When people cultivate with a deep connection to the land, there is a different feel to it.
In southern India, Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated to usher in the New Year and to express gratitude to everything that makes our life. Perhaps, for as long as there was land and tilling, there has been some form of harvest festival. Celebrations at the time of the winter solstice have been universal in almost every culture on the planet. It is seen as the rising of the new sun. In ancient Rome, this was celebrated as Saturnalia, which means it was about Saturn, the god of agriculture and food. In Northern and other parts of India harvest festivals are celebrated with various names such as Lohri, Gudhi Padwa, Holi, Onam, Ugadi.
“Pongal” in Tamil means “to boil”. It falls in January or February when rice, sugarcane and other produce is harvested. It is, usually, celebrated in January or February. For a fundamentally agrarian society a good harvest forms its economic basis.
Celebrated over four-days, the First Day of Pongal is ‘Bhogi’, in gratitude to Lord Indra, the giver of rains. Rains bring abundant harvest and prosperity to the land. There is, on this day, Bhogi Mantalu. Used household articles are thrown into a fire. There is dance and song in praise of the gods around bonfires. Additionally, the fire keeps people warm during the last lap of winter!
On the second day a puja is performed. Rice is boiled in milk outdoors in an earthen pot and offered to the sun-god along with other oblations. A turmeric plant is tied around the pot in which rice is boiled. The offerings include sugarcane, coconut and bananas. People dress traditionally. A common feature of the puja is the elaborate kolam, an auspicious design with white lime powder on floor in front of the house after early morning ablutions and bath.
The third day, dedicated to the cattle, is known as Mattu Pongal. Jallikattu or Bull embracing is a Pongal sport held in Tamil Nadu. Mainly temple bulls are involved in this event. Prizes are announced to encourage the youth to participate. After the event, tamed bulls are used for domestic activities and agriculture whereas the untamable bulls are used for breeding.
Jallikattu is practiced since the Tamil classical period (400-100 BC) and was common among the ancient Aayars Yadava. As recently as 2004, animal activists and PETA India protested against jallikattu. In May 2014, the Supreme Court of India banned the practice citing animal welfare issues. On 8 January, 2016, the Government of India passed an order exempting Jallikattu from performances; on 14 January 2016 it upheld its ban on the event. It led to protests all over Tamil Nadu. It is a risky sport but unlike other bloody sport there is no intent to kill. There is an occasional fatality. When a bull sustains injuries it is believed to be bad omen for the village.
The Fourth day is known as Kannum Pongal. A turmeric leaf is washed and is then placed on the ground. On this leaf are placed the leftovers of sweet Pongal and Venn Pongal, white rice and colored rice, betel leaves & areca nuts, pieces of sugarcane and plantains. In Tamil Nadu women perform this ritual before morning bath. All the women, young and old, of the house assemble in the courtyard. Rice is placed in the centre of the leaf and the women pray for prosperity.
Joyless agriculture is bound to lead to farmer suicides. Although India has almost no agricultural infrastructure in the rural areas, she produces food for 1.2 billion people! This is a feat that India’s farmers have achieved fundamentally because of a strong traditional knowledge of farming. Similar and more symbiotic, organic methods of cultivation are practiced in Auroville farms.
In India, they say that at this time of the year the crossing of river Vaitarani is the easiest because it is at its lowest ebb. Vaitarani, symbolized as a river, is believed to be a divide between the material and the spiritual worlds. This month is seen as the best time of the year to make a connection with the deepest spirit. It is very important that we sync with nature. Whether a plant or man, if they are not in sync with nature they cannot survive. The winter solstices and equinoxes are times when the celestial bodies naturally influence human consciousness and human energy in a certain way.
Happy Pongal to all!
