Second Largest Tribal Carnival | Mesaram Clan of Gonds | 10-day Serpent Festival Keslapur village, Inderavelly Mandal, Adilabad district, Telangana — celebrated by the Mesaram clan of Raj Gonds and Pardhans every year in the lunar month of Pushya masam (December–January) . Devotees from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and across Telangana gather to worship Nagoba (Sheshnag), the clan deity and progenitor of the Mesaram lineage. 10 days duration Pushya masam (Dec-Jan) Mesar…

10-day Tribal Dance Festival | Raj Gond & Kolam | Telangana's Living Heritage Northern Telangana – Adilabad, Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial & Nirmal districts . Celebrated by the Raj Gond and Kolam tribes for about 10 days during Deepavali. The festival begins with a crescent moon and ends on the dark moon day (Diwali). A spectacular re-enactment of the celestial marriage procession of Yetma, daughter of the God of Creation. 10 days duration Diwali season Ghusadi & Dandar…

one musical tradition · many inscriptions · 9th–15th century CE 📜 Music as sacred offering and royal privilege In medieval Telangana, music was not mere entertainment — it was a sacred offering to the gods, a marker of royal status, and an organized profession supported by land endowments. From the pancha-maha-sabda (five great sounds) that announced a king's presence to the sophisticated ensembles that performed daily rituals in temples, the inscriptions of the Kakatiya period reveal a rich…

The Kingri, also known as Khikri, is a unique string instrument as its three strings and the bowstring are made of horse hair.  The Kingri is mentioned in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, in many Ancient Indian Brahmin's tales. and in Punjab's folk music. The kingri is also used in traditional death ceremonies, marriages and religious festivals in Telangana and Maharashtra. The most important possession of a Pardhan is his kingri, and a square wooden sound box covered by a skin membrane. On…

Kinnera is a two-stringed instrument made using indigenous materials like bamboo, dried outer shell of round bottle gourd, honeycomb, bull horn, beads, mirrors and peacock feathers. Scholar and poet Jayadhir Thirumala Rao says that the origins of the kinnera can be traced back to “around the 4th century AD, in and around the Deccan plateau”. “The Chenchu tribe [also known as Chenchus or Chenchulu], who were part of the Nallamalla forest, used to play the instrument while singing and narrating b…