Importance of Devgudis
Devgudi, a symbol of the faith of Bastar tribes, holds an important place in the lives of the community. From birth to death, and on different occasions, rituals and festivals are organised in the village devgudi, and the deity enshrined is worshipped.
In fact, from the very beginning of the civilisation, the tribal society has believed in both evil and good spirits. While a good spirit protects them, an evil spirit on the contrary hurts them. Thus, the faith in good spirits has grown as they consider them as their protectors. In this way, they choose a place where they can be placed so that the people can seek blessings. They have installed them at an elevated place outside the village to protect the village from evil spirits. In return, animals are sacrificed to make them happy, though the practice is in decline. There are also rules made by the ancestors of the village relating to devgudi, which all the villagers follow. The rules are:• prohibition of entry inside devgudi except the priest
• prohibition of felling nearby trees and plants
• presence of people at least 30 feet away from the main deity at the time of sacrifice of cocks and goats
• prohibition of entry of women in the devgudis
The importance of devgudi is understandable from the fact that rituals are organised in it whenever an important event is held in the village. Undoubtedly, devgudi is important in various ways.
A presiding deity residing in each devgudi is related to the clan of pujari or perma (priest), for the deity was installed by an ancestor of the pujari. Hence, pujaris in the village devgudi, as has been mentioned above, are hereditary. Apart from the presiding deity, associate deities are also worshiped during jatra, mandai, and mela.
Tribes are normally closely related to the nature. They consider trees and gudi as part of their culture.
The cultural unity as well as its diversity in relation to other villages is expressed through devgudis. No two villages share the same devgudi; thus, they act as geographical boundaries and markers of the village area. The people have full faith and belief in the deities established in devgudi. They believe that if the god/goddess is pleased with them, then they would live happily. The goddess of devgudi protects them from disease and other calamities, keep crops and livestock safe, and protects their children from evil spirits.In devgudi, various types of puja/rituals are performed to please the goddess. Their likes and dislikes are taken care of. The Pardeshin Mata is seated in the Garawand Kalan. The people there believe that by worshiping and pleasing the mother, their wishes are fulfilled. There the red and black colour sticks belong to Mawali Mata and Mahamai Mata respectively. It is believed that these sticks are rolled over women who do not have children. The sticks are also rolled over the body from top to bottom on the patient for diseases like cold, fever, etc. To fulfil the wishes of the people or after the wish is fulfilled; the goddess is appeased by making offerings here. Tribal people believe that the deities protect them and at the same time punish the wrong doers. Angadev is installed in devgudi of village Gamavada; he performs the task of punishing the guilty. Crop failure, causing sickness in the house, etc. are his ways of punishing wrong doers. Various measures are taken by the villagers to avoid this.
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