Chhau Festival

Chaitra Parva or Chaitra Navaratri is the Chhau festival of Odisha. It is celebrated in the month of Chaitra before Bisubha Sankranti Day, which is mostly celebrated on the 13^th or 14^th of April. It is also called the Bija Pandu Festival. It is also celebrated as the agricultural festival, where Goddess Earth and Lord Shiva are worshiped in this festival.

It is one of the tribal festivals which is celebrated in different cities of Odisha. It is celebrated for three days before and ends on the day of Vishuva Sankranti. People dance, sing, and play drama at the festival. 

It is mainly celebrated in Koraput and the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. Also, it is the grand festival of Maa Tarini Peetha of Ghatagaon, Keonjhar. It is said that Chaitra Parva is celebrated by the Koya tribes. It is also said that it is primarily celebrated by Bhuiyans Tribes. Mayurbhanj Chhau and the Chaiti Ghoda Nach or the horse dance are the main attraction of the festival. This festival is a showcase of the cultural and traditional heritage of Odisha.

History of Chaitra Parva

This festival is the religious as well as cultural festival of Odisha. The festival is celebrated for four days which represents four Yugas, Satya Yug, Tetra Yug, Dapara Yug, and Kali Yug. It is said that Mahadev was sleeping deeply and Devi Parvati woke him up from his sleep. And waking up, Mahadev started dancing from which the universe and time were started. The festival is also celebrated for that.

The festival was primarily celebrated for religious reasons, to worship Lord Shiva, by his Bhakts. But as time flows, the festival becomes the cultural one. People worship Lord Shiva in the morning and do Chhau dances, sing, and play dramas in the night.

Till the year 1882, Chhau dance was not a part of this festival but when Ramahari Bebarta Babu saw the dance form of Seraikella Chhau in Jharkhand, he requested Raja Krishna Chandra Bhanj Deo to start the dance form of Mayurbhanj Chhau in the Parva.

Why Chaitra Parva is Celebrated

Bhakts or devotees of Lord Shiva celebrate this festival in the belief that worshiping Lord Shiva will bring happiness and prosperity in their lives and also in their communities. They also believe if God is not worshiped in a great manner, it will create the opposite result.

This festival is also an agricultural festival. People from the Koya tribes, pray to the Goddess Earth or Bhumi so that crops will grow faster, and have a great harvest.

Who started Chaitra Parva?

Raja Krishna Chandra Bhanj Deo started this festival in the 19^th century, to offer prayer to Lord Shiva for the prosperity and wellness of his kingdom and his life.

Highlights of the Chaitra Parva Festival

• Having a house for God or Bijigudi is a mandatory thing for the people of Koya tribes, So they worship the Goddess of earth, “Guddimata” or “Bhumu”.
• The word “Chhau” means “Chhaya” or shadow, which means people wear masks in the time of dancing. It is a famous folk dance form that involves martial arts as well as classical dance.
• Sacrificing the lives of birds or animals to God is a ritual of this festival.
• Chaitra Parva is a 140-year-old festival that was started by the Bhanja dynasty.
• Mayurbhanj Chhau dancers do not wear masks which is the uniqueness of these Chhau dancers.

Chaitra Parva Festival 2023

Chaitra Parva festival was celebrated from 15^th April to 17^th April in 2023.

Chaitra Parva Festival 2022

In 2022 Chaitra Parva was celebrated from 11^th April to 13^th April 2022.

Next Chaitra Parva Festival

Next Chaitra Parva will be celebrated in the months of March-April in 2024. It is generally celebrated on 13^th or 14^th April.

How to participate in the Chaitra Parva Festival

• In the morning people offer prayers to Lord Shiva. And they do chhau dance in the night. People wear new clothes. Men used to wear long bison-horned headdresses which are decorated with cowries and peacock feathers. Women wear carry sticks with jingling bells and wear brass hats.
• Chaiti Ghoda Dance or horse dance is another attraction of the festival. Where men dance in Dhola or Mahuri tunes and local songs wearing wooden horses.
• People also offer mangoes, eggs, and pigs to the Goddess of Earth. People offer paddy seeds to the god, in the belief that these seeds will make a good harvest. And as per the ritual, people eat mangoes.
• Men go fishing and hunting during the daytime and women sing and dance during that time. In the evening, they feast and also perform the Mayurbhanj Chhau dance.

How to Reach Koraput, Baripada, and Keonjhar

Chaitra Parva is a grand celebration of Koya tribes who generally live in the Koraput district. Also, it is a grand celebration of Baripada City, which is the headquarters of the Mayurbhanj district. In Keonjhar, this festival is the main festival of the Tarini temple. These places can be reached by air, bus, and road.

How to reach Koraput

• The nearest airport is Visakhapatnam, which is 202 km away.
• (KRPU)KORAPUT is the nearest railway station to Koraput, by which the city is well connected to Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata, and Bhubaneswar.
• The city is well connected to other cities by NH26.

How to reach Baripada

• Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport Dumdum, Kolkata, and Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar are the nearest airport, which is 195km and 207km away.
• (BPO)BARIPADA is the nearest railway station to the Baripada.
• The city is well connected to other cities like Balasore, Kharagpur, Cuttack, and Bhubaneswar.

How to reach Keonjhar

• Bhubaneswar is the nearest airport to the Keonjhar.
• Kendujhargarh and Harichandanpur are the nearest railway stations to Keonjhar and Maa Tarini peetha respectively.
• The city is connected by National Highways like NH49, NH20, NH215, NH520, NH220 with other cities.

FAQs- Frequently Asked Questions