Games in the month of love and new beginnings

Swing high, wing low

Aditha DISSANAYAKE

If you thought games like Panchi, Olinda, Kana Mutti should be played only during this time of the year, when the Erabadu trees are in full bloom when the heat is unbearable, when the air is filled with the smells of rice flour frying in oil, think again.

“By highlighting these games only during the New Year the media has created the impression that these games should only be played in April” says Mahinda Kumara Dalupotha the author of the newly released book Ape Jana Kreeda. “Nothing could be more wrong. There are only two games that are exclusively held during the New year; the games called Polpora and Ang keliya”.

Both games are held as offerings to Goddess Pathnini, for each game begins evoking the blessings from the goddess associated with fertility and health.

Yet, there are secular reasons too behind these two games, held only in this special month. April as we all know, is the month of hot weather, and hot tempers.

The competitive spirits in these games undoubtedly help cool fits of rage triggered by the fierce rays of the sun. As Dalupotha reminds us, April is also the month for romance.

Unlike any other time of the year, the festive mood in April provides unrestrained opportunities for the village lads and lasses to form lasting attachments.

These encounters of the heart are specially fostered during the New Year games.

“When they play Polpora or Ang Keliya the young men get the chance to show off their skills to the village damsels who are gathered round the ring and who in turn cheer the one who has won a special place in her heart” observes Dalupotha.

Hence the phrase - “Bak Maha Deege”, referring to marriages where the foundations are laid during the Polpora or Ang Keliya days prior to the dawn of the New Year. “These two games have to be performed before the New Year” explains Dalupotha. “The games should be held either on Wednesday or Saturday which are called Kenmura days”. Only men can take part in the games and they too have to be pure in the sense that they should not be associated in any of the events in life which are considered impure (kili) i.e a death, childbirth etc. Bear-bodied and clad only in white sarongs the players begin the game at an auspicious time after evoking the blessings of the Goddess Paththini, praying that in the new year about to begin she will protect the villagers and ensure their well being.

Unlike with other games played during the New Year Polpora does not take place in the newly harvested paddy fields.

“An open area is chosen for the game at least seven days ahead, and the coconuts used are not the kind we see in our daily lives” says Dalupotha. “The coconuts are smaller and the shell is harder”.

The players are divided into two teams, the Udupila and Yatipila. Tradition has it that the Udupila is the team of Goddess Paththini and the Yatipila is the team of her husband, Kovalam.

In Ang Keliya too the same rituals are observed. The ropes used for the game are made of the skin of deer or buffaloes.

All the equipment used in the game are kept in the Paththini Devale and brought to the grounds on the day of the game, in a colourful procession.

Here too the players are dressed in white and divided into two teams the Udupila and the Yatipila.

The game commences at an auspicious time after praying to the Goddess Paththini. Once the game is well on its way it is common to hear cursing and expletives which are uttered in gleeful abundance but never in malice. Once the game is over, fun is made of the team that lost, again in good humour.

Among the other events popular during the New Year is riding the swings. The swings are popular at this time of the year mainly because it is only after the harvest is brought in that the villagers have time for leisure activities.

The swing, also associated with Goddess Paththini, is enjoyed mainly by the girls and the young women. It is said that the older women advise the young ones, dressed in cloth and jacket, to swing to their hearts content (bandiya seethala wenakan udayanna).

Dalupotha reveals the game Kana Mutti also popular during the new year was once, not a game at all. Before the British came and banned the training of the art of fighting called Angampora, this had been a method used to teach fighting skills to warriors.

In mastering the angam art of fighting the warriors are trained to combat their foe blindfolded. He holds a stick in his hands and tries to fight the enemy who are also carrying sticks. As this is a mock fight, the warrior is encouraged to hit at the pots hanging from a pole, imagining them to be the heads of his enemy. It is this training for battle, that had (perhaps after the British banned it), developed into a game.

Other competitions that are today termed as new year games like scraping coconuts and weaving coconut mats are not folk games, contends Dalupotha. “They have been invented as recently as the 1970s and have no traditional concepts behind them.”

The folk games that are played during the New Year like Panchi, Olinda, keeping the eye on an elephant, should not be labelled as Avurudu Games, says Dalupotha. Play them by all means during the New Year, but with the exceptions of Polpora and Ang Keliya, remember you can play these folk games, anywhere at anytime, if you so wish.

Swing high, swing low from January to December but specially in April, when the erabadu blossoms beckon and the air is filled with the sounds and smells of spring. Seize these days of love and new beginnings. Revel!

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