Woman and New Year festival inseparable

Suharshi PERERA

The relation between woman and the New Year festival is inseparable and the role of the woman in bringing forth this fresh start is rather significant to ponder over.

Unlike the days of peace and leisure of the bygone world, today, people have very less time to devote to a special celebration.

Yet, the New Year is celebrated in the best possible manner by almost everyone in society as they still believe that it is the most appropriate festival to look back as well as to gear up oneself for a meaningful life. And the feminine presence in all aspects of this special celebration is very elaborate.

Ground work

Preparing for the New Year takes off from the home front. As it is a ritual based festival, it is important to create a new background to perform those rituals. At least one month ahead of the New Year, the mother prepares the house to welcome the fresh start as it is the time for change and reunion.

Mostly it is seen in Sri Lanka, houses wear a new look when it is close to the Avurudu season. Plastering of walls, painting the house, mending the furniture and cleaning the garden is quite a usual phenomenon around this season and women take great care in cleaning and rearranging their abodes as environment we live in has a direct impact on our thinking pattern.

Thus, the freshness in the atmosphere will definitely creeps into the minds of the family members, leading to mental rejuvenation.

Early days, the rural women got ready for the arrival of this new season by thatching the roofs with freshly woven cadjans and applying a coat of cow dung to the floor. The walls were often seen dressed in a coat of lime.

Kitchen is the centre of celebration when it comes to Avurudu. So it is the responsibility of the housewife to clean the kitchen and refill the store for a fresh start. Preparation of special sweetmeats for the festival is also a main responsibility of her.

‘Gifted’ virtue

In the Asian society, woman is the bridge of family bondage and over the years she has maintained the position by being the strength of family and relationships. In respect of Avurudu, it abundantly comes into play, most importantly in performing the custom of exchanging gifts. It is mostly women who rush to buy gifts for the family and relatives during the festive season.

However, it is quite pathetic to witness that nowadays women are swept away by the commercial trend of purchasing expensive gifts but the main purpose of the custom is to ensure intimacy and promote generosity among the kith and kin. During ancient times women prepared the gifts at home and all by themselves using whatever available around them. And those gifts turned out to be symbolic.

The dawn

The last few days prior to the Avurudu is the most hectic period for women. As the Avurudu is synonymous with feasting, the culinary aspect is always well thought out and taken care of by women. A variety of sweetmeats are prepared early to adorn the Avurudu table.

When the auspicious time sets in, the hearth is lit by the housewife and she boils milk and cooks milk rice as the first meal of the New Year. Both woman and boiling milk are symbols of prosperity.

And the first transaction of the New Year is also performed by woman. The tradition is to perform the first transaction with the well of the house, the source from where the drinking water is supplied.

The housewife drops a coin in the well wishing the good health and the well-being of her family members in the coming year as the well is considered the source of life.

After the first meal of the New Year is partaken, welcoming and visiting neighbours and relatives take place. The women have to play an active role in almost all rituals and customs as well as during family reunions.

After performing all the rituals, the New Year celebration comes to an end. But it is the beginning of a new period and new life. Woman, being the symbol of prosperity, goodness and well-being, holds culture and changing society together and her role in bringing about a change and infusing new life never ends.