Nabarangpur District
Encyclopedia
Nabarangpur District, also known as Nabarangapur District and Nawarangpur District, is a district of Orissa
, India
. The city of Nabarangpur
is the district headquarters. Most of its population is tribal
, and most of the land is forested. Situated in the southwest corner of Orissa, it borders Koraput District
. Nabarangpur district is situated at 19.14’ latitude and 82.32’ longitude at an average elevation of 1876 feet (571.8 m).
. Until then Koraput District had been the second largest district in India. The history of Nabarangpur is inextricably interlinked with that of Koraput District, with which it shares its language, lifestyle, heritage, flora and fauna and climate.
Koraput
belonged to the Atavikas, a feudatory of the powerful Kalinga
Empire (Ancient Orissa
) who valiantly fought the Kalinga War
in the 3rd century BCE. Kalinga
regained its former glory during the Mahameghabahan Dynasty in the first century BCE. The third king of this dynasty Kharavela
made the Kalinga empire and the Atavika land was very strong under his rule. The successive dynasties – the Satavahanas (2nd century CE), Ikshvakus (3rd century CE) had headquarters at Pushkari, near the modern town of Umerkote
. The Kesaribeda excavations bear testimony to the rule of King Bhabadatta Varma and King Arathapati. The inscriptions of Podagarh refer to king Skandavarma. The overlord Nala
kings are traced to the kings who ruled from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh
. Their rapid growth landed them in the Oriya
regions of Bastar
and Koraput
. Around the 10th century CE a Nala king Bhimesen was ruling over a region now located in Koraput and Ganjam
District.
The Koraput area including present-day Narabangpur District was a small principality of Tri Kalinga under the Ganga era of the 5th century CE. The patches of Utkala, Kalinga and Kosala
were brought under the control of the Ganga
kings of Orissa
. This dynasty became prominent during the 11th century CE with the rise of Somanakshi. Their suzerainty extended from the modern Sambalpur
, Sonepur
to the Bastar
and Koraput regions and they enjoyed control until the beginning of the 14th century CE.
The Matsya
family ruling over the Oddadi region of modern Jeypore
dominated the next generation. The best known kings included Bhanudeva and Narasingha Dev, as is known from the Oriya
inscription of Simhachalam
in Visakhapatnam
district of Andhra Pradesh
.
The next dynasty belonged to the Sailavansis, who ruled over Vindhya during the 14th century CE. The earliest king Ganga Raju was ruling over Nandapur, a former capital of the Maharaja of Jeypore. Nandapur is famous for the throne of 32 steps erected in the line of king Vikramaditya
of Ujjain
. Jainism
and Shaktism
grew side by side in the kingdom of Nandapur.
The last king of Sailavansa, Pratap Ganga Raju was succeeded by Vinayak Dev of Surya Vansa which lasted until the time of the British Empire. Vinayak Dev was said to be married to the daughter of the last ruler of Silavansi Paratap Ganga Raju. He and his six succeeding generation of kings had only one son each and on advice from astrologer
s the headquarters of the kingdom was switched from Nandapur to Jeypore.
During the Anglo-French conflict, Vikram Dev I (1758–1781 CE) was successful in driving out the French from Malkangiri area and the Maratha
s from the Umerkote belt. They were succeeded by the brave Oriya
king Ramachandra Dev II (1781–1825) while his other two sons Jagannath and Narasingh Dev were placed in charge of Nabarangpur and Gudari
regions. Jagannath Dev’s son Arjun Dev and Narasingha Dev’s son Chaitanya Dev were issueless. Hence, Nabarangpur and Gudari were remerged to Jeypore kingdom.
During the 20th century Ramachandra Dev IV (1920–31) was an honourable lieutenant in World War I. He was issueless and was succeeded by a benevolent, aged, scholar king Vikram Dev IV, the son of Krishna Chandra Dev. During this period the Boundary Commission headed by Sir O’Donnel was entrusted with the task of writing the different Oriya speaking tracts. The Commission went round Jeypore, Paralakhumendi, Ganjam
, and Visakhapatnam
before finalizing its decision. The state of Orissa was formed on 1 April 1936 with Koraput as one of the six districts. In 1951 Vikram Dev IV died at 82 and the Estate Abolition Act was passed the next year. The Estate of Jeypore was taken over by the Government of Orissa.
The district is currently a part of the Red Corridor
.
leaders, the adivasi
s of what was then the undivided Koraput district rallied to the movement and suffered imprisonment. Mahatma Gandhi
called the Quit India Movement in August, 1942 which found its echo in Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri
. Tribal-dominated Nabarangpur District played an important role in this nation-wide movement. A tribal leader of Tentuligumma in Malkangiri subdivision was falsely implicated in a murder case when he was leading a non-violent procession. He was Laxman Nayak, a feared revolutionary of the time. Without a fair trial, he was hanged in Berhampur
central jail on 29 August 1943.
On 24 August 1942, a gathering of about 6,000 people mostly adivasis under the leadership of Madhav Pradhani, of village Gummaguda, were proceeding to Dabugam to decide their future course of action following the arrest of the leaders of the district. The crowd was intercepted at a river bridge near Papadahandi. Unable to escape the unprovoked lathi
charge and firing by the police, many jumped into the flooded river. Nineteen people were killed and many arrested. The Koraput jail was occupied at three to four times its capacity. The unhygienic condition of the jail and other harassment by officials took a toll of many activists. During the Quit India Movement many woman freedom fighters were raped by the police and forest personnel in the district. Some of them were murdered by the police, while others committed suicide.
The days of the independence struggle saw the new emergence of leaders: R.K. Biswasray, R.K. Sahu and Sadashiva Tripathy
. Tripathy, from Nabarangpur town, went on to become the Chief Minister of Orissa.
District, west to Jagdalpur
District in Chhatisgarh, east to Kalahandi and Rayagada District
and south to Koraput District. The river Indravati forms the border between Nabarangpur and Koraput districts. The district capital Nabarangpur is located on the plateau about 2000 ft (609.6 m) above sea level. In the north, the Panabeda area, recently renamed as Chandahandi is only 500 ft (152.4 m) above sea level and experiences similar climate and social life to that of the adjacent Kalahandi District. The rest of Nabarangpur district is mainly flat with a few pockets of low hills. The highest peak Podagarh, which has historical significance, reaches 3050 ft (929.6 m). There are patches of thick forest mostly containing sal seeds and those provide sustenance to dependent villages.
, Nabarangpur district receives the monsoon from the southwest, off the Arabian Sea
. Nabarangpur District enjoys generous rainfall and droughts are extremely rare. The plateaus in particular remain cool throughout the year.
which rises in the north of Nabarangpur District forms its geographical boundary with Kalahandi District and finally unites with a bigger Mahanadi River
in Sonepur
town. It is not perennial and dries up during the summer. The important river Indravati flows through Nabarangpur District and beyond until it mergers with the mighty Godavari
in Andhra Pradesh
. It runs through a total distance of about 530 km of which the Nabarangpur and Koraput district sections make up about 130 km. At Nabarangpur town the old girder bridge has been replaced by a new span. Before reaching Jagadalpur town in Chhatisgarh state, it is joined by another river Bhaskal that drains the north of Nabarangpur. During its flood the Indravati swells up to 450 ft (137.2 m) wide and 24 ft (7.3 m) deep. However, a dam built for hydroelectric power has considerably reduced its flow.
, mica
, quartz
and so on. The Heeraput village near Umerkote
contains a fair deposit of haematite and limonite
, each of which is composed of about 60% iron. Similarly the Tentulikhunti area has a fairly large deposit of granite
s. The north of the district up to the border with Kalahandi District has rock beds covering layers of coarse white quartz.
named Nabarangpur one of the country's 250 most backward districts
(out of a total of 640
). It is one of the 19 districts in Orissa currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
Nabarangpur district has a population
of 1,218,762, roughly equal to the nation of Bahrain
or the US state of New Hampshire
. This gives it a ranking of 390th in India (out of a total of 640
). The district has a population density of 230 PD/sqkm . Its population growth rate
over the decade 2001-2011 was 18.81 %. Nabarangapur has a sex ratio
of 1018 females
for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate
of 48.2 %.
The major language spoken in this region is Oriya
. The inhabitants are mostly tribal
s. Rural people are now exposed to education and modern amenities. Encounter with the settled and urban population has changed their lifestyle to some extent but a few peoples including the Paraja, Kondha
s and Gadava still live the indigenous lifestyle, relying on cultivation and forest products. These tribes speaks dialects of Oriya
.
The religion of the district is composite. There are Hindus, Christian
s and Muslim
s. The tribals worship the Hindu gods. The Muslims, a small proportion of the population, are believed to be the descendants of soldiers from Golkonda
who settled in the area and married Paraja women. The Christians are the outcome of missionary activity. During the British Raj
, British and American missionaries established boarding schools, dispensaries and churches. Adherents of various Protestant denominations and Catholic
s live in the area. The Christian hospital of Nabarangpur town has been an attraction for patients from far-flung areas.
The other tribals living here are Bhumias and Dombs. The Dombs are widespread through the district and enjoy status next to Kondha
s. They are weavers and drummers by profession and enjoy great influence over others. They are also engaged in cattle trade. The Mirganis appear to be a subcaste of the Dombs. They differ from the Oriya Dombs by not killing cattle for food but they partake of the beef of animals that die naturally. They claim to be superior to Oriya Dombs. They earn their livelihood by cultivation and weaving. In the upper rank of the social scale the Sankharies who work with lac
, making baskets, chains and dolls from it. Malis originally grew and collected flowers for temple worship but have switched over to the cultivation of sugarcane
, tobacco
etc. on the banks of the Indravati River. Sundhi
s, an Oriya Baishya community are known for the distillation and selling of liquor. Tradition holds that they are the descendants of a Brahmin
father and royal mother. They are usually rich and wealthy in status.
Hindu
festivals are Rath Yatra
, Dassera (Dasahara) Holi
and Mahasivaratri, which bring together town dwellers and hill tribes in celebration. Holi, the riotous festival of spring is celebrated over three days. While the first two days are spent on ceremonies, the third is mostly for young people that rejoice in sprinkling coloured liquid or smearing coloured power on one another. All differences of birth, caste, sex or even religious community melt away.
Rath Jatra is still a bigger festival though confined to a few townships or bigger panchayats. Effigies of the presiding deity Jagannath
along with His elder brother and younger sister are moved away from the temple on a nine-day resort. Devotees pull them along a main route on a wooden chariot
(or sometimes three chariots). The Bahuda Jatra or the return car festival marks the end of the annual carnival.
The temples of Jagannath are scattered throughout the district, the oldest being in Nabarangpur town. The temple has no outward trappings and looks like an old private quarter except for the Garuda
stambha
(pillar) on the front gate. Until the late 1980s only the single deity Jagannath was installed in the sanctuary. According to a legend, two other wooden idols of Balabhadra and the goddess Subhadra
were seized by one ruler of Bastar
region and installed at a temple in Jagadalpur while the idol of Jagannath miraculously slipped from the elephant's back along the way and was retrieved the next day. Now all three deities are worshipped from a huge pedestal. Fine wooden carvings cover every inch of the temple roof, depicting humans, animals, birds and flowers. Even a casual glimpse of erotica is considered to add awe to the spectable. What would elsewhere in the state be carved in stone is figured on a wooden surface in this remote region and well preserved with a coat of shining black paint.
Dussera (Dasahara) is a ten-day Hindu festival, in which the goddess Durga, epitome of power and energy, motherhood of the whole universe, is worshipped. The Maharaja of Jeypore used this occasion for the concourse of his subjects. Deities from various areas, towns and villages, are symbolically brought through decorated large bamboo poles to the accompaniment of beating drums and sounds of other musical instruments. The cultivators, for whom the harvest time is still a month or so away, are all in jubilant mood. On the day of Vijaya Dasami, special elaborate offerings are made to the Deity which includes the age-old practice of animal sacrifice of appeasing the Goddess, the destroyer of demonical forces. People are always in their colorful best costume and rejoice in the grand occasion.
Maa Bhandargharani of Nabarangpur is the presiding deity of the locality. The name signifies the preserver of wealth and protector of lives. She is also worshipped in nearby villages. Tuesday and Saturday are marked for special worship. Devotees throng the temple precincts on every conceivable occasion to seek blessings.
Maa Pendrani of Umerkote is born out of a legend. A small village Pendra (Pendrahandi) near Umerkote worshipped a pure soul Pendrani, a young married woman who was a victim of the secret jealousy of her own brothers. As the story goes, her husband was overtly pampered by her parents who made him stay in their household with no work to bother about. The four brothers out of sheer jealousy conspired and succeeded in killing her innocent husband (Pendara) and buried him in their field. When Pendrani became aware of what had happened she jumped into her husband’s funeral pyre and died in its flames. Days later her spirit was believed to roam about the villages helping those who trusted her supernatural transformation. The local college is named after her.
Maha Shivaratri
attracts devotees of all social classes. Mahadev
, the God of gods, is the central figure of worship. It is believed that he saved the whole of creation by drinking the deadly venom spat out by the legendary serpent Vasuki. The legendary serpent was used by gods on one side and demons on the other for churning out the ocean to obtain the elixir of immortality. The nectar was brought from the depth of the ocean, but along with it came the poison, vomited by an exhausted Vasuki
. Only the God of gods had the power to contain it from spreading and causing universal death. The lord was propitiated to devour it on the day, famed later as Maha Shivaratri
, and the entire world was saved. Papadahandi temple is a pilgrim centre to celebrate such occasion.
Festivals of other communities are also celebrated. The Moharram of the Muslim
s is a day of prayer and remembrance. Huge processions are taken round the township and mass prayers are held at mosque
s. Intercommunity greetings are exchanged. Christmas Day marks the beginning of a long festival running up to New Years Day. Christian
s of all hues celebrate the day at home, churches
and outdoors. Members of other communities also join in to mark communal concord.
are the two species commonly seen in the whole region. Paddy
cultivation has systematically depleted the green patches and upset the scenic beauty of the district. Still the reserved forests and the protected hills, afford some pleasure of living close to nature.
Among the wild animals there were the panther
, leopard
, tiger
, hyena
, jackal
and wild dogs. Even the latter are now scarce due to human intrusion into their habitat. Wild Asian Water buffalo
, black bear
, even gaur
were found in the Umerkote
region. The black bucks which were common in the Chandahandi area are nowhere seen now. Spotted deer, sambar
and barking deer were a common sight in the district before Independence
. Common crocodile
are occasionally spotted in the Indravati River. Peafowl
, red junglefowl
and grey junglefowl
are fairly often found, as are also the green pigeon
and duck. However, there has been much extinction in recent years.
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The city of Nabarangpur
Nabarangpur
Nabarangpur, also known as Nabarangapur or Nowrangpur, is a city and a municipality in Nabarangapur district in the Indian state of Orissa. It is the headquarters of Nabarangpur district. Nabarangpur district is situated at 19.14’ latitude and 82.32’ longitude at an average.There 3 Post offices in...
is the district headquarters. Most of its population is tribal
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
, and most of the land is forested. Situated in the southwest corner of Orissa, it borders Koraput District
Koraput District
Koraput is a tribal dominated district of Orissa, India, and known for rich and diverse types of mineral deposits. It is located along the Eastern Ghats.-History:...
. Nabarangpur district is situated at 19.14’ latitude and 82.32’ longitude at an average elevation of 1876 feet (571.8 m).
History
Nabarangpur district was created on 2 October 1992 out of a previous subdivision of Koraput DistrictKoraput District
Koraput is a tribal dominated district of Orissa, India, and known for rich and diverse types of mineral deposits. It is located along the Eastern Ghats.-History:...
. Until then Koraput District had been the second largest district in India. The history of Nabarangpur is inextricably interlinked with that of Koraput District, with which it shares its language, lifestyle, heritage, flora and fauna and climate.
Koraput
Koraput
Koraput is a town and a Notified Area Council in Koraput district in the Indian state of Orissa.-History:The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters the present town of Koraput. In ancient times when the Nalas were ruling over this tract, Pushkari near modern Umarkot was the...
belonged to the Atavikas, a feudatory of the powerful Kalinga
Kalinga
Kalinga is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Tabuk and borders Mountain Province to the south, Abra to the west, Isabela to the east, Cagayan to the northeast, and Apayao to the north...
Empire (Ancient Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
) who valiantly fought the Kalinga War
Kalinga War
The Kalinga War was a war fought between the Mauryan Empire under Ashoka the Great and the state of Kalinga, a feudal republic located on the coast of the present-day Indian state of Orissa. The Kalinga war is one of the major battles in the History of India. Kalinga put up a stiff resistance,...
in the 3rd century BCE. Kalinga
Kalinga (India)
Kalinga was an early state in central-eastern India, which comprised most of the modern state of Orissa/Utkal , as well as the Andhra region of the bordering state of Andhra Pradesh. It was a rich and fertile land that extended from the river Damodar/Ganges to Godavari and from Bay of Bengal to...
regained its former glory during the Mahameghabahan Dynasty in the first century BCE. The third king of this dynasty Kharavela
Kharavela
Khārabēḷa was the third and greatest emperor of the Mahāmēghabāhana Dynasty of Kaḷinga . The main source of information about Khārabeḷa is his famous seventeen line rock-cut Hātigumphā inscription in a cave in the Udayagiri hills near Bhubaneswar, Orissa.During the reign of Khārabēḷa, the Chedi...
made the Kalinga empire and the Atavika land was very strong under his rule. The successive dynasties – the Satavahanas (2nd century CE), Ikshvakus (3rd century CE) had headquarters at Pushkari, near the modern town of Umerkote
Umerkote
Umerkote , also known as Umarkot and Amarkot, is a town of Nabarangpur district, Orissa, in eastern India. Umerkote is an urban area and the name of a Notified Area Council. The town is a prominent business place of the Nabarangpur District....
. The Kesaribeda excavations bear testimony to the rule of King Bhabadatta Varma and King Arathapati. The inscriptions of Podagarh refer to king Skandavarma. The overlord Nala
Nala
Nala , a character in Hindu mythology, is the king of Nishadha Kingdom, son of Virasena. Nala is known for his skill with horses and culinary expertise. He marries princess Damayanti, of Vidarbha Kingdom, and their story is told in the Mahabharata. His main weakness is gambling...
kings are traced to the kings who ruled from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
. Their rapid growth landed them in the Oriya
Oriya people
The Oriya, known classically by various names , are an ethnic group of eastern India and of eastern Indo-Aryan stock...
regions of Bastar
Bastar
* Bastar state, a state founded in the 15th century that later became a princely state of British India* Bastar district, an administrative district of Chhatisgarh state in central India...
and Koraput
Koraput
Koraput is a town and a Notified Area Council in Koraput district in the Indian state of Orissa.-History:The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters the present town of Koraput. In ancient times when the Nalas were ruling over this tract, Pushkari near modern Umarkot was the...
. Around the 10th century CE a Nala king Bhimesen was ruling over a region now located in Koraput and Ganjam
Ganjam
Ganjam is a town and a notified area committee in Ganjam district in the state of Orissa, India.-Geography:Ganjam is located at . It has an average elevation of 3 metres .-Demographics:...
District.
The Koraput area including present-day Narabangpur District was a small principality of Tri Kalinga under the Ganga era of the 5th century CE. The patches of Utkala, Kalinga and Kosala
Kosala
Kosala was an ancient Indian region, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present day Uttar Pradesh. According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, Kosala was one of the Solasa Mahajanapadas in 6th century BCE and its cultural and...
were brought under the control of the Ganga
Gangas
The Western Ganga Dynasty was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India. They are known as Western Gangas to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over modern Orissa...
kings of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. This dynasty became prominent during the 11th century CE with the rise of Somanakshi. Their suzerainty extended from the modern Sambalpur
Sambalpur
Sambalpur is a city in Sambalpur district in the Indian state of Orissa.It lies at a distance of 321 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar. In the year 1876, Sambalpur was established as a municipality. It is currently the headquarters and the largest city of Sambalpur district. It is also...
, Sonepur
Sonepur
Sonepur, also known as Subarnapur, is a town and district headquarters of Subarnapur district of Orissa. Sonepur was formerly the capital of a princely state of British India. The district spreads over an area of 2284.89 km2. It is also known as Second Varanasi of India for its cluster of...
to the Bastar
Bastar
* Bastar state, a state founded in the 15th century that later became a princely state of British India* Bastar district, an administrative district of Chhatisgarh state in central India...
and Koraput regions and they enjoyed control until the beginning of the 14th century CE.
The Matsya
Matsya
Matsya was the first Avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. The great flood finds mention in Hindu mythology texts like the Satapatha Brahmana, where in the Matsya Avatar takes place to save the pious and the first man, Manu and advices him to build a giant boat.-The Legend:According to the Matsya...
family ruling over the Oddadi region of modern Jeypore
Jeypore
Jeypore, is the largest town in the Koraput district of Orissa, India. Along with Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Balasore, Puri and Berhampur, Jeypore is one of the prominent places of Orissa. It is encompassed by hills of the Eastern Ghats and the more famous Araku hills on three...
dominated the next generation. The best known kings included Bhanudeva and Narasingha Dev, as is known from the Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
inscription of Simhachalam
Simhachalam
Simhadri or Simhachalam temple is a Hindu temple located near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, South India. It is dedicated to the incarnation of Vishnu known as Narasimha...
in Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
district of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
.
The next dynasty belonged to the Sailavansis, who ruled over Vindhya during the 14th century CE. The earliest king Ganga Raju was ruling over Nandapur, a former capital of the Maharaja of Jeypore. Nandapur is famous for the throne of 32 steps erected in the line of king Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya was a legendary emperor of Ujjain, India, famed for his wisdom, valour and magnanimity. The title "Vikramaditya" was later assumed by many other kings in Indian history, notably the Gupta King Chandragupta II and Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya .The name King Vikramaditya is a...
of Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
. Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
and Shaktism
Shaktism
Shaktism is a denomination of Hinduism that focuses worship upon Shakti or Devi – the Hindu Divine Mother – as the absolute, ultimate Godhead...
grew side by side in the kingdom of Nandapur.
The last king of Sailavansa, Pratap Ganga Raju was succeeded by Vinayak Dev of Surya Vansa which lasted until the time of the British Empire. Vinayak Dev was said to be married to the daughter of the last ruler of Silavansi Paratap Ganga Raju. He and his six succeeding generation of kings had only one son each and on advice from astrologer
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
s the headquarters of the kingdom was switched from Nandapur to Jeypore.
During the Anglo-French conflict, Vikram Dev I (1758–1781 CE) was successful in driving out the French from Malkangiri area and the Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
s from the Umerkote belt. They were succeeded by the brave Oriya
Oriya people
The Oriya, known classically by various names , are an ethnic group of eastern India and of eastern Indo-Aryan stock...
king Ramachandra Dev II (1781–1825) while his other two sons Jagannath and Narasingh Dev were placed in charge of Nabarangpur and Gudari
Gudari
Gudari may refer to:*Gudari, Rayagada, a town in Rayagada District, Orissa, India*Euzko Gudarostea, an army commanded by Basque Autonomous Community...
regions. Jagannath Dev’s son Arjun Dev and Narasingha Dev’s son Chaitanya Dev were issueless. Hence, Nabarangpur and Gudari were remerged to Jeypore kingdom.
During the 20th century Ramachandra Dev IV (1920–31) was an honourable lieutenant in World War I. He was issueless and was succeeded by a benevolent, aged, scholar king Vikram Dev IV, the son of Krishna Chandra Dev. During this period the Boundary Commission headed by Sir O’Donnel was entrusted with the task of writing the different Oriya speaking tracts. The Commission went round Jeypore, Paralakhumendi, Ganjam
Ganjam
Ganjam is a town and a notified area committee in Ganjam district in the state of Orissa, India.-Geography:Ganjam is located at . It has an average elevation of 3 metres .-Demographics:...
, and Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
before finalizing its decision. The state of Orissa was formed on 1 April 1936 with Koraput as one of the six districts. In 1951 Vikram Dev IV died at 82 and the Estate Abolition Act was passed the next year. The Estate of Jeypore was taken over by the Government of Orissa.
The district is currently a part of the Red Corridor
Red corridor
The Red Corridor is a term used to describe an impoverished region in the east of India that experiences considerable Naxalite communist insurgency...
.
National movement
In the 1940s opposition to colonial rule gained momentum. Under the direction of local Indian National CongressIndian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
leaders, the adivasi
Adivasi
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...
s of what was then the undivided Koraput district rallied to the movement and suffered imprisonment. Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
called the Quit India Movement in August, 1942 which found its echo in Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri
Malkangiri
Malkangiri is a town and a notified area committee in Malkangiri district in the Indian state of Orissa. It is the headquarters of the Malkangiri district. Malkangiri is the new home of the Bangladeshi refugees, who were rehabilitated since 1965 under the Dandakaranya project...
. Tribal-dominated Nabarangpur District played an important role in this nation-wide movement. A tribal leader of Tentuligumma in Malkangiri subdivision was falsely implicated in a murder case when he was leading a non-violent procession. He was Laxman Nayak, a feared revolutionary of the time. Without a fair trial, he was hanged in Berhampur
Berhampur
Brahmapur , nicknamed "The Silk City", is a city located in the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Orissa, about south to state capital, Bhubaneswar.It is also dubbed as "The Dance City" of Orissa after Prince Dance Group and Harihar Das made the state famous in India's...
central jail on 29 August 1943.
On 24 August 1942, a gathering of about 6,000 people mostly adivasis under the leadership of Madhav Pradhani, of village Gummaguda, were proceeding to Dabugam to decide their future course of action following the arrest of the leaders of the district. The crowd was intercepted at a river bridge near Papadahandi. Unable to escape the unprovoked lathi
Lathi
Lathi means stick and also refers to an Indian martial art based on cane-fighting. The word is used in Hindi, Bengali and various other Indian languages. The lathi typically measures 6 to and may be tipped with metal. It commonly used as a crowd control device by the Indian Police and other South...
charge and firing by the police, many jumped into the flooded river. Nineteen people were killed and many arrested. The Koraput jail was occupied at three to four times its capacity. The unhygienic condition of the jail and other harassment by officials took a toll of many activists. During the Quit India Movement many woman freedom fighters were raped by the police and forest personnel in the district. Some of them were murdered by the police, while others committed suicide.
The days of the independence struggle saw the new emergence of leaders: R.K. Biswasray, R.K. Sahu and Sadashiva Tripathy
Sadashiva Tripathy
Sadashiva Tripathy was an Indian politician, a leader of the Indian National Congress political party and the Chief Minister of Orissa from 21 February 1965 to 8 March 1967.-External links:*...
. Tripathy, from Nabarangpur town, went on to become the Chief Minister of Orissa.
Geography
The area of the district is 5294.5 km². Its boundary stretches in the north to KalahandiKalahandi
Kalahandi, , is a district of Orissa in India. The region had a glorious past and great civilization in ancient time. Archaeological evidence of stone age and Iron Age human settlement has been recovered from the region. Asurgarh offered an advanced, well civilized, cultured and urban human...
District, west to Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur is a city and a municipality in Bastar district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bastar District and Bastar Division, and was the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Bastar. Jagdalpur and its surrounding area comprise a major part of the...
District in Chhatisgarh, east to Kalahandi and Rayagada District
Rayagada District
Rayagada is a mineral-rich district in the southern part of the state of Orissa, in India. The city Rayagada is its headquarter. The population of this district consists mainly of tribals.The District occupies a total area of 7,584.7 km2...
and south to Koraput District. The river Indravati forms the border between Nabarangpur and Koraput districts. The district capital Nabarangpur is located on the plateau about 2000 ft (609.6 m) above sea level. In the north, the Panabeda area, recently renamed as Chandahandi is only 500 ft (152.4 m) above sea level and experiences similar climate and social life to that of the adjacent Kalahandi District. The rest of Nabarangpur district is mainly flat with a few pockets of low hills. The highest peak Podagarh, which has historical significance, reaches 3050 ft (929.6 m). There are patches of thick forest mostly containing sal seeds and those provide sustenance to dependent villages.
Climate
Nabarangpur District (like neighbouring Koraput) experiences the first arrival of monsoon about ten days before the rest of Orissa. Unlike the rest of the state, where the monsoon arrives from the Bay of BengalBay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
, Nabarangpur district receives the monsoon from the southwest, off the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
. Nabarangpur District enjoys generous rainfall and droughts are extremely rare. The plateaus in particular remain cool throughout the year.
Rivers
The Telen RiverTelen River
The Telen River is a tributary of the Mahanadi in East Central India. The Bhede River is a tributary to this river. The Historical Kolabira Fort is situated on the bank of this river.Jharsuguda town on the bank of this river.-References:...
which rises in the north of Nabarangpur District forms its geographical boundary with Kalahandi District and finally unites with a bigger Mahanadi River
Mahanadi River
The Mahanadi in East Central India. It drains an area of around 141,600 km2 and has a total course of 858 km. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Orissa.-Source:...
in Sonepur
Sonepur
Sonepur, also known as Subarnapur, is a town and district headquarters of Subarnapur district of Orissa. Sonepur was formerly the capital of a princely state of British India. The district spreads over an area of 2284.89 km2. It is also known as Second Varanasi of India for its cluster of...
town. It is not perennial and dries up during the summer. The important river Indravati flows through Nabarangpur District and beyond until it mergers with the mighty Godavari
Godavari River
The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...
in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. It runs through a total distance of about 530 km of which the Nabarangpur and Koraput district sections make up about 130 km. At Nabarangpur town the old girder bridge has been replaced by a new span. Before reaching Jagadalpur town in Chhatisgarh state, it is joined by another river Bhaskal that drains the north of Nabarangpur. During its flood the Indravati swells up to 450 ft (137.2 m) wide and 24 ft (7.3 m) deep. However, a dam built for hydroelectric power has considerably reduced its flow.
Minerals
Nabarangpur District contains many ores including iron, chloriteChlorite
The chlorite ion is ClO2−. A chlorite is a compound that contains this group,with chlorine in oxidation state +3. Chlorites are also known as salts of chlorous acid.-Oxidation states:...
, mica
Mica
The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
, quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
and so on. The Heeraput village near Umerkote
Umerkote
Umerkote , also known as Umarkot and Amarkot, is a town of Nabarangpur district, Orissa, in eastern India. Umerkote is an urban area and the name of a Notified Area Council. The town is a prominent business place of the Nabarangpur District....
contains a fair deposit of haematite and limonite
Limonite
Limonite is an ore consisting in a mixture of hydrated iron oxide-hydroxide of varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO·nH2O, although this is not entirely accurate as limonite often contains a varying amount of oxide compared to hydroxide.Together with hematite, it has...
, each of which is composed of about 60% iron. Similarly the Tentulikhunti area has a fairly large deposit of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
s. The north of the district up to the border with Kalahandi District has rock beds covering layers of coarse white quartz.
Economy
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati RajMinistry of Panchayati Raj
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is a branch of the Government of India looking after the ongoing process of decentralization and local governance in the States....
named Nabarangpur one of the country's 250 most backward districts
Poverty in India
Poverty is widespread in India, with the nation estimated to have a third of the world's poor. According to a 2005 World Bank estimate, 41.6% of the total Indian population falls below the international poverty line of 1.25 a day...
(out of a total of 640
Districts of India
A district is an administrative division of an Indian state or territory. Districts are further subdivided, in some cases into Sub-Divisions, and otherwise directly into tehsils or talukas.District officials include:...
). It is one of the 19 districts in Orissa currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
Demographics
According to the 2011 census2011 census of India
The 15th Indian National census was conducted in two phases, houselisting and population enumeration. Houselisting phase began on April 1, 2010 and involved collection of information about all buildings...
Nabarangpur district has a population
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
of 1,218,762, roughly equal to the nation of Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
or the US state of New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. This gives it a ranking of 390th in India (out of a total of 640
Districts of India
A district is an administrative division of an Indian state or territory. Districts are further subdivided, in some cases into Sub-Divisions, and otherwise directly into tehsils or talukas.District officials include:...
). The district has a population density of 230 PD/sqkm . Its population growth rate
Family planning in India
Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. In the 1965-2009 period, contraceptive usage has more than tripled and the fertility rate has more than halved , but the national fertility rate is still high enough to cause long-term population growth...
over the decade 2001-2011 was 18.81 %. Nabarangapur has a sex ratio
Sex ratio
Sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. The primary sex ratio is the ratio at the time of conception, secondary sex ratio is the ratio at time of birth, and tertiary sex ratio is the ratio of mature organisms....
of 1018 females
Women in India
The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful...
for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate
Literacy in India
Literacy in India is key for socio-economic progress, and the Indian literacy rate grew to 74.04% in 2011 from 12% at the end of British rule in 1947. Although this was a greater than sixfold improvement, the level is well below the world average literacy rate of 84%, and India currently has the...
of 48.2 %.
The major language spoken in this region is Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
. The inhabitants are mostly tribal
Adivasi
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...
s. Rural people are now exposed to education and modern amenities. Encounter with the settled and urban population has changed their lifestyle to some extent but a few peoples including the Paraja, Kondha
Kondha
The Kondha are indigenous tribal groups of India. They live in Orissa, a state in Eastern India. Their highest concentration is found in the blocks of Rayagada, Kashipur, Kalyansinghpur, Bissamcuttack and Muniguda....
s and Gadava still live the indigenous lifestyle, relying on cultivation and forest products. These tribes speaks dialects of Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
.
The religion of the district is composite. There are Hindus, Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s. The tribals worship the Hindu gods. The Muslims, a small proportion of the population, are believed to be the descendants of soldiers from Golkonda
Golkonda
Golkonda or Golla konda a ruined city of south-central India and capital of ancient Kingdom of Golkonda , is situated 11 km west of Hyderabad.The most important builder of Golkonda was a Hindu Kakatiya King...
who settled in the area and married Paraja women. The Christians are the outcome of missionary activity. During the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, British and American missionaries established boarding schools, dispensaries and churches. Adherents of various Protestant denominations and Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s live in the area. The Christian hospital of Nabarangpur town has been an attraction for patients from far-flung areas.
The other tribals living here are Bhumias and Dombs. The Dombs are widespread through the district and enjoy status next to Kondha
Kondha
The Kondha are indigenous tribal groups of India. They live in Orissa, a state in Eastern India. Their highest concentration is found in the blocks of Rayagada, Kashipur, Kalyansinghpur, Bissamcuttack and Muniguda....
s. They are weavers and drummers by profession and enjoy great influence over others. They are also engaged in cattle trade. The Mirganis appear to be a subcaste of the Dombs. They differ from the Oriya Dombs by not killing cattle for food but they partake of the beef of animals that die naturally. They claim to be superior to Oriya Dombs. They earn their livelihood by cultivation and weaving. In the upper rank of the social scale the Sankharies who work with lac
Lac
Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of insects, namely some of the species of the genera Metatachardia, Laccifer, Tachordiella, Austrotacharidia, Afrotachardina, and Tachardina of the superfamily Coccoidea, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.The...
, making baskets, chains and dolls from it. Malis originally grew and collected flowers for temple worship but have switched over to the cultivation of sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
etc. on the banks of the Indravati River. Sundhi
Sundhi
The Sundhi are a caste in the Indian States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. The word Sundhi is said to be derived from the Sanskrit Shaundik, a spirit-seller.-History:...
s, an Oriya Baishya community are known for the distillation and selling of liquor. Tradition holds that they are the descendants of a Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
father and royal mother. They are usually rich and wealthy in status.
Festivals
Chief among the OriyaOriya people
The Oriya, known classically by various names , are an ethnic group of eastern India and of eastern Indo-Aryan stock...
Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
festivals are Rath Yatra
Rath Yatra
Ratha Yatra is a huge Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India during the months of June or July. Most of the city's society is based around the worship of Jagannath with the ancient temple being the fulcrum of the area...
, Dassera (Dasahara) Holi
Holi
Holi , is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. Holi is also known as festival of Colours. It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and countries with large Indic diaspora populations following Hinduism, such as Suriname, Malaysia, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad, United...
and Mahasivaratri, which bring together town dwellers and hill tribes in celebration. Holi, the riotous festival of spring is celebrated over three days. While the first two days are spent on ceremonies, the third is mostly for young people that rejoice in sprinkling coloured liquid or smearing coloured power on one another. All differences of birth, caste, sex or even religious community melt away.
Rath Jatra is still a bigger festival though confined to a few townships or bigger panchayats. Effigies of the presiding deity Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
along with His elder brother and younger sister are moved away from the temple on a nine-day resort. Devotees pull them along a main route on a wooden chariot
Temple car
Temple cars are chariots used to carry representations of Hindu gods. The car is usually used on festival days, when many people pull the cart....
(or sometimes three chariots). The Bahuda Jatra or the return car festival marks the end of the annual carnival.
The temples of Jagannath are scattered throughout the district, the oldest being in Nabarangpur town. The temple has no outward trappings and looks like an old private quarter except for the Garuda
Garuda
The Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
stambha
Stambha
In the context of Hindu mythology, stambha, also spelt as Skambha, is believed to be a cosmic column. It is believed that the stambha functions as a bond, which joins the heaven and the earth . A number of Hindu scriptures, including the Atharva Veda, have references to stambha...
(pillar) on the front gate. Until the late 1980s only the single deity Jagannath was installed in the sanctuary. According to a legend, two other wooden idols of Balabhadra and the goddess Subhadra
Subhadra
Image:Jagannath, Baladev and Subadra in Radhadesh.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=|Subhadra, flanked by her brothers Balarama and Jagannatha . Deities of the Radhadesh temple in Belgium...
were seized by one ruler of Bastar
Bastar
* Bastar state, a state founded in the 15th century that later became a princely state of British India* Bastar district, an administrative district of Chhatisgarh state in central India...
region and installed at a temple in Jagadalpur while the idol of Jagannath miraculously slipped from the elephant's back along the way and was retrieved the next day. Now all three deities are worshipped from a huge pedestal. Fine wooden carvings cover every inch of the temple roof, depicting humans, animals, birds and flowers. Even a casual glimpse of erotica is considered to add awe to the spectable. What would elsewhere in the state be carved in stone is figured on a wooden surface in this remote region and well preserved with a coat of shining black paint.
Dussera (Dasahara) is a ten-day Hindu festival, in which the goddess Durga, epitome of power and energy, motherhood of the whole universe, is worshipped. The Maharaja of Jeypore used this occasion for the concourse of his subjects. Deities from various areas, towns and villages, are symbolically brought through decorated large bamboo poles to the accompaniment of beating drums and sounds of other musical instruments. The cultivators, for whom the harvest time is still a month or so away, are all in jubilant mood. On the day of Vijaya Dasami, special elaborate offerings are made to the Deity which includes the age-old practice of animal sacrifice of appeasing the Goddess, the destroyer of demonical forces. People are always in their colorful best costume and rejoice in the grand occasion.
Maa Bhandargharani of Nabarangpur is the presiding deity of the locality. The name signifies the preserver of wealth and protector of lives. She is also worshipped in nearby villages. Tuesday and Saturday are marked for special worship. Devotees throng the temple precincts on every conceivable occasion to seek blessings.
Maa Pendrani of Umerkote is born out of a legend. A small village Pendra (Pendrahandi) near Umerkote worshipped a pure soul Pendrani, a young married woman who was a victim of the secret jealousy of her own brothers. As the story goes, her husband was overtly pampered by her parents who made him stay in their household with no work to bother about. The four brothers out of sheer jealousy conspired and succeeded in killing her innocent husband (Pendara) and buried him in their field. When Pendrani became aware of what had happened she jumped into her husband’s funeral pyre and died in its flames. Days later her spirit was believed to roam about the villages helping those who trusted her supernatural transformation. The local college is named after her.
Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivratri or Maha Sivaratri or Shivaratri or Sivarathri is a Hindu festival celebrated every year on the 13th night/14th day in the Krishna Paksha of the month of Maagha or Phalguna...
attracts devotees of all social classes. Mahadev
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, the God of gods, is the central figure of worship. It is believed that he saved the whole of creation by drinking the deadly venom spat out by the legendary serpent Vasuki. The legendary serpent was used by gods on one side and demons on the other for churning out the ocean to obtain the elixir of immortality. The nectar was brought from the depth of the ocean, but along with it came the poison, vomited by an exhausted Vasuki
Vasuki
Vasuki is a Sanskrit name for a naga, one of the serpents of Buddhist and Hindu mythology. He is a great King of the nagas and has a gem on his head. Manasa, another naga, is his sister...
. Only the God of gods had the power to contain it from spreading and causing universal death. The lord was propitiated to devour it on the day, famed later as Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivratri or Maha Sivaratri or Shivaratri or Sivarathri is a Hindu festival celebrated every year on the 13th night/14th day in the Krishna Paksha of the month of Maagha or Phalguna...
, and the entire world was saved. Papadahandi temple is a pilgrim centre to celebrate such occasion.
Festivals of other communities are also celebrated. The Moharram of the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s is a day of prayer and remembrance. Huge processions are taken round the township and mass prayers are held at mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s. Intercommunity greetings are exchanged. Christmas Day marks the beginning of a long festival running up to New Years Day. Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s of all hues celebrate the day at home, churches
Church service
In Christianity, a church service is a term used to describe a formalized period of communal worship, often but not exclusively occurring on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sabbatarianism. The church service is the gathering together of Christians to be...
and outdoors. Members of other communities also join in to mark communal concord.
Flora and fauna
The flora of Nabarangpur District is northern in character but has some affinity with southern India. Sal and bambooBamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
are the two species commonly seen in the whole region. Paddy
Paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such...
cultivation has systematically depleted the green patches and upset the scenic beauty of the district. Still the reserved forests and the protected hills, afford some pleasure of living close to nature.
Among the wild animals there were the panther
Panthera
Panthera is a genus of the family Felidae , which contains four well-known living species: the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, and the leopard. The genus comprises about half of the Pantherinae subfamily, the big cats...
, leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
, tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
, hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
, jackal
Jackal
Although the word jackal has been historically used to refer to many small- to medium-sized species of the wolf genus of mammals, Canis, today it most properly and commonly refers to three species: the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of...
and wild dogs. Even the latter are now scarce due to human intrusion into their habitat. Wild Asian Water buffalo
Wild Asian Water Buffalo
The wild water buffalo also called Asian buffalo and Asiatic buffalo is a large bovine native to Southeast Asia...
, black bear
Asiatic Black Bear
The Asian black bear , also known as the moon bear or white-chested bear is a medium-sized species of bear, largely adapted for arboreal life, which occurs through much of southern Asia, Korea, northeastern China, the Russian far east and Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan...
, even gaur
Gaur
The gaur , also called Indian bison, is a large bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986 as the population decline in parts of the species' range is likely to be well over 70% over the last three generations...
were found in the Umerkote
Umerkote
Umerkote , also known as Umarkot and Amarkot, is a town of Nabarangpur district, Orissa, in eastern India. Umerkote is an urban area and the name of a Notified Area Council. The town is a prominent business place of the Nabarangpur District....
region. The black bucks which were common in the Chandahandi area are nowhere seen now. Spotted deer, sambar
Sambar Deer
The Sambar ' is a large deer native to southern and southeast Asia. Although it primarily refers to R. unicolor, the name "Sambar" is also sometimes used to refer to the Philippine Deer and the Rusa Deer...
and barking deer were a common sight in the district before Independence
History of the Republic of India
The history of the Republic of India began on 26 January 1950. The country became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth 15 August 1947. George VI was King until the Republic was proclaimed in 1950. Concurrently the Muslim-majority northwest and east of British India was separated...
. Common crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
are occasionally spotted in the Indravati River. Peafowl
Peafowl
Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...
, red junglefowl
Red Junglefowl
The Red Junglefowl is a tropical member of the Pheasant family. They are thought to be ancestors of the domestic chicken with some hybridisation with the Grey Junglefowl...
and grey junglefowl
Grey Junglefowl
The Grey Junglefowl , also known as Sonnerat's Junglefowl, is a wild relative of domestic fowl that is endemic to India. This species is found mainly in peninsular India and where it overlaps with the distribution of the Red Junglefowl, it is known to form hybrids...
are fairly often found, as are also the green pigeon
Green Imperial Pigeon
The Green Imperial Pigeon is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in tropical southern Asia from India east to Indonesia. It has a number of subspecies, of which the distinctive Celebes form, Chestnut-naped Imperial Pigeon .This is a forest species; it builds a stick nest in a...
and duck. However, there has been much extinction in recent years.