Ker puja is a

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

held in

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

, India. Performance of the puja, which is typically held in August, benefits the people and the state. The celebration occurs two weeks after the Kharchi Puja to honor Ker, the guardian

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

of Vastu Devata. It includes offerings,

sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...

s, and a prescribed boundary which both safeguards people from calamities and saves them from external

aggression Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...

. The puja was initiated by the Tripura

raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

s. Participation in the puja is required for the

Halam tribe The Halam community are various tribes native to the state of Tripura in India. The name ''Halam'' was coined by the '' Tipra Maharaja''.Varman, S.B.K.: The Tribes of Tripura – A dissertation. Gov't Press. Agartala. Directorate of Research. 198 ...

. For 2.5 days during the festival, entrances to the capital are closed, and participants, including the reigning

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

, are not allowed to wear shoes, light a fire, dance, or sing. Ker Puja fell on 15 July in 2017.

References

Festivals in Tripura Hindu festivals July observances August observances {{India-festival-stub