n Tharparker, people’s livelihood depends on cattle rearing, livestock farming, tending cropland and artisanry. Rainfall is vital for crop cultivation in the area, as there are no other sources of irrigation water.

Rainfall is a blessing that Tharis thoroughly celebrate and welcome. Farmers anxiously await the first seasonal downpour as their livelihood depends on it. The locals take joy in predicting the advent of moonsoon using folk wisdom.

Thari farmers belonging to the Hindu community celebrate the onset of rains with the Akha teej festival. The festival falls on the third day of the Shukla Paksha of the month of Vaisakha. In the local language, Akha teej is referred to as Hariyaan Ro Parbah.

A day before the celebration of Akha teej, Thari women make beautiful designs in the middle of their mud-plastered courtyards. On the day of the festival, bowls filled with locally produced grains and water are placed in the courtyard. Peasants consider seeing these bowls first thing in the morning on the first day of monsoon a good omen. Farmers adorn the walls of the mud houses with unique, colourful designs.

In the morning, the farmers go into the fields to observe the rustling of leaves, the sound of the wind, and animals’ behaviour to find clues and predict the first rain of the year.

After returning from the field, a gathering is called on in the autaq (guest room). It is known as rihan in the local (Dhatki) language. In this gathering, four small bowls are made from raw clay in the name of the four months, i.e., June (Akhar), July (Sawan), August (Bhadon), and September (Aso). All four are filled with water. Farmers wait until one of the four bowls starts leaking. The month represented by that first bowl to leak is believed to be the month of the first rainfall.

“In Tharparkar, during the festival of Akha teej or Hariyan ro Parbah, peasants used to predict the onset of monsoon rains using nature’s signals, like bird sounds, animal movement, leaf rustling and flower blooming. Due to global warming, the climate has changed. This has made it harder to predict rainfall.”

Sweets are prepared at home to be enjoyed during the rainfall prediction ritual. Most women prepare dishes with mung beans and cowpeas. Millet (bajra) khichdri is quite popular as well. To make the dishes sweet, the farmers’ use desi ghee and locally produced jaggery. Food prepared with desi ghee is followed by tea drinking in the gatherings on farmers’ festival.

The community comes together to eat, predict and enjoy on Akha teej. Food is shared with neighbours. So is the joy of the first rain.

After predicting the rainfall, farmers quickly return to work, cultivating land, hoping they will have sufficient yield.

“Climate change and new monsoon patterns have made it harder for us to predict the exact day we’ll get our first rain,” says Sonu, a 70-year-old farmer.

“In Tharparkar, during the festival of Akha teej or Hariyan ro Parbah, peasants used to predict monsoon with the help of nature’s signals, like bird sounds, animal movement, leaf rustling and flower blooming. But due to global warming, the climate has changed. It is more difficult now to predict rainfall,” says Bharumal Amrani, a local environmentalist and writer.

“Climate change has had a devastating impact on the weather patterns. Floods, droughts and unpredictable events are all because of this change,” he adds. Amrani believes that there is a gap in climate research and policy implementation. The Thari farmers are not aware of the new research and developments. As a result, information that could impact their crop yields does not reach them in time.

“The government needs to raise awareness about climate change and folk wisdom through seminars and campaigns and work on desert ecology. In the past, Thari people used to keep grains in mud pots. These days, they keep the grains in iron or plastic pots. As a result, the seed quality has declined,” says the environmentalist.

Farmers start ploughing the land after the first two rains in June or July. They plough the land with the help of animals (camels, donkeys or bulls). The major crops in Tharparkar are legumes, cluster beans (cash crop) and sesame etc. Thari vegetables have a unique taste. These crops require three to four months to mature for harvest under perfect conditions. The harvest begins in September or October. Farmers keep some of the yield for their families and some for the fodder. The rest is sold in the markets to make ends meet. Some of it is dried and stored to be used in the later months.

Folk wisdom is the accumulation of centuries of human observation, experience and practical knowledge. It is the wisdom gained from closely observing the world around us and understanding the patterns and signs that nature provides. For example, if one wakes up early in the morning and notices certain signs like seals on the back of cows, birds building nests, specific bird songs, or ants collecting food, these observations provide insights about the weather and other natural phenomena. In the night sky, the sighting of a particular star or the visibility of the moon offers clues about upcoming events. “However, with the onset of climate change, these indications have become harder to interpret in a reliable way,” says Ali Akbar, a social activist working with Aware, a local voluntary organisation.

The writer is freelance contributor