Three-day tribal festival begins in Godavari Valley

A Konda Reddi tribal elder displays hunting skill during Adivasi Rela cultural festival at Government Junior College ground in Rampachodavaram in Polavaram district on Sunday.

| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A three-day Adivasi Rela, a cultural festival celebrating the cultural heritage of the tribes of the Godavari Valley, began here in Polavaram district with a welcoming performance of Koya tribe’s ‘Kommu Koya’ at the Government Junior College ground in Rampachodavaram.The Adivasi Girijana Sangham is organising the festival, attempting to celebrate the cultural and traditional heritage of the tribes, who are being displaced from the ancestral villages in the Godavari Valley to make way for the Polavaram irrigation project.The festival also aimed at giving a call to the younger generation on the need to preserve the cultural and traditional practices, dances and performances of the tribes - Koya, Konda Reddi and Nayakpod - who have been inhibiting the Godavari Valley for generations.The festival began with a rally of dances and drum beats in the streets of Rampachodavaram. Scores of tribal elders have joined the rally. The tribal leaders, Panda Siddhartha, Madivi Raviteja, Bondla Varaprasad, B. Kiranam, Puli Santhosh and others addressed the gathering.The uniqueness of the cultural festival is to stage the performances only by the tribes of the Polavaram district. Published - May 24, 2026 08:34 pm IST