Vishuv Sankranti, they enter in a large numbers since forest cover, which earlier remained inaccessible, gets cleared after deciduous periods (autumn and spring). They generally don’t resort to poaching of elephants and tigers. There is a belief among them that if they consume meat of the wild animals during the period, they would remain disease-free for the rest of the year,” said a local activist.
The tribals headed by Dehuris perform special Puja rituals to their supreme god Marang Buru seeking blessings for success of their mission as well as to ward off future misfortune in deep forest areas. A Dehuri plays a vital role in Akhanda Sikar. Not only he performs Puja for the poachers, he also determines the mission direction and instructs the tribals accordingly. In earlier days, the Dehuris used to announce in public about the mission date inviting the interested people to join on a particular date.