Dhela Festival of Kharia Tribe

The Dhela puja is not celebrated on a communal level but in exceptional cases when a land owned by a villager is believed to be possessed by some spirit named as churil and/or khunt pat. These spirits are thought to take shelter in their lands. The person concerned performs the ritual every year while offering requisite sacrifice. The time period for the performance of the festival is not fixed but generally it takes place before transplantation, in the field concerned. The Kalo is invited to make the performances. The colour of the fowls selected for sacrificial purpose depends on the spirit who is believed to be living in that field. As mentioned earlier, white fowl is given to Churil while red to the Khunt Pat spirit. The process of performance of sacrifice is the same as discussed earlier. The people believed that if any negligence is made in the performance of the ritual, the yield in the field will be very poor as well as the family members working in the field will suffer from body ache. Moreover, the family may be put into peril if the owner does not perform this Puja by giving requisite sacrifices.

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