Hingot War - Traditional and iconic 200-year-old fireball battle; why, where, how it is celebrated, check details
Hingot War: A traditional and iconic 200-year-old fireball battle in which two groups hurled burning 'hingots' at each other is celebrated Indore's Madhya Pradesh every year.
The Hingot battle tradition began with a mythological beginning 200-year-ago. According to historians, while guarding the Gautampura region in mediaeval India, the soldiers of the monarchs ruling the area battled heroically and assaulted the cavalry of the Mughal army with hingots (a forest fruit similar in shape to a coconut) and kept them from entering and seising their realm.
During this one-of-a-kind festival, teams from two villages attack each other with 'hingots,' which are made by taking the pulp from a jungle fruit and packing it with explosives, coal, and brimstone.
Hingot War is celebrated every year on dhok padwa (a day after Diwali) commemorating the 1680–1707 where two groups, Kalangi and Turra, attack each other with burning hingots. The Turra team belongs to Runji village, while the Kalangi team belongs to Gautampura village
Century’s old tradition is popular in Gautampura, which is nearly 60 km from Indore where a large number of people on two sides throwing burning crackers and fireballs at each other. However, all the participants keep shields to combat the coming fireball launched by the other side.
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Hingot is a forest fruit that is derived from a tree and emptied from the inside. It is then filled with gunpowder and left to dry for 8-10 days. In the event, the hingot is tied to a wooden stick and lit on fire, then thrown towards the opponents.
The chances of injuries in this traditional sport are always high, and sometimes the participants can even get severely injured.
- With inputs from agencies
