With Makar Sankanti round the corner, tribal across Jharkhand are geared up for the harvest festival ‘Tusu’. The three-day festival will start from January 13 to 15 and in some cases even a week, the small and moderate scale hotels literally close down their shops, as most of the labourers goes on holiday.
Tusu— a unique festival of tribals— primarily celebrated by unmarried tribal girls of Jharkhand and West Bengal and Orissa, brings immense joy and happiness to the people, particularly for tribals of Jharkhand. This festival is noted for its colourful songs, which express the stories and the experiences of livelihood.
This festival is dedicated to Goddess Tusu for which people throngs on the bank of river for a lot of rituals. ‘Mela’ were also observed on the bank of the river which draws the maximum crowd every year. ‘Melas’ are a traditional part of Tusu. It is organised with an aim to bring the traditional tribal culture and tribal artisans to the limelight, said Sambhu Nath Prasad a resident of Balidih village Bokaro.
“Tusu Parab derived its origin from the cultural roots of Birbhum district; celebrated during the holy occasion of makara snakranti and performed only by the girls”, he added.
The young girls prepared the idols of Goddess Tusu with clay and later go to a nearby river where they then sanctify themselves by taking a dip. After taking a bath, the females start praising the Goddess by singing various local songs. These very songs are known as Tusu in Bengal. A plate of rice is also offered to the deity on the occasion, said Anand a resident of Chandaha village under Chandankiyari block.
Makara sankranti depicts the auspicious harvest season of the rural Bengal. The girls of every peasant family participate in Tusu Parab with the hope that the Goddess will shower holy bless on her.