Magical Mayong Pabitora Festival 2011

The picture at the entrance gate  shows King Of Mayong and his parliamentarians

Mayong a small and beautiful village near Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district is situated about 40-45 km away from Guwahati. Mayong is famous for its  history of magic,sorcery and herbal therapy. During the medieval period in ancient India, Mayong is said to remain the Indian Capital of Black Magic and Witchcraft. Mayong is full of supernatural stories. .Except for the few most of the magic secrets and spells were not documented but passed
from mouth to mouth from generation to generation.It is said that people came from far off and abroad to learn magic here. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary  is mainly famous for its great Indian one horned Rhino. Besides Rhino the other animals are Leopard, Wild boar, Barking deer,wild buffalo etc. Assam’s Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is also home to more than 2000 migratory birds and various reptiles. It is also an Important Bird Area ...(info courtesy wiki).

Pics showing the main entrance of the sanctuary ,the way to the event and an interesting cycle parking area.

 To highlight the significance of flora and fauna and other historical aspects of Mayong-Pobitora for the first time, Morigaon district administration in association with local people of Mayong Pobitora and supported by Assam Tourism Development Corporation successfully organised the Mayong-Pobitora festival 2011 at Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary from November 25 to 27.Live exhibition of the rural life of Assam , magic practitionary,cultural procession , traditional food and handicraft,Kayaking events,boating ,elephant safari ,sighting of rhinos and migratory birds were the main attraction of the event

We noticed some migratory birds on our way from car parking  towards  the event area.

The festival was inaugurated on 24th Nov but  because of Friday being a working day we could not attend it  .On inaugural day a cultural procession was headed by the King of Mayong, Tarani Kanta Raja, and Kanak Chandra Deka Raja of Raja Mayong village. Along with them, Braja Kanta Deka, the Raja of Hati Murai Mayong, was also present. Around 200 people participated in the cultural procession.On Sunday which was the concluding day of the festival me and my husband visited the place.After about an hour and half beautiful drive we reached Mayong.The day was sunny and pleasant.The crowd was huge but very well managed by the organizers.

 As we entered the venue the first thing that we saw was this competition of traditional game where the players eyes are blindfolded while they hit an earthen pot with a stick .People from electronic and print media were present in big number.Villagers were kind and sweet enough to give me a spot from where i was able to capture these pictures.Out of about six participants i saw only two girl succeed in breaking the pot .

In the pics ..Bejs/Magic practitioners feel that this event will go a long way in promoting old  tradition of magic.

As we moved further we saw people seeking advice from Tantriks/ magic practitioners ( Bej - in local language).Must read this interesting link if you want to know more on this : A spell of ancient Mayong magic in Pobitora rhino land

 Work of famous local artists were showcased in this handicraft exhibition .Beautiful wood carvings , masks , paintings and other exhibits were on display.

 Look at this beautiful bamboo art work .

The historical remainsof the ancient Mayong kingdom displayed by the conservation society of Mayong.The volunteers told us that some of these were gifts from Britishers .

 Mayong central museum and emporium in the village has preserved some of the ancient manuscript of Black Magic and Ayurveda.You can see old manuscripts ,silver jewellery, coins and other relics.

 Displayed here is one Palki /Dola (Palanquin) used to carry brides .The thick net was used to trap Tigers and Deers. An armour made of Rhino skin .Traditional brass utensils used in King's kitchen.

 I faced one on my worst fear here .... this friendly TV camera and reporter caught us and we had to say few lines about our  experiences at the event .Hope they don't air it .

 It took me sometime to recover from that interview shock .We avoided going to the shops that sold local hand loom ,woolen clothes and other items.The other ground was completely dedicated to the ethnic -food. The area smelt of smoked/grilled meat from pork ,mutton ,fish to chicken .Chandan tasted some mutton while i stood there only to take some pictures.

 Other neighboring villages had also participated.Ethnic food of various origin like Assamese ,Deori ,Karbi ,Nepalese was being cooked .The stalls were jam packed.
Post Updated on 29.11.11: Many of you want to know about that white ,round idli like snack in the above picture.This delicacy is known as Tekeli Pitha ,click here to know more about it .

 On walking little further we saw this pretty and small lake where visitors enjoyed boating .

 The event beautifully covered the traditional and cultural heritage of Assam .

 An old way of extracting oil from mustard seeds on display .

 For wild life enthusiasts elephant safari and jeep safari was arranged .

 Traditional Assamese Jewellery designs , bamboo jewellery(unique of NE).

 Brass metal traditional decorations ,wood carvings ,bamboo and cane furniture.

 We had our lunch at this small resort nearby which offered veg and non veg buffet priced at Rs 150(veg) and Rs 250 (non veg).The food was good and was served in this tent  very neatly and cleanly.I was surprised to find there a spacious and squeaky clean toilet .

 Some more colors of the festival. The above picture of 'My Room' is featured in my dear friend Clytie's beautiful blog Random Hearts.Thanks Clytie.

 After spending more than three hours we headed back to Guwahati .We bought two flutes for my kids and really regret doing it now .They played the thing the whole evening.

Here are some pictures of the lovely sights on our journey back to home .