Sri Jangu Bai Pilgrimage

January month is the month of celebrations for Gonds and Kolams. Gond Adivasis worship is a month-long traditional celebration of Goddess Jangu Bai. Raj Gonds, Kolams, and their sub-tribes known as the aboriginal tribal communities worship the shrine of Jangu Bai which, according to Adivasis, is believed to have been formed











naturally 25,000 years ago. Jangubai, or Raitaar Jango, is the Sadar Pen or the chief goddess of eight Gond sagas or clans and therefore the most revered of all the mythological personalities in Adivasi ethos. The Jangu Bai deity, a wish-granting Goddess, pilgrimage occurs in the auspicious Poos month as per the Gondi calendar and Pushyam month as per the Telugu calendar. The Gonds have a strong belief that the Goddess fulfills their wishes when worshipped with dedication and devotion. For the Gond Adivasis in the country, the Jangubai pilgrimage is a major event associated not only with their religion but their sociocultural identity. The Pen da Dasra or Dev ka Dasara or the Dasara of the Gods celebrated by Raj Gonds at the remote Jangubai cave temple. A festival is a thanksgiving event to Goddess Jangubai and other gods like Persa Pen or Bada Dev for the harvested crop. The main beauty of this pilgrimage tribe is worshipping nature as Goddess Shakthi. It is also referred to as ‘Shakthi Peetam’. Gonds perhaps have unearthed the truth of ‘nirakar rupa’ worshipping which is considered as aiming the highest level of union with the universal energy. Jangubai, or Raitaar Jango, is the chief goddess known as the Sadar Pen of eight Gond clans. It is a must for the priests of eight gotras to perform various rituals at the temple. Raj Gond's settlers from different states of India visit the Sri Jangubai temple as part of the annual Pilgrimage in the month of January post-Sankranthi festival. Goddess Jangu Bai has bestowed in the midst of the forest and caves for the upliftment of Tribes. Thus, the most revered of all the mythological personalities in Adivasi culture. The Jangu Bai deity is located in the Telangana-Maharashtra boundary. The Telangana State and Maharashtra borders forestry hillock range are home of natural caves. Goddess Jangu Bai deity is believed to be manifested in the set of four caves on a cliff of the Sahyadri hills in the forests of Maharajuguda Thanda in Kota Parandoli village panchayat, of Kerameri Mandal which is 25 km away from Kerameri of Asifabad district, Telangana State. A stream flows adjacent to the hillock. Besides the Gonds, people of Pardan and Kolam tribes from Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra take part in the festivities. They look quite mysterious as little is known about the centuries-old hollow structures. The natural wonders known to the aboriginal people — like the Jangubai Cave Temple and the Kaplai Caves are the pilgrim centers of Gond tribes -- are maintaining their sanctity and purity as it is less explored by others and have remained hidden from the outside world.

Professor Christopher von Furer-Haimendorf, an Austrian Anthropologist who has spent a considerable amount of time with Gonds tribes describes the Jangubai’s legend in some detail in his book ‘The Aboriginal Tribes of Hyderabad’, its third volume being ‘The Raj Gonds of Adilabad’. According to him, the Gondi folklore and legend describe that the Jangubai and Pahandi Pari Kuphar Lingo gave the Gonds their social structure. Together they rescued the Gods of the 12 Gond clans who were imprisoned in the caves at Kachargadh, now in Maharashtra, by Lord Shiva. Jangubai could not get a priest to serve her cult despite her effort in saving the Gond Gods, which made her seek favour for one from God Mahadev. It was Jangubai who founded the Sarpe saga or eight new clans of Gonds before making the cave temple at Kota-Parandoli her abode. “The Sarpe saga comprises the clans Tumram, Kodapa, Raisidam, Salam, Vetti, Here Kumre, Marapa, and Mandadi, each of which has a Kathoda or a priest, all conducting proceedings during the holy month at the Jangubai temple, known as her Mahal or Palace. There is only an oil lamp that is lit for the period and represents the deity in her Mahal. The spot can be accessed from Lokari in Narnoor Mandal and Kerameri Mandal headquarters in Adilabad district besides from Rajura Tahsil in Maharashtra. It is said that the rituals associated with worshipping the goddess are very tough. Nevertheless, the Gond tribes follow a systematic ritual of visiting the Goddess. They take a holy dip in the stream water locally known as Toplakasa before entering the abode. The stream is considered very sacred and bestowed with medicinal properties. A dip would cure all the ailments are the belief of the tribes. Most of the tribes trek all the way wearing no footwear to the cave from their village. Women devotees cover white shawl clothing around them while trekking to Jangu Bai Pilgrimage. They perform pooja with kumkum(vermillion) and haldi turmeric), and offer coconut fruit. ‘Nobody has explored inside the cave, though it looks quite small. Inside it is pretty dark. Our ancestors would go deep in the cave and would also meditate’-opines Soyam Bheem Rao. According to Kodapa Gajanand, ‘the Kaplai caves are said to be much longer, than the other caves even running into a few kilometers deep as told by my Kolam tribe elders’. Kolam pilgrims from Jaduguda and Gundala in Narnoor Mandal of Adilabad district, visit the place for giving the wooden ‘Ayyak’ –a traditional totem known as Bheem God the annual ritualistic bath in the cave stream. The pilgrims perform puja and visit the temple of Lord Shiva located about 300 meters from Kaplai in another green valley. The Gond members Shri. Sidam Jangu, Shri Athram Laxman, Shri Arka Manik Rao, Shri Mesram Manohar, Shri. Soyam Bheem Rao, Shri. Mesram Nagu Rao, Shri HK Puneesh, Shri Kodapa Gajanand, and many others have opined that the essential arrangements are for the smooth functioning of the pilgrimage. The priests of eight clans from various tribes perform the customary ritual of depotsavam to mark the beginning of the festivities. Devotees arrive at the temple by carrying a bamboo basket on their heads, beating drums, and playing traditional instruments such as Sannayi, Kaliko, and Tudum. The basket contains ingredients required for performing the prayers. The ingredients include rice milled through traditional methods, wheat, jaggery, and oil extracted from either sesame or castor. The material needed for cooking is carried on bullock carts to the shrine. Women prepare special offerings called Garkang similar to the vadas and Podiyang Krenjang known as Burelu in Telugu by grinding the pulses in a traditional pestle and mortar that they carry along with them. After observing strict discipline they grind the soaked black gram dal and chilies and deep fry hot and spicy Garkang and Podiyang Krenjang which are slightly sweet in taste. Similarly, they cook rice balls. The offering ‘nivodh’ is made of a local variety of sesame, red rice or vanjin, green gram, and black gram. They cook items like the ‘garkang’ with green gram in the sesame oil that they themselves produce. This they offer to the Goddess and present it to her by performing depotsavam. Later, in the evening they do engage in sacrificing hens and sheep to Goddesses Maisamma, Pochamma, and Ravudk –well known as gram devatas. Mass dining is arranged for all the devotees. They celebrate the festivities and dance to drum beats and sounds of musical instruments and as per the custom, meet priests after the rituals. Then, while returning from the cave there lays a big rock cut stone known as a wish-fulfilling one. With a wish if one succeeds in lifting the stone is confirmed of his wish coming true is a practice followed. Thus, Sri Jangu Bai Dheeksha as it is known –a vow that is followed with devotion among Gonds is symbolic of reverence to the salutation to Mother Nature. Soyam Bheem Rao concludes by saying that, ‘we Gonds worship Goddess Jangubai deity. This is a sacred cave temple dedicated to the deity in the forest land. However, no one is seen around this cave temple in the evening post-sunset. It is believed that whoever goes there at night does not return. The elders claim to have seen a tiger spirit that guards the temple at night. An interesting thing is that no torch or electrical light source can give light in the cave, only a fire light works. Other sources get extinguished on their own. Today one can see many adoring a yellow colour dress code and undertaking Jangubai deeksha also known as ‘Jai Jangu Jai Lingu Dheeksha’ which is taken at Jangaon (Ramjiguda) temple on Jan 14th on the new moon day. This was initiated by a saint named Sri Hanumantha Rao Maharaja. This is followed by the Gonds even today. During the pilgrimage,  they wear the sacred dress code, attend camps, do fasting or take one meal, and visit the Jangu Bai and Kapley caves. For the Gond Adivasis, the Jangubai pilgrimage is a major event associated not only with their religion but their sociocultural progression.

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Sphoorthi

The following article is copied and published by the  Indian Temples Magazine - Discover. Temples of India  Feb-March 2021 Volume 7, Issue 43 under the authorship of Trishal Suman, New Delhi

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