Dohor Festival of Kharia Tribe

Dohor Puja, celebrated in the month of Aghan (November-December), is associated with the harvesting of crops of the Kharia Tribe. The festival is celebrated when paddy crop is ready in the field. This festival is also closely associated with consuming of the new crop (Nawakhani) of Gondli. Dohor is a Kharia word, which means `low land.` Dohor Puja is thus, performed to appease the Dohar spirit. The practice of the puja is not common among all the Kharia families but performed by those Kharias only who possess a Dohar land. It is also not essential that every Dohar land will have a Dohor spirit. It is commonly believed that if a Dohor spirit is not appeased, their family members would suffer from Mur batha (i.e. headache), Pet batha i.e. stomach-pain or Deh batha i.e. body ache.

Performance of Dohor Puja
A Kalo is appointed for the performance of the Dohor Puja in the Dohor land (low paddy land) after harvesting. The expenses for the celebration of the festival are borne by the owners of the concerned land. The Kalo collects five fowls of varying colours and sacrifices them in the name of different deities and spirits. As per the rituals a spotted cock is sacrificed in the name of ponomosor, khunt-pat, Shambhu Raja, Dakai Rani and Dohor spirit while a Rangua (Red) cock is sacrificed in the name of Goria Darha. A Kabra cock (mixture of more than one colour) is sacrificed in the name of Bagh ia (Tiger spirit) and a Charka (white) cock in the name of churil. A Karia (black) cock is offered to the deity in the name of Andhari pat.

The Kharias engage in eating, dancing and merry making after the Dohor Puja is over. The festival thus, celebrated to mark the harvesting of crops, expresses their devotion towards ritualistic practices and the varied cultures interwoven in their every day lives.

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