Jharkhand, the land of trees, extends a peaceful and uncomplicated welcome to anyone. It is located in the northeastern region of the country and is the 15th-largest Indian state in the region. Despite only having been founded in 2000, this state is renowned for balancing growth with culture. In Jharkhand, numerous festivals highlight the splendor of the culture, which the people there fervently protect.
Why not schedule your trip to a sacred location like Jagannath Temple or an exciting location like Tagore Hill around these festivals? You will get to take part in the excitement and revelry of these fun festivities. For instance, dancing and having fun during the Karam celebration. So,dont delay to enjoy the greatest fun from the most famous festivals in Jharkhand.
It can enhance the sweetness and lasting power of memories. Jharkhand is a remarkable Indian state with unique cultural traditions. Jharkhand celebrates so many traditional and indigenous holidays that it is impossible to count them all. The fact that the culture, traditions, and tenets are heavily influenced by Bihar and Chhattisgarh further adds to the goodness of these festivities. What makes these events even more fascinating is the variety of ways they are observed—often with fanfare and pageantry!
Let’s get right to the colorful Jharkhand festivals, how they are observed, and their religious importance.
List Of 15 Famous Festivals In Jharkhand
In Jharkhand, there are numerous tribes. As a result, this state celebrates numerous festivals, most of which are focused on a single tribe. Participating in these celebrations will make your trip twice as enjoyable. Additionally, you can discover India’s essence, which is its “unity in diversity”.
1. Tusu Parab or Makar
Visit Tusu Parab’s celebration, the most famous festival in Jharkhand if you wish to experience Makar Sankranti in a unique way. You might encounter a blend of tradition and vibrancy. Offering rice, flowers, and other rice-bran products to Goddess Tusumani for the duration of the entire month kicks off the festivities.
In their homes, they make a particular setup for the goddess. Unmarried girls prepare a “Chaural” on the day of Makar Sakranti, a temple-like edifice made of bamboo and paper. People think that this is the goddess’s chariot. Later, visitors to the fair celebrate the day with dance, traditional music, and a variety of peethas (rice dumplings). Present-day youth also take part in chaural contests to monetize their creativity.
2. Dhan Buni
In Jharkhand, there are a lot of festivals honoring agriculture. Similar to Dhan Buni, but only applicable to the Oraon neighborhood. To find out more about this community, you should travel to the state during this event. A tiny portion of the farm is scraped away, and cow manure is mixed in. Five birds are sacrificed by the village priest.
The five kuris (Arwa rice) are covered in their blood. Villagers transport some paddy fields in fresh bamboo baskets and plant them at opportune moments. People are of the opinion that offering a sacrifice of poultry will please the local deities and result in a prosperous harvest.
3. Sarhul
Springtime in Sarhul is distinctive because Saal trees sprout new blossoms on their limbs. It is a respect for the local deity who is regarded as the clan’s protector. People sing and dance when the new blooms bloom. The Saal flowers are used in the worship of the Gods. The village’s Pahan or priest observes a few days of fasting. The priests dress in dhotis made of pure cotton after taking a bath in the early morning. The priests fill three brand-new earthen pots with water the night before, and the next morning they check the pots to see how full they are of water.
The level of water is used to forecast whether there will be more rain or famine. If the level of water is average, decent rain is expected. The Preist’s wife washes his feet and asks the priest for blessings before the pooja begins. During the puja, a crowd surrounds the Sarna location. Players of the dhol, turhi, and nagara continue to play while priests shout prayers. The celebration lasts for several weeks in the Chhotanagpur region. The festival is known as “Baa Porob” in the Kolhan region and means Flower Festival.
4. Bhagta Parab
This festival takes place between the summer and spring seasons. The veneration of Budha Baba is primarily known as Bhagta Parab among the ethnic groups of Jharkhand. People observe fasts all day long and carry the priest to the Sarana Mandir, an ethnic temple. Following their evening worship, the followers engage in a ferocious and dynamic Chhau dance with a variety of gymnastic masks and motions.
The following day is jam-packed with primitive sports of bravery. The followers are fastened at one end of a stretched, parallel hardwood pole after passing hooks through their flesh. The spectacular dance is displayed on the other portion of the pole that is connected to the rope. Tamar, Jharkhand, is the place to visit to enjoy this most famous festival in Jharkhand.
5. Karam
Love spirits, dancing, and the outdoors? Then Karam will win your heart. In Jharkhand, people celebrate the harvest festival and honor Lord Karma, who bestows rewards for their toil. Nine various kinds of grains, including rice, wheat, etc., are planted by single girls. For 7-9 days, they fast and tend to these seeds in hopes of receiving a blessing for increased reproduction. To please the deity, the local priest offers whisky and sprouted seeds.
Additionally, he presents a bird as a sacrifice to the planted branch. Later, everyone participates in a group pooja with the priest’s direction. The people submerge the branch in the river the following day. Folk music, consuming alcohol, and drumming performances are some more popular festivals.
6. Jani Shikar
A historical incident that demonstrated the bravery of women is the inspiration for a festival in Jharkhand. If you enjoy history, participating in this festival alongside the locals would be a blast. This holiday is observed to honor and remember the bravery of the Kurukh ladies. On Sarhul, Mohameddens made 12 attempts to take the Rohtasgarh fort. Men were frequently inebriated from the festivities during this period and unable to defend themselves. Kurukh ladies in disguise defeated them 12 times in this scenario. Women participate in this occasion by dressing as males and going on a hunting expedition. The night before dinner, the hunted animals are cooked and served.
In addition, some people think that killing animals keeps evil spirits at bay. Please keep in mind that only women attend the celebrations. However, you can develop into a superb observer to see women in another light.
7. Bandna
One of the most well-known holidays observed during the month of Kartik’s black moon (Kartik Aamavashya) is the Bandana festival. The animals are the main focus of this celebration.. People wash, clean, paint, decorate, feed well, and adorn their cows and bulls during this celebration. This celebration is based on the idea that animals are a vital part of existence and have souls just like people.
The final day of the bandanna week is the most exciting. Bulls and buffaloes with their mouths closed are struck with a dry animal hyde while being tethered to a sturdy pole.
The agitated animals strike dry skin with their horn as the crowd applauds. Typically, natural hues are used to decorate animals, and folk art is used to create the artwork.
8. Chhath Pooja
Chhath Pooja, also known as Surya Shashti, is an ancient Vedic festival and one of the most famous festivals in Jharkhand. It is dedicated to Surya (the Sun God). In order to express appreciation to God Surya for supporting life on earth and to make requests for the fulfillment of specific aspirations, the Chhath Puja is performed. The Sun, who is revered at the Chhath festival as the god of life’s force and vitality, is praised as a pillar of prosperity, well-being, and growth.
9. Bhai Bheekh
Siblings can celebrate a variety of holidays, including Bhai Dooj and Raksha Bandhan. But it’s fun to experience and really different at this festival. So make sure to look for it to witness its rites for yourself. The brothers’ good health is celebrated. A few days prior to this event, women visit the homes of their brothers and humbly solicit alms such as rice, bridal accessories, and cash.
During the Bhai Bheekh festival, they also invite their in-laws’ brothers and sisters to their houses. The women celebrate this day with worship, a rice donation to the village priest, a welcome to the brothers, and an arti ritual. They prepare treats for their brother and say goodbye.
10. Kadleta
It is a famous festival in Jharkhand that unmistakably and distinctively demonstrates humanity. Kadleta Day should be observed if you wish to understand the emotion of empathy. People beg the goddess Adishakti’s pardon when they kill pests and animals to safeguard farms. They also fervently pray for a bumper crop. A group of people gather and carry out a sacrificial rite using chicken, rice, “Bhelwa” twigs, and “Tendu” leaves. On the farm, they also bury some Bhelwa, Saal, Keund, and Sindhwar branches. The birds can rest on these poles while eating all the insects that threaten crops.
11. Jawa
The Jawa celebration, which has unique songs and dances, is also celebrated at the same time by tribal females who are not yet married. This is kept mostly in hopes of improved household and fertility. The single females use germination-in-progress seeds to embellish a little basket. It is thought that praying for successful grain germination will raise fertility. The sisters present green melons to the Karam deity as a representation of the “son,” revealing the prehistoric expectations of humans (i.e., grains and kids). During this moment, the entire Jharkhand tribal region becomes wasted.
12. Jani-Shikaar
Once every 12 years, this, one of the most famous festivals in Jharkhand is held. The women go hunting in the forest while dressing like males. The Kurukh womenfolk in Roh-tas-garh fought off the mohameddens who attempted to conquer the fort on the Sharhul celebration new year Day for the tribal people when men used to be drunk. This is remembered through the performance of Jani-Shikaar. In the course of a 12-year period, they made 12 attempts to capture; but, each time, the kurukh women, who wore men’s clothing while fighting, drove them away.
In addition, some people think that killing animals keeps evil spirits at bay. Please keep in mind that only women attend the celebrations. However, you can develop into a superb observer to see women in another light.
13. Rohini
The festival of Rohini may be the first in Jharkhand. It is a celebration of field seed propagation. Farmers begin dispersing seeds on this day, but unlike other ethnic celebrations, there is little in the way of singing or dance, only a handful of ceremonies. In addition to the Rohini festival, other holidays like Chitgomha and Rajsawala Ambavati are also observed.
14. Hal Punhya
This celebration begins with the onset of winter. The first day of the month of Magh, known as “Hal Punhya” or “Akhain Jatra,” is traditionally the first day of plowing. On this day, the farmers plow two and a half circles of their farmland to symbolize this auspicious sunrise because they think it will bring them luck.
15. Eind/Ind
For the Munda community, it serves as Jharkhand’s major festival. You must participate in this festival if you wish to discover the hidden region of the state. The history of this celebration began when King Madra Munda called for a horse-riding contest to choose between his two sons as his successor. Manimukut Rai, his adopted son, triumphed in the contest and was crowned king; the occasion is commemorated as the Eind festival. The neighborhood has a large fair. Folk music is sung while people dance the Rata and wear traditional attire. This day, in contrast to other spiritual celebrations, is significant to the Munda tribe.
Concluding Lines!
Since Jharkhand is home to numerous tribes who speak a variety of languages, it has a rich and diverse culture. The government has worked at various levels to preserve and promote these art forms in order to spread the region’s distinctive culture. Jharkhand’s fairs and festivals are vibrant and serve as windows into the socioreligious traditions of the state’s tribal population.
The life of the people who live in Jharkhand can be learned firsthand by attending various festivals and fairs. Rituals are carried out by tribes under sal plants. Such groves can be found in a nearby forest or in the village itself. They are referred to as “Jaher” or “sarna sthal.” In such a sacred forest, tribal members congregate and hold rites.
Exploring such a rich culture, tasting their food, and enjoying their festivals is the most important part. So, next time you plan to visit Jharkhand, you can choose the festival time so that you can cherish the celebrations of the most famous festivals in Jharkhand for a lifetime.