Kandkur village in northern Karnataka worships and plays with venomous stingers.

You may have heard of different kinds of fairs including cattle fair. But this village in Yadgir district of Karnataka on Sunday celebrated a “scorpion fair.”

In this annual fair on Nagara Panchami, people not only offer puja to scorpions, but also take these venomous stingers in their hands and allow them to move freely over their bodies.

This year was no exception with scorpion devotees from the district and across the border in Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh converging on the village to celebrate scorpions.

Devotees young and old, women and men thronged the temple on the village hillock where they first offered pooja to Goddess Konddammai who is said to be a scorpion goddess. Later, they searched for scorpions, which were found in plenty under the rocks and the stones of the semi-arid region.

Having caught the venomous insects, the devotees proceeded to play with them. Some let the creatures crawl over their bodies, some pop them into their mouths, letting the insect rest on their tongues for a few minutes. Children, too enjoyed playing with scorpions, exhibiting no fear.

The devotees’ courage stems from the belief that Goddess Kondammai will save them should the scorpion bite.

If bitten, they apply a paste of herbs, largely consisting of turmeric, on the wound. Shankar, a regular to this fair, however, claims that no serious injury or death has occurred so far at the fair over the years.

Government precaution

The State Health Department, however, is taking no chances. Concerned over such a “dangerous tradition”, officials deployed additional doctors at the primary health centre in Kandkur village.

Dr. Diwakar, District Health Officer, cautioned that scorpion bite could turn out to be very dangerous for children below 10 years. “But people don’t heed to our request to desist from touching the scorpions. Hence, we have kept ready a team of doctors for any emergencies,” he told The Hindu.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / Ravikumar Naraboli  / Kandkur – August 08th, 2016