Navaratri bombe habba, golu, doll festival… it goes by varied names, themes. But it is always colourful and interesting, filled with rich traditions and stories. Here is a brief photo tour of this doll festival of South India.
Gombe Habba
This picture above shows a doll festival celebrated with great joy and happiness in south of India. Take Karnataka, Andhra or Tamilnadu these dolls come out during the Dasara or the Navaratri festivals from the closets of homes and gets decked up neatly in layers like this.
Always colourful, full of stories Dasara with its bombe or dolls is fun. People visit each other’s homes, sing songs, exchange vermillion & turmeric and enjoy the delicious Prasadam of sundals/ sprouts. There is a religious fervour and devotion during these festivities.
In the above image you can see the dolls kept on white cloth. They are nine tiered and behind the cloth has a stand/pedestal or even boxes arranged neatly for the doll display. Gods, saints, householders, animals occupy the various stands and present a divine atmosphere.
The pedestals are always odd in number 5,7,9,11,13 etc. While the top level showcases gods, the lower level depicts sages, saints, animals, householders etc.
Golu dolls arranged in themes
The dolls get arranged in various themes. For example here are the dolls representing the first five avatars of Vishnu.
- They are Matsya (The Fish) – Saved the first man, Manu, and the Vedas during the great flood.
- Kurma (The Tortoise) – Supported Mount Mandara during the churning of the ocean (Samudra Manthan).
- Varaha (The Boar) – Rescued the earth (Bhudevi) from the demon Hiranyaksha.
- Narasimha (The Man-Lion) – Destroyed the tyrant demon Hiranyakashipu to protect his devotee Prahlada.
- Vamana (The Dwarf) – Subdued the demon king Bali by covering the universe in three steps.
Here are the next five avatars of vishnu.
- Parashurama (The Warrior with an Axe) – Punished arrogant kshatriya rulers and restored balance.
- Rama (The Prince of Ayodhya) – Hero of the Ramayana, destroyed Ravana and upheld dharma.
- Krishna – Central figure of the Mahabharata, delivered the Bhagavad Gita, and destroyed Kansa.
- Buddha (in some traditions) – Preached compassion and non-violence, guiding people away from ritual excesses. In other traditions, Balarama (Krishna’s elder brother) is considered the 9th avatar instead. In this image Balaram is shown.
- Here the image of Hayagriva who restores the Vedas, which were stolen by demons (Madhu and Kaitabha) is shown.
Ramayana and Mahbharatha are some common themes during golu/navaratri festival. Here a scene from Ramayana is shown where Surpanaka, a demoness and sister of Ravana gets her nose cut by Lakshmana in the forest. This is the turning point which results in the kidnapping of Sita later by demon king Ravana.If you want to know more about Ramayana story then check out this photo story of Ramayana.
Mythological tales, patriotic leaders, freedom movement all get depicted in the world of dolls. And are a great starting point for conversations with children.
Golu/Kolu festival with the times
The doll festival also reflects the modern themes. Cricket is one such sport i.e popular and common in Bomme Habba festival. It started appearing after India’s historic win in 1983 and India begetting the World Cup. The picture also showcases rural life depicting potters, and other artisans.
With the tradition of new doll getting added every year, there is always something new to look forward to when you visit golu at homes. It is a pride for a woman of the household to add in new collections while maintaining the heritage dolls passed on by the family from generations. She is responsible for safekeeping of the old while going along with times by adding modern themes. Isn’t there a wonderful tribute here for the woman who does this both in the family -protecting the old and managing the young beautifully?
Bombe Habba represents royalty
So what do these dolls stand for? Why are they kept? What do they represent?
There are several theories. Here is one. In most South Indian homes you will find Pattada gombe or the king-queen set. In above decoration too you can see the dolls in rosewood and attired richly with a crown representing the king. These rosewood sets are given to the daughter by her mother during her marriage. And so sometimes the dolls could be hundred of years old due to the fact that it has been handed down.
The king-queen dolls represent the Mysore Wodeyars in Karnataka. Dasara is a grand 10 day celebration at Mysore where the king and his ministers watch the show from a pavilion. There are wrestling matches, competitions and cultural programs. There are also weapons and warfare demonstration and grand processions. All this is viewed by the king and his royal family from a pavilion.
Domingo Paes, a traveller in 16th century mentions about Dasara events happening at Hampi. He said that the king ascended a throne and watched all the events from a raised platform, or the Mahanavami Dibba that you see today at Hampi.
So the golu displays with its various levels and raised platforms perhaps could attribute to this grandness of Dasara, bringing it in our homes too.
The author Aya Ikegame in one of her books notes that when the Mysore king ascended the throne and which would be known to the entire city due to the firing of 21 guns , the exact time worship of the Pattada gombe would be done in the homes too. In the Tanjore golu dolls Prathyusha Ravi mentions that these dolls depict Maratha King Serfoji II and his consort. So it could be that the Mahanavami celebrations of the Vijayanagara empire was also carried out by the various chieftains under him and the concept of raja-rani spread to Andhra and Tamil Nadu as well. The Kolu/golu could be representation of the court scene as well.
Golu dolls is a festival of goddess Durga
There is another version too. In this image you can see the Kalash with water and coconut and mango leaves kept on the top. This represents fertility and prosperity symbol. Navaratri is dedicated to the goddess and the worship of goddess and her various forms was done to achieve health,wealth and prosperity. In this picture you can see this goodness with Kalash, lamps, various forms of Devi etc kept on the doll stands.
Devi also symbolises creation. During Navratri, a salad of legumes, beans is given as Prasad. These seeds are symbol of germinating life. It is also common to see sprouts. In many homes, finger millet is sprinkled over moist soil in a small mud pot/board, where it slowly germinates, embodying the spirit of growth and renewal.
Sy why dolls? An interesting story from the Devi Mahatmya explains this. Durga was created from the combined energies of all the gods for killing two powerful demons, Shumbha and Nishumbha. The gods, offered her their weapons. Shiva gave her his trident,Vishnu his discus,Varuna his conch,Agni his spear,Indra his thunderbolt,Kubera his mace,Vayu his bow and arrows, and Yama his staff.
Armed with these, Durga rode into battle on a lion and destroyed the asuras—first Chanda and Munda, then Mahishasura, and later Shumbha and Nishumbha. During this time the gods appeared as if they did not have that energy. So they are depicted as dolls in the Bombe Habba of Navaratri which is a festival dedicated to the goddess.
If you would like another version of Bombe Habba arrangement then check out this article about the goddess Devi
Notes to Educators & Parents:
Golu is not just a cultural practice but also a teaching aid that matches school curriculum. The Golu doll arrangements mirror ideas explored in NCERT History textbooks.
- In Class 6, students learn about kings and early republics, echoed in the royalty themes of Golu.
- In Class 7, Bhakti traditions highlight the worship of goddesses, reflected in the divine figures of the doll sets.
- At the senior level (Class 12), students encounter themes of cosmology and creation, which Golu symbolises through its layered arrangement.
Events like these can be topics for discussions and opening up avenues in families. So use them for not just happy families but for meaningful ties and teaching heritage in a fun way!