Teej Festival

The Teej Festival is a major event in the Banjara (Lambada) calendar. It is a pre-harvest festival that precedes the sowing of seeds in the month of Shravan. (The festival may also be known as the Teej festival and could be connected to the Teej festival celebrated in several northern Indian states. This needs verification.)
In the Teej festival, the communities place seeds of wheat into woven baskets and worship them for nine days until they sprout. On the ninth day, the seedlings are immersed in water, marking the climax of the festival. A preparation of rice, jaggery, and ghee is offered to the god called Sevabhayya, and prayers are made by the women during the festival in hopes of ensuring future blessings. The Teej festival is an event largely for unmarried women and makes provisions for the fasting women to omit certain key ingredients from dishes.

Sheetla (Sithla) Bhavani Festival:

At the start of the rainy season, lambadas celebrate this festival by installing seven stones under a neem tree, each representing one of the seven forms of the Bhavani Goddess. Bonam, made with green and Bengal grams, is offered up, and then a goat is sacrificed. A website detail hints at one of the custom’s unique aspects: “Edla Datudu” (whatever that may be) apparently involves oxen crossing the site.

Sri Sri Sri Sevalal Maharaj Jayanthi

This festival, which takes place on February 15th, celebrates Sri Sevalal Maharaj, a Banjara spiritual leader known for his efforts in reducing the incidence of superstitions as well as the consumption of that substance regarded by many (including some in the festival’s religious community) as a health hazard. On this day, a special offering known as “Bhog Bandar” is made and eaten among those who regard it as a way to commune with the holy man. What is so special about this particular dish? It is made using lawfully unclean cow ghee, which some might argue is ritually impure; it is also made using jaggery, which is much more pure than white sugar.

Nishani Goddess Festival

Commemorated in Ugadi during Chaitra Masam, the village priest gives a child a bow and arrow to lead a hunting procession. An animal is hunted and offered to the Nishani Goddess, who is invoked for protection and prosperity.

Pedda Devudu Festival

In the month of Vaishaka, the tribal communities hold a festival to pray for the prosperity of their villages and to ensure that the rains will come in abundance. A part of the ritual involves the sacrifice of a bird, which is known as Parigi Pitta. This bird has some sacred qualities, and it is offered to a deity called Pedda Devudu.

Aki Pen Festival

The Gonds make their initial offerings of fruits, flowers, and vegetables to their Goddess Aki Pen; while the Persa Pen Festival is dedicated to seeking protection and prosperity from Persa Pen, their chief deity.

Rajul Munda Festival

Prior to cutting teak and plucking leaves, tribal folk perform rituals to invite divine blessings for sustainable harvesting.

Masoba Festival

Masoba is considered the guardian deity of the borders of the village, revered to ward off evil and protect the village from disasters.

Dhund Utsav

In the Khammam district, this tribal Holi ritual celebrates husband and wife. Wives defend food from their husbands, who try to playfully steal it. When the food is stolen, wives retaliate—reprimanding husbands with sticks and such speech that is not for the faint of heart.