Virtual tour to State Tribal Museum: The Didayi and Mahali tribe

Bhubaneswar, Dec 5: Visitors can visit the Didayi and the Mahali community in the virtual tour to State Tribal Museum on 6th December by opening the Twitter and Facebook pages @stscdev, @scstrti. The Didayi community, Malkangiri lives in the beautiful but remote, the Kondakamberu hills covered with lush green forests located in Malkangiri district of Southern Odisha. The Didayi is a small community of shifting and wetland cultivators. Their occupation are bamboo basketry, weaving of handloom clothes, archery, broomstick making, Didayis are polytheists and their theological pantheon includes a number of supernatural beings. They believe in the mother Earth and her consert ant-hill. {"align":"center","id":84736,"sizeSlug":"large"} They believe in number of Gods and Goddess like Buro Bhairo and Nanagiri, Bangur and Raskuruku, Goa and Sendia, Rau and Aksia, Gond and Suni, Thakran and Burimata, Jainmata and Rekapaidu and Bok and Pa. They observe festivals like Lendi Pande, Ghia Pande, Sibo Loye Hia, Jugulubar Hia, Ciangei Hia, Diasei Hia, Goesendia Hia, Singuti Hia, Raskurku Hia, Dosra Hia, Rodia Hia, Osarke Pande etc. The Didayis are found only in Odisha. The visitors can visit the Mahalis in another video. The Mahalis generally lives in Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, keonjhar districts. Their major occupation are palanquin bearers, bamboo craft, wage earning. Baha, Sharai, Maa-mane are their major festivals and rituals. The Mahalis are generally known for their bamboo work. They sell bamboo baskets in the local markets. A few of them have taken up cultivation. They live in multi-ethnic villages. Their houses consist of two to three rooms including a cowshed. The houses are mud walled and have thatched or tiled roofs. Like the Santal they worship Marang Buru, their supreme deity, Bana Kuanri, Manreiko Tureiko, Babaji, Bada Chandi and Rang Chandi. This heterogeneous community is divided into five sections namely Bansphur (bamboo workers), Patar( basket makers), Sulunkhi (cultivators and labourers), Tanti (Palanquin bearers) and Mahali Munda ( a sub-group of the Munda tribe). There are cultural similarities between the Mahali, the Santal and the Munda tribes. Mahalis are divided into a number of exogamous and totemic clans. They organize themselves into a number of exogamous clan groups. The Mahali village council is composed of Naya, the Priest, Majhi, the secular headman, Gadeat, the messenger and a few elders. The village council adjudicates disputes. They love to sing and dance in every festive occasion.