Bagwal festival gets underway in Champawat
Champawat: Govind Singh Kunjwal, Speaker of the state Assembly of Uttarakhand inaugurated the cultural and religious programmes that followed the Kal puja. The chiefs of four clans, who take part in the traditional stone war at Devidhura Bagwal, attended the Kal puja ceremony today, as the 11-day Bagwal festival started at Devidhura in Champawat district.
August 29 will be day to watch the festival as the fighters of the four khams or clans will take part in the Bagwal to hit the fighters of another clan to shed their blood. Now, fruits have replaced stones that were used traditionally in the festival.
According to the schedule of the Brahidham puja, special darshan and worshipping of Barahi Devi by devotees from local villages will be performed on August 27 and 28 while the palanquin of Barahi Devi will be taken to local temples on the next two days. The festival will conclude with worshiping several deities and breaking of the week-long fast by devotees.
About the Bagwal Festival
During this festival, known as Bagwal, two groups of dancing and singing people throw stones at each other, while they try to protect themselves with the help of large wooden shields. The participants don’t care about the injuries and the injuries are believed to be auspicious. It is also a worth noticing fact that there had been no loss of life till today during this unusual fair.
