AGARTALA, August 5 (TIWN): A centuries-old tribal custom in Tripura, Ker Puja permits no deaths, births or even recreation within a notified area. No outsiders are allowed to enter either, and anyone violating the rules has to pay. It starts 15 days after Kharchi Puja, another tribal festival in the State.

Ker Puja will start from august 7 will continue uninterrupted for over 30 hours till 9.

The area in and around the royal palace here as well as Puran Habeli, the erstwhile capital of Tripura, around 12 km east of this city, have been notified for Ker Puja.

The customary rules and conventions of Ker Puja are most strict and not easy to follow. All pregnant women, the diseased and dying are kept out of the specified puja area. No one is allowed to enter the notified area.

If there is a birth or a death, then the family has to pay a fine.

The puja rituals are carried out at government expense as the Tripura government has been holding good its promise to the state's erstwhile royal family for over six decades to organize the puja.

During Ker Puja, all kinds of amusement, recreation and ceremonies are banned in the notified areas.

Besides the Ker Puja in Agartala and Puran Habeli, also known as old Agartala, rituals take place in almost all tribal villages towards the end of the year or at the end of the harvesting season.

The literal meaning of 'Ker' in tribal Kokborok language is a specified area. Time-honored beliefs lie behind the ritualistic invocation during the festival.

The royal dynasty would perform Ker Puja along with other rituals for the welfare of people, praying against calamities, evil acts and external aggression. The sacrifice of animals and offerings characterize this popular puja.

A structure constructed with green bamboo poles serves as the deity for Ker Puja. The 'chantais', or head priest, is regarded as the king on the occasion.