All That You Wanted To Know About ‘Khudurukuni Osha’

All That You Wanted To Know About ‘Khudurukuni Osha’

Come the Hindu month of Bhadrab and the traditional Odia households see a unique religious festival being conducted by unmarried girls for welfare of their brothers.

A set of rituals involving offerings to the Goddess Mangala spread over weeks marks Khudurukuni Osha that is steeped in the maritime trade history of the state.

It also comes with a mythology of Ta’poi, the story of a young woman who faced torture at the hands of her sisters-in-law when her brothers were away in South Eastern countries for trade. When Ta’poi worships Goddess Mangala, it is the divine intervention which sees her misery alleviated.

Khudurukuni Osha has a socio-cultural link with Odisha and was observed across coastal districts but modernisation has taken the sheen of it now. Only in rural pockets, and scarcely in urban areas, is it celebrated these days.

Rituals

Unmarried girls, in groups from the same neighbourhood, gather at a common place, called ‘puja kothi’. The Goddess is usually worshipped in two forms – one on a painting called ‘patti’, while the second is a clay idol, called ‘bhalukuni’. Every place of worship has at least one idol for the rituals. More are added if the girls present an idol for fulfillment of a specific wish (manasika).

Every village has a minimum of two-three kothis. They compete among themselves for flower garlands and other decorations, ‘jhuna’ and fireworks. The number of girls in each ‘kothi’ and their age plays an important role when it comes to winning these competitions. In its own unique way, Khudurukuni teaches girls the importance of teamwork and leadership qualities from an early age.

The girls gather early in the morning at the ‘kothis’ and make massive flower garlands. Though every type of flower is used for this purpose, Hibiscus is given prime importance, as it is the favourite flower of Goddess Mangala. They, then, take bath, usually in nearby ponds or rivers after which, they create a tiny mound on the river bed from seven handfuls of sand and seven ‘apamaranga’ (a kind of plant) sticks. The mound is worshipped and ‘ukhuda’ and ripe bananas are offered to the Bakuka (Sand) Goddess.

The women proceed to the ‘kothis’ after changing their clothes. The ‘patti’ and ‘bhalukuni’ are decorated with as many garlands as possible. ‘Balabhoga’ is offered, which includes various fruits. Every girl carries a ‘brata’ (a knotted white thread coloured with turmeric) and ‘dubapuda’ (a tiny bouquet of duba grass, flowers, whole raw rice, tied together in a hibiscus leaf) with her. After completion of puja and offerings, they tie it on their left arm.

After the ‘Balabhoga’ ritual, the girls break their fast with a pure vegetarian diet. One of the favourite items in this menu is the ‘Chaula Futa’, which is equal to ‘dahipakhala’. The only difference is that rice used is fried without oil, before it is boiled. Other popular items include ‘dahiukhuda’, ‘chudadahi’ and ‘paratha/puri’ with ‘dalma’ or ‘aludum’.

The girls once again assemble together at the ‘kothi’ when dusk falls. The evening ‘puja’ is the most important one. ‘Khudurkuni Brata Katha’ is recited which speaks of the heart-breaking tale of Ta’Poi. The girls offer ‘Lia’ (flattened rice flakes) to the Goddess. After completion of the puja, they mix this ‘lia’ with milk or curd, sweetened with sugar and have it for dinner.

The Legend of Ta’poi

Once upon a time, there was a rich trader’s family. The Sadhaba (trader) and his wife had seven sons, seven daughters-in-law and one daughter, named Ta’poi. Ta’poi, being the youngest and only daughter of a well-to-do family was much loved and pampered. Once she was playing with her friends when a Brahmin evil widow arrived and taunted her for playing like ordinary girls despite being the daughter of a ‘sadhaba’ family. She asked her to instead play with ‘sunachanda’ (a moon made of gold)!

Ta’poi went to her parents and demanded them to make one for her. Her parents gladly consented. However, her father died and the ‘chanda’ remained incomplete. By the time it was finished, her mother also died. Ta’poi got what she aspired for but by then, she became an orphan.

Gradually, the financial condition of the family worsened. When the trading season came, all her brothers left for sea voyage. Before that, they ordered their wives to take good care of their only sister.

Initially, all went well. But, one day the same evil widow visited the sadhaba’s home and, convinced by her spiteful advice, the sisters-in-law started ill-treating Ta’poi, except the youngest one. The eldest sister-in-law brought a herd of goats and assigned her the duty of taking care of them.

Tapoi followed the goats to fields and forests. She was ill-fed and cursed by her sisters-in-law. One evening, when Ta’poi came back with the goats, the eldest sister-in-law found one of the goats, ‘Gharamani’, missing. She forced Ta’poi to go back to the forests to find her goat. In that rainy evening, while Ta’poi was searching for the goat in a dark, dense forest, she came upon a group of girls performing the ‘Mangala Puja’. She started worshipping the Goddess along with them and prayed for the safety and early return of her brothers. She offered the goddess few broken grains of rice because she didn’t have anything else to offer.

Goddess Mangala was pleased with her prayer and sincerity. In no time, Ta’poi found her lost goat and her brothers also returned from their voyage. They were heart-broken upon witnessing her condition. To teach their treacherous wives a lesson, they hatched a plan.

They dressed Ta’poi in a heavy saree,made her adorn a lot of jewellery and covered her face with a veil. They gave her a sharp knife and made her sit in the corner of a boat and sent the news of their arrival to their wives.  As per tradition, the wives arrived to worship the boat and welcome their husbands. But the brothers made them worship the Goddess in the boat first, who was in fact Tapoi, sitting in disguise. When the sisters-in-law arrived, one by one, she cut their noses with the sharp knife and extracted her vengeance. She, however, embraced the youngest one who was good to her.

Since that time, Odia girls have been performing ‘Khudurkuni Osha’ with utmost devotion. However, Brahmin girls are barred from this, because of the evil Brahmin widow who was responsible for all of Ta’poi’s sufferings.