While Vijayadasami is celebrated with religious fervour all over, thousands of persons of Nerani thanda and Kothapet and adjoining villages resort to a fierce stick fight called Banni utsavam around midnight on Vijayadasami festival in Devaragattu village in Holagunda mandal in Kurnool district that leaves hundreds with bleeding injuries year after year.
The Banni fete is held as part of festivities of Sri Mala Malleswara Swamy temple, situated atop an 800 feet high hillock. According to a legend, two demons Mani and Mallasura lived in Devaragattu hillocks and tortured saints who undertook penance. Unable to bear the torture of the demons, the saints prayed to Lord Parameswara and Parvati to rescue them from the demons.
The Lord appeared as “moola virat” in Kurmavatharam form on a stone atop the hillock and eliminated the demons on the night of Vijayadasami. Before dying at “Rakshapada”, the demons prayed to the almighty to give them human sacrifice every year. Refusing their request, the Lord assured offering of a fistful of blood in “Rakshapada” area on the night of Vijayadasami, according to elders.
Marking the occasion, villagers offer prayers to Sri Mala Malleswara Swamy and Parvati Devi and run down the hillock carrying the idols. Thousands of people of Nerani thanda and Kothapet assemble at Palabanda at midnight, vow to give personal vengeance and conduct the festival with grandeur.
As the deities are carried on “aswavahanam” by a group of persons, thousands of persons carrying flaming torches and long sticks having metal ring tips, dance to drumbeats, perform feats and form groups village-wise.
As eight rounds of crackers are burst with cries of “Durru and Goparak”, the stick-holders surge ahead with frenzy. Lakhs of devotees throng Devaragattu from Rayalaseema, Karnataka and other places to watch the Banni fete. They wield sticks in a bid to stop the aswavahanam from going forward, with the belief that people of the village prosper if they manage to stop its movement for some time. In the fierce struggle, several persons sustain injuries on their head and limbs, but they smear sandalwood paste called “Bandaru” and move forward. The blood that spills to the ground in the stick fight is considered an offering to the Lord.
The idols are taken to Mulpanda in the early hours, where puja is performed and taken to padalakatta. After performing puja, the temple priest slits his thigh to offer a fistful of blood, smears sandalwood paste and goes forward to the Banni tree. Around 6 a.m. on Friday, the priest stands before Sri Basaveswara temple and explains the significance of the festival and foretells the future and the people hear him silently with rapt attention.
It is followed by another round of fierce stick fight. Subsequently, the palanquin of the Lord would be placed at Simhasana katta and perform puja, marking the conclusion of Banni festival. On Saturday, the temple priest ties an iron chain to his hand and to a large boulder on the other end and breaks the chain.
