Sat Mar 22 14:57:21 UTC 2025: ## Traditional Hook-Swinging Ritual Replaced with Garland at Karnataka Festival
**Hariharapura, Karnataka –** The annual Udusalamma Jatra Mahotsava festival in Hariharapura, Hassan district, concluded on Saturday without its traditional hook-swinging ritual, known as Sidi. For years, male members of select Dalit families performed the ritual, but it was discontinued in 2021. Recent attempts to revive the practice were thwarted by the district administration, citing the state’s anti-superstition law which prohibits inhuman rituals.
Instead of the human hook-swinging, a garland was tied to a spinning tree trunk, marking a significant shift in the festival’s observance. Hundreds of devotees attended the two-day event, offering prayers to Udusalamma. The district administration deployed police to prevent the Sidi ritual from being performed, following a report in *The Hindu*. The successful prevention of the ritual highlights the growing enforcement of the anti-superstition law in Karnataka.
First Piper 