02/01/2013
Festivals
There are thousands of centres, religious or secular where weekly, monthly or annual fairs are held. Every village and town in Anantapur has some kind of temple or place of worship where religious festivals are held accompanied by fairs. Some of them are of local importance, others have a wider significance.These places attract millions of devotees throughout the year, and the rituals observed here are traditional, in accordance with the Agamas.
Kotappakonda Temple Fair:
Kotappakonda in Narasaraopet taluk of Guntur district is a temple of Koteseswara Swamy, a chief place of worship. On the Mahashivarathri day, a big fair is held and lakhs of people participate in it. Sweet meats, clothes, bangles, toys, bamboo articles, and also goats, cows and other domestic animals are sold in this fair. Devotees who come here take a vow and get their heads shaved. Many of them come to the hill from their villages with decorated and lighted prabhas to redeem their vows. These prabhas number about five hundred at the fair. Some of them are nearly thirty - five metres high and are expense.
Sambhulingeswara Kalyanotsavam:
The Kalyanotsavam of Sambhulingeswara is celebrated during Mahasivaratri for five days. On the first day, Prabhas are taken out in procession. Kalyanam, village procession, Rathotsavam Ponnaseva, Vasantotsavam and Pavalimpuseva are performed on the following days. Cash, silver and gold ornaments, coconuts, fruits and flowers are offered to the Lord. Devotees also offer cows and calves, tying - them to the Dhwajasthambha in fulfillment of their vows. It is believed that childless women who perform puja for five days, wearing wet clothes, would be blessed with children. Fasting and Jagaranam are also observed. A large five-day fair including a cattle fair is held near the temple.
Durgamma Festival:
This festival is celebrated for four days in the month of Bhadrapada. On the first day, the water for worship is brought from a near by river Majira. On the second day, a buffalo intended for sacrifice is taken to the river. After worshipping the water-goddess, the buffalo is washed there. It is then decorated and brought to the temple in a procession to the accompaniment of music. The next day the buffalo is sacrificed and after that devotees sacrifice innumerable jowls, goats, rams and buffaloes. In the evening, the ground in-front of the temple is cleaned and a heap of cooked rice and mutton is kept as offering to the deity. An unbaked earthen pot is buried up to its neck and a winnow is placed over it. A woman sits on the winnow and apparently possessed predicts future events. A man representing poturaju, the brother of Durgamma, is smeared with turmeric and vermilion and decorated round his head, neck and waist with margosa leaves. He goes round the temple and kills a sacrificial lamb by biting its throat. On the last day, devotees go round the temple with bomalu (puppets). Carts and bullocks decorated with flowers and coloured sarees are taken round the temple. Prasadam is distributed. A fair is held here during the festival.
