Nearly 1,500 bhoota kola, nema festivals of Tulunadu cancelled

Mangaluru: Daivaradhane is an important folk ritual of Tulunadu, with kola and nema festivals being a part of it. The spirit-cult involving worship of semi divine spirit is practised in the undivided Dakshina Kannada district and coastal areas of north Kerala.
Daivaradhana or Sathyaaradhane are worshiped periodically — once a year or once in two years — with great pomp and festivity by the community or by individual families.According to an estimate, at least 1,500 kola and nema festivals have been cancelled in the undivided Dakshina Kannada district due to the lockdown. Over one lakh people associated with this religious art form have been hit hard.
The Bhoota Kola season starts during Deepavali and ends with Pattanaje in May. Celebrities, including actors Shilpa Shetty and Anushka Shetty, visit their ancestral homes to be part of this event.
There are about five communities — Parava, Pambada, Koopalam, Nalke and Paanaara — which enact the demi-gods and traditionally receive rice as honorarium for the service. They work for about six months a year, and their payments may have increased over the years. Rituals are not only about artistes donning the role of demigods, or the priest or the Daivapatri, but also engage several traditional artistes, singers, troupes and other castes like dhobi, potter, oil-miller and others.
Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy president Dayananda G Kattalsar said: “Those involved in Daivaradhane or Sathyaaradhane come from poor background. I have reached out to district minister Kota Shrinivas Poojari, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and minister C T Ravi to help these families. The problem is that they are not even considered as unorganised workers. Though they also offer their services in temples, they do not earn a fixed salary (unlike priests). Their income depends on the performances at rituals. Some philanthropists have offered to help them. More than lakh families will be affected. There is a need to strengthen the community and work for their upliftment.”