Firewalking in Britonna for the Festival of Holi

Based on Hindu mythology, the firewalking rituals in Britonna take on a local flavour involving the deochars (protectors or good spirits) of the village.

The firewalking is preceded by a ritual wherein some of the menfolk go uphill to a location considered to be sacred ground, in fact, a crematorium. The deochars enter into some of the men during this ritual. After this they begin to act in a manner like they are possessed, shaking from head to toe and talking in languages they are not said to know. In tonight's case, they spoke in a language that resembled kannada and yet, I was told, these men knew only konkanni.

People then begin asking them questions concerning the village etc. Tonight, two of the 11 deochars of the village entered the men. They were attempting to bring the third deochar but the third man seemed to be dumbstruck. This lead to a lot of arguments between the people and the men in trance who were said to have promised the coming of the third spirit.

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After much talk, the fire was lit and one of the men in trance ran with it downhill followed by the crowd. The logs of wood (Holi) were then lit, setting the night ablaze. The heat was intense and yet, some pointed out, the surrounding trees showed no sign of wilting.

After about three hours, the ashes and burning coal was smoothened and people began to walk across (actually, they ran, not walked). I was amazed to see small children, young girls and women run across the glowing coals. There were even several ladies with small babies and children in their arms who ran across. All of this to purify themselves.

After this, the two men who had gone into a trance sat outside the temple, answering questions of the villagers, one by one. These were personal questions - mainly about life's worries, personal problems, careers, marriage etc).

With this, the ceremony came to a close.

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