One of the best things about India is its vibrant and diverse festivals. Often, you’ll find different regions in the country celebrating at the same time, yet each festival has its own unique traditions and ways of celebrating. One of them is the Gorehabba festival, which is celebrated to mark the conclusion of the Diwali festival in Karnataka’s Gumatapura. The festival has caught global attention because of an American YouTuber’s video, and here’s all you need to know about it.
What Is Karnataka’s Gorehabba Festival?
Gummatapura is a small village nestled on the border between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. What makes this village unique is its Diwali celebrations. Instead of crackers and flashy lights, people in Gummatapura uniquely end the Diwali celebration with the Gorehabba festival. According to The Financial Express, people in the village throw cow dung at each other.
For centuries, people in Gummatapura and Thalavadi taluk of Tamil Nadu have celebrated Gorehabba on the fourth day of Diwali. Hindus consider cow dung to be sacred and purifying; it is also used in poojas, as manure while farming, and even to disinfect floors in villages. Many believe that god Beereshwara Swamy was born in cow dung, thus making it sacred.
People collect cow dung around the village, compile it in a pit, and after pooja, they begin splashing the dung at each other. Once done, the cow dung is then distributed among the villagers to use as manure in their farms. They believe it helps in the prosperity of their yield.
Also Read: Indian Railways Records 1.5 Crore Festive Travellers; Numbers Expected To Cross 2.5 Crore Soon
American Faces Backlash For Sensationalising Indian Festival
Recently, American YouTuber Tyler Oliveira, dressed in a hazmat suit and goggles, attended Karnataka’s Gorehabba festival, and he is now facing the internet’s fury. He posted about the festival on X (formerly Twitter) and shared a teaser clip titled “Inside India’s Poop-Throwing Festival”.
The video has amassed over 5 million views and more than three thousand comments. In the video, he says, “It was the s**tiest experience of my life. I will never go back. Please pray that I survive.”
Many netizens have schooled him and mentioned that the festival is celebrated with cow dung and not “poop”. Many mentioned how Gorehabba celebrates life and nature and is also believed to purify the body and the spirit. Others simply suggested that if he felt so averse to the festival, he could have skipped it instead of spreading negativity around a religious celebration.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments!
Cover Image Courtesy: X/tyleraloevera & X/@nasib_kisku
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