This 500-YO Ritual In Odisha Turns Diwali Into A Sacred Reunion Between Families And Their Ancestors

Diwali wears many faces across India, bursting with colour in some places, steeped in silence and spirit in others. In Odisha, the night before Diwali doesn’t begin with a sky of fireworks but with the steady and earthy crackle of burning jute sticks. Families gather at their doorsteps, chanting “Badabadua Ho!” to honour their ancestors as part of the Bada Badua Daka tradition, sending their prayers upward with the drifting smoke. The air smells of burnt jute and devotion, as a quiet reminder that light can take many forms, even the glow of remembrance.

Odisha’s Unique Diwali Tradition: The Sacred Ritual Of Bada Badua Daka

Here, families step out into the darkness with Kaunria Kathi (burning jute stick) clutched in their hands, and flames bend to the wind like little torches of memory. This isn’t just another festive ritual; it’s Bada Badua Daka, a centuries-old invocation to the ancestors and a way of whispering across realms: “Bada badua ho, andhaara re aasa, alua re jaa.” It translates to, “Come from the shadows, walk into the light.”

The most hauntingly beautiful sight of this night unfolds in Puri, right before the towering Jagannath Temple. Thousands gather in the open air, torches lifted high, their collective chant rising and falling like waves on a dark sea. It isn’t a celebration meant for tourist cameras but a moment of raw and private reverence shared in public. Here, light is not merely decorative, it’s a bridge, or a signal meant to reach souls who have long crossed over.

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The Spiritual Meaning Behind Odisha’s Ancestral Diwali Ritual

No one can pinpoint exactly when this ritual began, but its story drifts through time like smoke. Some trace it to the Bhakti movement, during Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s era five centuries ago. Others go further back, to 350 BC, when the Sadhabas, or the Odia merchants who sailed to distant lands, were welcomed home with this flickering beacon. Whether born from trade or faith, the ritual has stayed rooted in the soil of Odisha, quietly defying the rush of modernity.

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For those who light the jute sticks, it isn’t merely performative in nature; it’s a reunion. It’s the moment the living turn toward the dead not with fear, but with warmth and belonging. Every flame carries a name, a story, and a face. Families gather close, not just to honour those who came before but to remind themselves of where they come from. In a world that moves too fast, Bada Badua Daka slows everything down. It folds time in half, past and present meeting under a night sky stitched with fire. And for that one night, Odisha doesn’t just celebrate Diwali; it speaks directly to its ancestors.

Cover Image Courtesy: bibhurath/X