![]() They also wake up before dawn on the first day, comb their hair, anoint their bodies with turmeric paste and oil, and take a ritual bath to purify themselves. Raja Parba celebration at Salipur, Cuttack | Peenakee Singh In tandem with Bhudevi, unmarried women observe all the dos and don’ts that apply during menstruation, including being exempted from household chores. The fertility festival of Raja Parba mirrors the menstruation process in women because all agricultural work stops, just as women stay away from cooking and working in the fields when they menstruate. It is only after this ritual is complete, and the first monsoon showers drench the parched soil, that the sowing season begins in the state. The belief is that Bhudevi menstruates for three days before she is given a purification bath. ![]() For three days, the state erupts in a collective rapture as it celebrates the womanhood of Mother Earth, or Bhudevi, as the giver of life. ![]() This celebratory mood marks one of Odisha’s biggest festivals – Raja Parba – observed on the 15th of June, every year. Orchards, gardens, parks, village squares and virtually every street teem with girls beautifully decked up, playing all sorts of games, and singing folk songs as they fly back and forth on swings hung from trees especially for them. Mid-June is a time of great merriment for young women in Odisha. ![]()
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