The 600-year-old “Bastar Dusshera” got started on “Hariyali Amavashya” with the Patjatra rituals being performed at the Danteswari temple of Jagadalpur in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. According to Balram Majhi, a member of the Bastar Dussehra Samiti, the ‘Patjatra’ rituals, in which worship is offered to a log of saal tree, are performed before the start of Bastar Dussehra, which is regarded as the world’s longest festival. About 75 days are spent celebrating the festival.
According to Premlal Majhi, another committee member, there is no tradition associated with the death of Ravana, but it is celebrated in the district that is predominately tribal as a festival of worshiping goddess Shakti. The festival in Jagdalpur, the divisional capital of Bastar, is notable for the large number of tribal and non-tribal participants.
