Ethno-geography of the sun goddess festival, 'chhatha', in bhojpur region, India: From locality to universality

Abstract

Chhatha Puja ('worshipping sun goddess'), called Surya Shashthi, is an Indian thanksgiving festival dedicated to the Sun God in the form of mother. Similar traditions are also noticed in other old cultures. Of course there was a strong tradition of Sun worship in ancient India, the present Chhatha Puja has no direct links to it. However both the rituals record the motive of fertility and prosperity of the family. Chhatha Puja is primarily a regional festival of Bihar that has been transplanted by the migrant Biharis in different parts of India, especially the metropolitan and industrial cities, including Delhi and Mumbai. By this process the locality has been transformed into universality in terms of scale, intensity of celebration and density of devout participants, however the inherent message of awakening the man-nature integrity in strengthening ecological cosmology has not increased! During the celebrations of Chhatha Puja, people gather on the banks of the River Ganges to bathe in its sacred water, pray and make ritual offerings to the Sun God; this presents the emergence of fire element of terrestrial world, liquid element of nature and cognitive thought of man. Chhatha Puja is a highly elaborate festival noted for its impressive display of colourful costumes, music, singing and extravagant rituals, organised and celebrated with involvement of Brahminic priest. The essay throws light on various aspects in this context. © Serials Publications.