Bhimana Festival is a three-day festival celebrated in
Adilabad District of
Andhra Pradesh by Kolam tribes. It is celebrated during the Kolam month of Satti (December). The Kolam tribes are settled mainly in the village of Laindiguda of Utmur Taluk in Adilabad District.
The tribal deity known as Ayak, also called Bhimana or Bhimdev, is worshipped during the festival. The deity is a carved wooden mace decorated with peacock feathers. It is placed inside a thatched shed. Nearby the mace, a pot containing a belt of bells, anklets and small dolls made of mud are placed. Before the festival starts, the relics of Bhimana are brought on a particular Thursday of the month and kept in the village.
The beginning of the festival is marked by the sacrifice of a fowl or a goat to Bhimana. The relics of the deity are dipped on the following day in the hill-stream known as Mohamloddi. In the evening, a buffalo is sacrificed and alongside fowls and goats are sacrificed by individuals to fulfill their vows. Soon after the ritual is over, the meat of the sacrificed animal is cooked and savored by the villagers. As per another ritual, the cooked meat is placed on all the cornerstones found in various directions of the villages.
