At first, the Dhinga Gavar festival may strike you as strange. But then you’ll realize how much fun it might actually be. A part of the Rajasthani Gangaur festival, Dhinga Gavar is only celebrated in Jodhpur. Shiva’s consort, Parvati (Gangaur), had once playfully teased him by dressing up as a tribal woman. Gavar is considered to be the playful side of Gangaur. After sunset, statues of Dhinga Gavar are put up at 11 locations, all decorated with up to 30 kgs of gold! And that isn’t all. Offerings of cannabis are made to the diety! Wait, there’s more. Women take out processions, dressed in all sorts of costumes – Hindu gods and goddesses, police, saints, dacoits and what not – carrying lathis to hit people with and protect the statues! It is a popular belief that any unmarried man who comes near these women and is stricken by the stick gets married soon.
Dhinga Gavar is a festival celebrated in Jodhpur, in Western Rajasthan in India. “Dhinga” literally means “fun by deception”; Gavar, also known as Gangaur is the consort of Shiva. The festival of Gangaur is celebrated throughout India, but that of Dhinga Gavar is celebrated only in Jodhpur. Dhinga Gavar is a folk deity, the humorous side of Shiva’s consort Gangaur.
The festival of Ganguar starts from next day of the spring festival Holi, which falls on the full-moon day of the month Phagun of the Hindu calendar. Ganguar is worshipped mainly by newly-wed brides, unmarried girls, and married women. Every day, they dress in traditional ceremonial Rajasthan costume and worship clay or wood statues of Isar (Shiva) and his consort Gangaur (Parvati), beseeching them for marital bliss. The festival ends on the following third day of no moon (amawas) of month chaitra. Thus the celebration lasts for sixteen days because of shortfall in tithi which is common in the lunar calendar. On this final day of the festival, a huge procession of well-decorated images of Ishar is taken through the main markets of cities; large crowds assemble in the streets to pray to them.
On this day Teej in Jodhpur, one image of Ganaur without Isar, known as Dhinga Gavar, is established at 11 important streets (mohalla) within the old fort wall of Jodhpur. It is worshipped by all women: married, unmarried, and widows.
The legend is that Shiva once teased his consort Parvati by dressing up as a cobbler. In retaliation Parvati also appeared as Bhil tribal women before Shiva to tease and have some fun out of it.
The function of Dhinga Gavar starts after sunset when the statues of Dhinga Gavar are put on a dais at 11 important location of old Jodhpur city. Each statue is decorated in typical Rajasthan costume with gold jewellery of 5 kg to 30 kg. The offerings to Dhinga Gavar are made of cannabis and dry fruits powder and is known as “moi”.
The women of whom mostly are from Pushkarna Brahmin families dress up in fancy dress costume as various Hindu Gods and Hindu Goddess, police, saints, dacoit, tribal etc. and carry a stick in their hand. They patrol the narrow streets of Jodhpur city whole night protecting the statue of Dhinga Gavar.
It is a popular belief that any unmarried man who comes near these women and is stricken by the stick gets married soon with a suitable girl. Stick is called baint in Hindi so this festival is also known as Baintmar Teej.
The girls and women observing fast of Dhinga Gavar known as Teejania carrying sticks in their hands virtually rule the road on this night. Though enough police is deployed but little intervention is needed and crowd finds its own equilibrium of discipline. Boys to get a “lucky strike” go near girls and sometimes tease them to get beaten up by decorated sticks.
This is the only festival which gives equal rights to all kinds of women. In this festival even a widow can take part.
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