Spirituality in agriculture may not have landed the poor Adivasis of Adilabad in riches, but it has not deprived them of their lives too, a phenomenon which has dogged their non-tribal counterparts who have almost completely converted to cultivating commercial crops. The age-old customs of the aboriginal tribes related to agriculture have also resulted in the farmers conserving many of their indigenous varieties of food crops.
It’s in May that the spirituality in question comes to the fore exposing the agriculture practices of the Gonds, Kolams and Pardhan tribes in this district. A month ahead of the onset of monsoon, they visit the Jangubai cave temple located in the hilly areas in Parandoli gram panchayat of Kerameri mandal on the Telangana-Maharashtra border to seek her blessings.
“The farmers who come visiting here carry along with them a small quantity of local variety of jowar and pulses. These are kept near the flame considered to be the embodiment of goddess Jangubai in the night while they are taken to the Ravudk, the wooden totems representing the ancestors, the next morning,” stated Marapa Baji Rao, a Kathoda priest and the chairman of Jangubai Temple Development Committee.
By doing so, the farmers seek the blessings of the goddess for a good crop season as well as for their good health. The seeds that are ‘blessed’ are then taken to respective villages and distributed among all farming households to be mixed with other seeds and cultivated during kharif.
A ritual
“A small portion of the crop raised through the blessed seeds needs to be brought to the cave temple and offered as prasad to Jangubai. Only after this ritual, which takes place on Dasara, that the food grain harvested during the season’s end can be consumed by the farmers,” the priest added.
“Yes, we entirely depend on the rains and other weather conditions. But, as we aspire only to reap a harvest which is sufficient for our needs, we are never disappointed if adverse weather fails us,” observed Athram Baou Rao, a farmer from Pipri village in Narnoor mandal, as he drew a parallel between the Adivasi and non-tribal farmers.
It may be mentioned here that the aboriginal farmers incur small amounts as debts as compared to the non-tribal farmers.
The average loan of an Adivasi farmer does not exceed Rs. 25,000 for cultivating five acres of land while the other segment of farmers draws a minimum of Rs. 1 lakh for cultivating the same extent of land.
The seeds that are ‘blessed’ are distributed among all farming households
