UTNOOR (ADILABAD): It is Teej festival celebration time in the thandas of both Banjara and Mathura communities in the old Adilabad district. The Mathuras are also called as ‘Khaithi Labana.’
The Lambada and Mathura communities celebrate Teej with religious fervour and gaiety in their respective thandas.
Teej festival starts on Rakhi Pournima in Sravan month and starts with the sowing of wheat in woven bowls, which soon sprout up as wheatgrass. Women of these two communities participate in the traditional rituals of Teej festival of nine days.
Lambada and Mathura communities leaders say that they have been celebrating the Teej festivals from time immemorial.
Many rituals are involved in the Teej festival and women perform these rituals with the help of their men during the nine-days. The last-day, the women immerse the sprout bowls into local lakes or ponds.
There are some similarities in the rituals performed by both the communities in connection with the Teej festival. The Teej festival also has some similarities with that of Bathukamma festival.
Women worship Jagadamba in Teej and seek the Goddess’ blessing in getting a good husband and married women pray for the well-being of their husbands. The women play and dance to the tune of traditional songs while circling the Teej or the decorated temple-like structure made of clay.
Mathura (Mathura Labana) women make the temple like structure with the support of 21 sticks with the clay ( black soil ) they collect from their agriculture fields and decorate them with ornaments.
However, growing the wheat plants in the bowl is common in the rituals of both the communities.
Lambada MLAs Rathod Bapurao, Ajmeera Rekha Naik and ZP chairman Rathod Janardhan have promised their community people that they would take a delegation of their community leaders to the Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and request him to announce a holiday for the Teej festival like Sevalal Jayanti and also release funds for the celebration of Teej festival.
The Lambadas celebrated the Teej festival at Utnoor on Friday.
Banoth Ramarao of Lambadas community stressed on the unity in the community to achieve political power and said that leader should work for the welfare and development of the Lambada community.
Emaikunta MPTC Vijay Singh said “The state government should extend financial help to the Mathura community to celebrate the festival on a grand scale and regretted that the district officials concerned had been neglecting their community and culture.”
He added that they will conclude the Teej festival with Krishnasthami.
