Following the decision of the elders, the Dandari-Ghusadi dance festival of the Adivasi Raj Gonds and Kolams would begin at the end of this week. In most villages Bhogi — the puja of Dandari Pen or god — would be celebrated on October 15 which gives a clear five days for the tribes to celebrate the dance festival.
The men who would will ritually transform themselves into Ghusarks or Ghusadi tado during the festival are now busy either getting a new Ghusadi topi — the large headgear made of thousands of mal boora (peacock feathers) — or are getting fresh feathers added to the existing topi. There are only a few experts who make the topi and hence there is a great demand for their work in the days preceding the festival. Jugnak Lacchu of Marlavai village in Jainoor mandal of Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district is one of the few who makes the Ghusadi headgear for the Adivasi dancers from many surrounding villages. He has been making the topis since childhood and has mentally noted the changes that have taken place in the shape and composition of the most visible component of the Ghusadi tado’s attire.
“A new hat is still made up of at least 1,500 peacock feathers. The number of feathers being added to the hats each year in the present times, however, has made it a bulky wide circular shaped object, but it still is light in weight,” Lacchu pointed out.
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Until about three decades ago, the Ghusadi hat used to be an elongated cylindrical thing. There were no extra embellishments on the headgear. “As the peacock is considered sacred, we do not kill it to get the feathers. We either collect the feathers shed by the birds or purchase it in shops,” Lacchu added, clarifying on the use of such a large number of feathers in the topi. One person from each clan in any given village normally becomes Ghusadi tado and it is customary for him to don the role for at least three years in a row. A new Ghusark can join the troupe only when the incumbent seeks to retire after completion of a three-year stint. “There are certain rules to be followed before someone can become a Ghusadi tado. He has to visit the goddess Padmalpuri Kakoon the banks of river Godavari in Dandepalli mandal of Mancherial district and seek her blessings,” Lacchu revealed.