Malnad farmers celebrate Bhoomi Hunnime with traditional fervour

Shivamogga: Farming community in Malnad region on Thursday celebrated Bhoomi Hunnime (Seege Hunnime) with great enthusiasm and traditional fervour. The festival, observed within a week after Dasara, involves worshipping the earth.

Preparations began on Wednesday evening, with farmers offering prayers and enjoying meals in their fields the next morning. The festival was celebrated across Shivamogga district, particularly in Sagar, Soraba, and Thirthahalli.

For the Deevaru community, a subcaste of Idiga, Bhoomi Hunnime holds immense significance. They use a specially crafted bamboo basket, Boomi Hunnime Butti, adorned with natural colours and illustrations of farmers' lives and harvesting crops.

The festival commenced with the preparation of ‘Charaga', a mixture of vegetables and leaves, cooked overnight and carried to the fields in the Bhoomi Hunnime Butti. Before sunrise, the mixture was spilled onto the fields as an offering.

Farmers believe Bhoomi Hunnime to be a Seemantha, or baby shower, for Mother Earth. Following the rituals, family members brought food to the fields, offered prayers, and later had meals together.

Originally celebrated exclusively in paddy fields, the tradition has adapted to include arecanut plantations due to the decline in paddy cultivation.

Despite favourable monsoon rain, farmers remain anxious about the impending harvest due to unpredictable weather. Nevertheless, Malnad farmers celebrated Bhoomi Hunnime with enthusiasm, bolstered by the morning rain.

Bhoomi Hunnime remains an integral part of Malnad culture, symbolising the community's deep connection with nature and dependence on the earth for livelihood.