Biddatanda Khol - Dec 5 2009 - Part 2

We Kodavas are primarily ancestor worshipers. It is believed that in ancient times we worshiped the elements fire , earth and water as well as their ancestors , most importantly , the karanava , the first ancestor or founder of each okka.
Figurines in clay or wood or figures embossed in sheet metal , that represent the ancestors of the okka are kept in the kaimada , a small ancestral platform built near the entrance to the ainmane or on a simple ancestor platform built around a sap exuding tree. The ancestors are worshipped here and food offerings are made to them during ceremonial occasions. Even today some Kodava okkas like the Biddatanda okka periodically propitiate their ancestors during the colorful karana tere/kola ceremony. During this ceremony a banna (Malayalam speaking migrant) dressed in an elaborate style similar to that of teyyam dancers of Kerala and possessed by the spirit of the first ancestor of the okka, dances in a trance and acts as an oracle. Songs narrating the deeds of the ancestors (manepat) are sung during this and other occasions.

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Travel & Events

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• Kodagu
• Dec
• 2009
• 069