The ceremony of ‘bheting’ or introducing new brides to the clan god, Nagoba or the serpent god, was as aesthetic as curious. Nearly 200 women from the families of clan patels or heads found it conducive to participate in this year’s Nagoba Jatara in Keslapur village of Indervelli mandal in the early hours of Saturday.
New brides actually get introduced to the clan god during the first jatara after their marriage into the clan, it being an annual cultural and religious event of the Mesram clan Raj Gond and Pardhan Adivasis in erstwhile undivided Adilabad district.
There are instances when death in the family or some other inauspicious event prohibits the new brides from participating in the bheting. In the case of the patel family women, 25 years had elapsed due to some or the other inauspicious occurence. However, since the last jatara until now, nothing unfortunate had happened and they were able to participate in the solemn ceremony this year.
Bheting is a very important event in the ethos of ethnic tribes in these parts as it gets them recognition as a member of the clan. “Until the bride concerned gets formally introduced to Nagoba through this ceremony, she is not considered as a member of the clan,” says Mesram Dada Rao, a Pardhan elder.
The women draped themselves in new white sarees and, walking in pairs, emerged from the Govad next door which is a temporary abode for the bheti koriad or the daughters-in-law who need to be introduced. Pardhan musicians led the ‘veiled’ bheti koriad to the Nagoba temple.
The veil made of the white saree was removed only in front of the brass image of the serpent god in the sanctum sanctorum. This darshan of the god made them eligible for enlistment as a clan member so that they can participate in all religious functions thereafter.
