The world has started the formalization of celebrating Earth Day fifty years ago from 22 April 1970, while the tradition of worshiping the earth has been going on for hundreds of years in the Bharti tribal society. In the tribal culture of Chhattisgarh, Earth Day is celebrated every year with a pious ritual of ‘Khaddi Parab’.
In this way, people of India have been worshiping the earth, forest, mountains, nature by considering the earth as mother, but talking about the tribal society, this society has fixed the day just for the worship and celebration of the earth. The tribal society celebrates the Khaddi Parab Chaitra Purnima. This time Chaitra Purnima was on 8 April. Due to the lockdown, the tribal society performed religious rituals in their homes. There was no mass celebration this time. For the tribals, this earth is God.
Adivasis believe that every living being depends on Mother Earth. This earth is the mother, which gives us the pleasure of food, water, fruits, flowers, trees, plants, mountains, rivers, waterfalls. The life of creatures lives only by the grace of the earth. This is the reason why tribal society has been worshiping Mother Earth for thousands of years. Not only the people living in the jungles but also the urban people collectively worship this earth to thank this benevolence. The tribals of every region worship the earth according to local tradition.
‘Khaddi Parab’ gives a message to save nature
SR Pradhan, a senior member of the tribal Oraon society, says that the importance of nature was understood by the tribal society thousands of years ago. This is the reason why the people of tribal society take a pledge to save nature by worshiping the mother earth, sal tree, flower in accordance with the traditional rituals on ‘Khaddi Parab’. The festival, which is celebrated on the full moon of Chaitra month, was to be celebrated on April 8 this year, but the Khadi Parab was not celebrated collectively due to the outbreak of Coronavirus. People worshiped in homes.
Mati Tihar is also a form of this
Senior culture worker Dr. DP Deshmukh, who has researched the Chhattisgarh art tradition, explains that Basti’s soil is considered similar to the Tihar Parab or Khadi Parab. This festival, held on the day of Tritiya in Chaitra month, is not limited to tribals in Bastar alone. All the farmers of Bastar also celebrate it by changing the date according to their convenience, but the day is often Tuesday only.
