Karam Puja celebrated in Thakurgaon
Karam Puja, a major festival of the Orao community, inhabitants of the plain land in northern districts of Bangladesh, was celebrated in the district on Monday and Tuesday.
To celebrate the festival, Thakurgaon Karam Utshab Udjapan Committee organised different programmes, including discussions, cultural functions and puja.
Superintendent of Police Md Moniruzzaman attended the festival as chief guest on Monday night, while Additional Deputy Commissioner Shilabrata Karmakar and district unit President of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad Arunangshu Datta Tito were special guests at Pachpirdanga Adivashi village in Sadar upazila.
Convener of Thakurgaon Karam Utshab Udjapan Committee Biswanath Kerketa was in the chair.
Among others, General Secretary of district unit Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad Tapan Kumar Ghosh, district unit General Secretary of Jubo League, also member of Thakurgaon Zila Parishad, Samir Datta, and local Awami League leader Saminur Rahman Joy Chowdhury spoke at the programme.
The speakers at the discussion said indigenous people are victims of discrimination in different fields in various ways, including filing of false cases against them, and they are always lagging behind as they are being deprived of their rights in all sectors.
The speakers also demanded mother tongue-based primary education for their children and the community's quota in higher education and government service. They demanded allocation of khas land for their proper living.
They said indigenous people played a significant role during the Liberation War in 1971 but they have yet to get constitutional rights.
Replying to their demands, the guests assured them that they would not be harassed through false cases and effective steps will be taken to improve their lives.
Biswanath Kerketa said young Orao girls observed a dawn to dusk fast on the first day of the festival.
On the afternoon of the first day, the young folk went out from the village in a colourful procession to collect branches of the Karam tree from the vicinity. The girls took the branches to their village while boys and girls sang and danced to the beat of drums.
At sunset, an altar was built where they planted the branches of the Karam tree. Young men and women danced around the altar when the branches were being planted according to ritual. Then the puja began, where the priest recited verses explaining the significance of the festival.
At night, special dishes for guests and kinfolk were served at their homes after offering the food to their deities.
According to researchers, the Karam festival is a way for the indigenous people to express their affinity with nature. They also pray for happy conjugal lives during the festival.
The festival ended yesterday through immersion (bisharjon dewa) of branches of the Karam tree in the Tangon River.
Convenor Biswanath said the festival is celebrated in Pachpirdanga, Jagannathpur, Gobindanagarh and Chandipur villages in Sadar upazila, and Boirchuna and Jhongaon villages in Pirganj upazila.
Jakob Kerketa, leader of Orao community of Pachpirdanga village in Sadar upazila, said Karam puja is one of the major festivals celebrated by the fifty indigenous families of the village. “Though our unique culture is likely heading towards extinction, we want to preserve the traditions and heritage for generations to come,” he said.
Comments