In Bharat, all of creation is imbued with the goddess, there are many ways to worship the divine, who is the embodiment of nature. Bonalu is one of these methods. It is a joyous celebration observed by countless people in Telangana. This festival is described as a festival of Telangana. Especially in the metropolitan city of Hyderabad, the temples of the goddess in every corner are adorned leaves and twinkling electric lights. After the formation of the Telangana state, the government recognized this as a state festival. Consequently, Bonalu has gained significant recognition globally. This year, the Bonalu festival, starting on July 7, will conclude on August 4.
The Bonalu festival procession begins at the Golkonda Ellamma temple in Golkonda Fort and continues through the Ujjaini Mahankali temple in Secunderabad, known as Lashkar Bonalu, and the Ellamma temple in Balkampet, reaching the Lal Darwaza area in the Old City. The festival is celebrated during the month of Ashadha and in some places during the month of Sravana as well. The Ashadha Jatara begins at the Mahankali temple in Golkonda Fort. It starts on the first Thursday or Sunday that comes in the Ashadha month and continues every Sunday and Thursday thereafter.
Ashadha month marks the beginning of the rainy season and the start of sowing crops. During this time, the festival is celebrated to ensure the prosperity of the village, region, state, and country, and to protect the nation from natural calamities, aiming for bountiful crops.
History of Bonalu
It is believed that the Bonalu festival gained prominence on Telugu soil during the Pallava rulers’ period, around fourteen hundred years ago. In the 15th century, Sri Krishnadevaraya built the Ellamma Navadatti temple and offered Bonalu. There is a mention of Bonalu in the poem ‘Hansavimshati’. During the Kakatiya period, Rudramadevi offered Annapurna as Bonalu to their deity ‘Kakati’. Jayapa Senani’s ‘Nrityaratnavali’ mentions this. History records that the tradition of offering meals during the Ashadha Bonalu continued uninterrupted during the reign of the second Prataparudra. It is said that Sarvai Papanna built the Ellamma temple and offered Bonalu in Husnabad in 1676, as mentioned in local chronicles and the Gaudanadulu book.
In the case of Bhagayanagar, the plague epidemic broke out in 1869, resulting in numerous deaths. Believing it to be divine wrath, people sought to appease the village deities to escape this dire situation. Worshiping the goddess as a form of nature, they practiced this festival with great devotion. The tradition of worshiping village deities during montha of Ashadha continues in Telangana, as mentioned by Palkuriki Somanath in ‘Panditaradhya Charitra’. A stone inscription describing the revival of Bonalu in 1868 at Golkonda, Ujjaini, and Lal Darwaza was identified by the Folklore Studies Department of Hyderabad Central University.
Celebrations
The festival, celebrated with great enthusiasm, includes various activities such as Ghatotsavam, offering Bonalu, Phalaharam Bandi, Potaraju’s performance, Rangam, Bali, and Saghanampudu.
Ghatotsavam: A special pot (Kalash) is invoked with the goddess and carried in a procession through city streets. From the first day of the Bonalu festival until the fourteenth day, the goddess resides in the Kalash and moves through the village or city streets, accepting devotees’ prayers. The Kalash, representing the goddess, is decorated, and the temple priest, smeared with turmeric, carries it, usually on a Friday.
Bonalu: The offering of rice to the goddess Mahankali, the embodiment of Shakti, is called Bonalu. It includes various types of rice dishes prepared as vowed by devotees. Women clean their houses, wash their hair, wear new clothes, perform rituals, and prepare the offering. The offering, placed in a pot, is adorned with neem leaves and carried on the head by women, who offer it to the goddess in a grand procession.
Offering Neem Leaves: Women soak neem leaves in turmeric water and offer them to the goddess, symbolizing the elimination of diseases like cholera and measles, and as neem is a favorite of the goddess.
Phalaharam Bandi: On the day of Bonalu, devotees bring offerings prepared with devotion, place them on carts, and circumambulate the temple.
Potaraju’s Performance: Potaraju, considered the goddess’s brother, performs in the procession. He wears anklets, smears his body with turmeric, dons red clothes, and dances with a whip, leading the procession with vigorous displays.
Rangam: This is the main event on the last day, where an unmarried woman stands on a mud pot and delivers prophecies. The goddess, through this woman, foretells events related to agriculture, diseases, and natural disasters as well politics.
Bali: After Rangam, Potaraju performs a ritual dance, and vegetables like bottle gourds and pumpkins are offered to the goddess instead of animal sacrifices.
Saghanampudu: The goddess’s image is adorned, placed on an elephant, and taken in a grand procession. Finally, the Kalash is immersed in the Musi River at Nayapul, concluding the festival.
Celebrations at Akkanna and Madanna Temple
In Haribowli, the procession of Akkanna and Madanna Temple deities begins with an elephant ambari, surrounded by horses and images of Akkanna and Madanna, and ends in the evening with the immersion of Ghatas at Nayapul. The tradition of offering a silk saree to the goddess on behalf of the state government continues at the Haribowli Akkanna-Madanna Mata Mahankali Temple, which is well-known as the Akkanna-Madanna Mahankali Temple. Thousands of people line the streets from Lal Darwaza to Nayapul to watch the colorfully decorated Ghatas. Young men in various traditional costumes perform folk songs and dances to the accompaniment of musical instruments alongside Pothuraju.
In the Old City, the Ghata processions include temples such as the Mahankali Temples in Haribowli Akkanna-Madanna, Lal Darwaza, Uppuguda, Miralam Mandi, Kasaratt, the Jagadambalayam in Sultan Shahi, Shalibanda, Alija Kotla, Gowlipura, the Bangaru Maisamma Temple in Sultan Shahi, the Darbar Maisamma Temple in Aliyabad, and the Mutyalamma Temple in Chandulal Bela.
Speciality of Lashkar Bonalu
The Ujjaini Mahankali temple in Secunderabad, known for Lashkar Bonalu, has historical significance. The temple was built in 1815 by Suriti Appayya, a resident of Old Boyiguda, who served in the British army. Appayya vowed to build a temple for Ujjaini Mahankali in Secunderabad if the goddess saved people from the cholera epidemic in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The epidemic subsided, and Appayya, along with his friends, built the temple in Secunderabad and started the Ashadha festival. The temple also houses a statue of Manikyala Amma, found during the construction, symbolizing the fulfillment of Appayya’s vow. The festival has been celebrated ever since, with people believing that the goddess herself descends to bless them.
The Devi Bhagavatam mentions that the various forms of village deities are different manifestations of nature’s forces. Offering food in earthen pots as Bonalu symbolizes the nourishment of the world by the goddess, indicating the union of the soul’s light with the supreme light.
