Boita Bandana: Remembering the Maritime Tradition of Odisha “AA KAA MAA BOI – PAANA GUA THOI – PAANA GUA TORA – MAASAKA DHARAMA MORA”

Bhubaneswar: Kalinga, the erstwhile kingdom of Odisha, has a glorious past and a splendid history of maritime tradition with many of the world countries. In order to remember the tradition and to bring to fore the past glory, people of Odisha celebrate the festival of Boita on Kartika Purnima. Boita Bandana – meaning worshipping the boat symbolizes the worship of miniature boats that are sailed in water bodies.

The festival brings to live the memories attached with the traditional maritime history. The merchants of Odisha were master seafarers who went to high seas to do business in countries such as Bali, Sumatra, Indonesia, Malaysia and many other countries.

Before the merchants would embark on the long and arduous journeys, the womenfolk would gather and sanctify the sailing vessel with betel leaves and areca nuts singing “aa kaa boi ma – paana gua thoi – paana gua tora – maasaka dharama mora”. “aa kaa boi maa” refers to the months of post-monsoon months of Aashwina, Kartika, Baisakha, and Margasira when the voyage would take place; the first two months for the onward voyage and the last two months for the return voyage. After the ritual, firecrackers would be lit to ward off any evil forces that may hinder the journey. The pre-dawn moments of Kartika Purnima were specially favoured for setting off as the sea of Kartika was calmer. While the merchants were away, the women would spend the days in praying for the safety of their menfolk.

Commemorating the tradition, every year Balijatra festival is organized in Cuttack on the banks of river Mahanadi. It marks the day when ancient Sadhabas would start their sail to East Asian countries such as Bali, Java, Sumatra, Indonesia and Sri Lanka for trade. To commemorate this centuries old tradition, the Balijatra festival is celebrated every year from the day of Kartika Purnima.