The Myasa Bedas of Chitradurga district set out on a week-long pilgrimage to Mincheri once every three years. This pilgrimage is a unique celebration of faith, writes Prakash Kugwe.
Chitradurga district is a storehouse of tribal culture and a cradle of cattle-rearing culture as well. The Kaadugollas and Myasa Bedas (Nayakas) are the inheritors of the herdsman’s legacy. The original occupation of the Myasa Bedas, like the Kaadugollas, is animal husbandry. Gaadiri Palanayaka is their ruling deity and the pilgrimage taken to worship this deity is known as Mincheri Habba.
Mincheri or Gaadirimale near Sirigere houses the tombs of the tiger and Palanayaka. The Myasa Bedas offer worship at the tombs whenever they have a problem. The Bedas fulfil their vows once in three years to Palanayaka, who aids them in distress, on the occasion of Mincheri Habba.
Palanayaka’s story
According to folklore, Gaadiri Palanayaka hailed from Andhra Pradesh. A herdsman, he came to Hirekaval of Nayakanahatti with his animals. He then entered into an agreement of mutual protection with the tigers there. However, Palayanaka’s family members killed the tiger cubs. Saddened by this development, Palanayaka left Hirekaval to reach Jenige Halla via Belagatta and Kyasapura. There, he performed Ganga pooja and requested Mother Ganga not to allow anyone to cross the stream for the next 15 years. After this, he went up the Mincheri Gudda and dwelt there.
Meanwhile, the tigers returned to Hirekaval to find their cubs missing. They set out in search of Palanayaka. At Jenige Halla, the tigress was washed away in the swift current. Thereupon, the tiger waited for 15 years and then crossed the stream to reach Mincheri. A fight then ensued between Palanayaka and the tiger for a long time. When neither of them showed signs of yielding, the tiger and the herdsman decided to embrace death. Whereupon, Palanayaka called his aides and instructed them to bring the milk of a Surabhi (a cow that has not yet borne a calf) and pour it down his and the tiger’s throats. Both the tiger and Palanayaka died as soon as they drank the milk. The aides then buried their bodies and erected tombs upon their graves, according to community elder Sannapalaiah.
Preparations
Mincheri Habba is observed by the Myasa Bedas of Bachaboranahatti, Kallenahalli, Gonur, Muttayyanahatti and Sasaluhatti villages of Chitradurga district. Preparations begin three months in advance. Each house is said to incur an average expenditure of Rs 30,000 on new clothes for the family, a sheep and towards decorating the bullock cart, says R Palaiah of Bachaboranahatti. Each household has to take a week’s worth of groceries, dry rotti, tambittu, gaarige, karjikai, blankets, new clothes and pooja material. Idols of Maleyavva, Kanive Marakka and Basavanna are brought in procession. Those performing Ganga pooja cannot wear clothes or footwear; they are covered in woollen blankets.
The Mincheri Habba takes place in December once every three years. The pilgrimage begins on the morning after hunnime (full moon day). The caravan of 240 carts, 45 tractors and 4,000 people of the entire village reaches Kyasapura by nightfall and spends the night there. The next morning, after performing pooja, the caravan travels toward D Madakaripura to reach Mincheri in the evening. Lamps are lit, using butter churned out of curds brought in earthen pots carried on shoulders. As soon as Ganga pooja begins, water sprouts forth from a hard, flat rock. The priests then use this water to perform abhisheka on Palanayaka’s tomb. Later, the entire village sleeps on the hillock.
On the third day, a pooja is performed before sunrise and a sheep and a goat are sacrificed. Later, it is time for feasting. Curiously, any leaf or blade of grass plucked on the hill emanates fragrance during the pooja. Women collect these leaves and grass as it is believed that burning them inside their homes will ward off diseases. On the fourth day, animals brought for the purpose are sacrificed between 8 and 9 am, and a non-vegetarian feast follows. The meat is distributed at one kilo per bullock cart. Relatives and people from other places also partake in the feast. After lunch, the caravan leaves the hillock and reaches the Sidda Sukshetra at Kadlegudda to spend the night there.
On the fifth morning, the caravan proceeds to Jenige Halla of Kyasapura around 1 pm and performs a pooja before resting for a while. Later, the caravan proceeds towards Chitradurga city via Murugha Math. Politicians and leaders belonging to the community welcome the caravan which then moves towards Kakkaladinne near Bachaboranahatti that night. On the sixth morning, after performing various rituals, the caravan returns to the village by evening.
