WATCH: Cattlemen Use Peacock Feathers to Make Multi-Coloured Ornaments for Cow Necks

Bemetara: Govardhan Puja is being celebrated in Chhattisgarh today on the second day of Diwali. On this day, Yaduvanshis in the village make Govardhan from cow dung and worship it. On the day of Govardhan Puja, Yaduvanshis put a special kind of ornament around the neck of cows, bulls and buffaloes which is called Sohai and Bhagar. Cows, bulls and buffaloes look very attractive after wearing these ornaments. 

Sohai and Bhagar ornaments are made using peacock feathers, cowries, jute rope, coloured plastic rope and pieces of coloured cloth. It is worn by cows, bulls and buffaloes on the day of Govardhan Puja. 

Sohai made with hands: After Dussehra, the raw material for making Sohai starts selling in the market. Rauts, who are cattlemen, buy them and prepare Sohai for cows and Bhagar for bulls and buffaloes. A garland is made by putting coloured cloth between peacock feathers and rope, which is called Sohai. It looks very beautiful. Along with this, Yadavs also complete the ritual of decorating their sticks and Khumri for Diwali. 

On the evening of Govardhan Puja, a group of Rauts go out to visit the villages and cities wearing colourful attire. The Rauts go to their cow owner's house and tie Sohai to the cows and Bhagar to the bulls and buffaloes. During this, the Rauts dance by singing couplets to the rhythm of the Gadwa Baja. Raut Nacha is very heroic and captivating. In exchange for Sohai and Nacha, the cowherds gift money, food and clothes to the Raut. The Raut makes a small ball of cow dung and keeps it in the given food. While the houses and stores with that cow dung ball mixed with food, he recites couplets. 

Saint Rajiv Lochan Das said that in Indian culture, cow is called mother, which means it is the mother of the five elements and no auspicious work can be done without cow. Lochan Das said that from Govardhan Puja to Devuthani Ekadashi, it has been a tradition in Chhattisgarh that the son beautifies his mother by giving her beautiful clothes or any ornament. In Navratri, Mother Durga is adorned and worshipped. Mother is worshipped in Lakshmi Puja. In Govardhan Puja, Mother Cow is decorated with a garland of peacock feathers called Sohai. This festival of good wishes is called Sohai.