New Year reminiscences

Professor Sunanda MAHENDRA

With the dawn of April every year, I go down the memory lane. It was the post war period in our country - mid 1940s. My father was busy as a divisional health inspector travelling by a health propaganda van helping people understand health care issues. He was instrumental in creating health songs and health plays shown in village premises. He used to tell us all about these matters.

But one thing was certain. He would come home to enjoy the bliss of the New Year. Our mother looked after us and accompanied us to her ancestral house in Seeduwa. Her father, my grandfather, was a physician and a headman. It was to the physician's house that villagers used to come in order to discuss matters relating to the New Year.

Ceremonial start

As I recall, grandfather was no more at the time when I experienced the first New Year ceremony held at our ancestral house. Just a few days before the New Year dawn a man used to visit with a small sheet of paper in his hand. This he would hand over to my grandmother. I came to know it as the ‘avurudu seettuva’ or the list of activities that has to be done during the period, in keeping with auspicious times.

The sheet had been issued by the priest in the village. The auspicious times and the events scheduled to take place are listed in this sheet of paper. On accepting the upasaka of the temple, the grandmother would invite him to partake of some tea and other eatables prepared to celebrate the New Year. Perhaps he is the first comer to the ancestral house prior to the dawn of the New Year. Apart from this ‘avurudu seettuva’ there is the wall almanac or the ‘bit lita’ which helps us know the exact times. The very first auspicious event is the ‘nonagate’ or the time in which there is no exact auspicious moment. It is believed to be astronomically the period of transmission of planets (Sankranti Kalaya) into a new month. This moment is called ‘dolos mahakata yana davasa’ [one day in twelve months). This is calculated in keeping the month of April, known as the first month.

The term ‘bak’ as I understood from the adults comes from the Sanskrit term ‘bhagya’ or prosperity. The dawn of this day is the beginning of a new year and the end of another year. This is also indicated as the punyakalaya, where adherents are allowed to relax and contemplate on religious matters. They are not allowed to work either in the field of in the house. The business dealings come to a temporary close. By this time the preparations for the dawn of the year is almost over people.

When other people in the village go to the temple, all of us in the ancestral house enter the shrine room of the grandfather believed to have relics brought from the temple. A special puja will be performed prior to the New Year and clad ourselves in clean cloths gifted by the mother and the grandmother and other elders. Everything handled in the house is regarded as a new item. Even the sheaf of betel or the bulat ata is new. Bulat plays a vital role in the New Year activities.

Born in the land

Once again, as I came to know from an adult the term bulat means ‘bhumiye lat’ or ‘planted in the earth'. The legend is an extension of the Sasa jataka where Sakka, the god of gods, paints the image of the pious hare and drops down the brush. This brush which falls on the lap of the king naga of the naga world is planted. The plant which is a medicinal herb had been passed on to humans. The humans in turn make use of bulat as a multi purpose herbal plant.

Picture by Samantha Weerasiri

The house too is given seen a new facelift. The food is cooked in new pots and pans brought from the village clay potters (kumbal karuvan) by pingo men (katkaraya). A whole lot of pots are brought into the kitchen by the grandmother. They are handed over to the servants in the utmost care.

When the New Year food is cooked the spiritual attention is paid as one observes the veneration of inanimate objects as an integral item on the part of the housekeepers. The best time out of all auspicious times is the time devoted to partake of the new year food laid on a long table, and served taking into account the order of the seniority of elderliness. The food should, as a ritual, include the ‘hatmaluva’ all inclusive of vegetables.

There are seven in number all mixed into one dish as it was believed that the New Year too coincides with the ritual of the Pattini Devi. A virtuous Pattini cursed into seven directions saying that may there be drought and fire in seven directions for punishing her husband Palanga. The long story if to be shortened goes as a the ruling of a certain cruel king who had been in existence long time ago. In order to get the good looking Pattini, into his possession, the king desired to kill the husband.

But as she was too virtuous, she cursed the king who killed her husband, This feminine quality was praised by Sakka and came down to the earth to make enquiries as to what had happened. The good god Sakka found that the lecherous and cruel king had to be taught a lesson by creating a drought in seven directions as cursed by Pattini. An unbearable climate ensued, resulting in the mass deaths of humans as well as animals. The king was troubled and the humans made representations to the king regarding their sufferings.

Virtuous cursing

Then came the wise men of the region who advised the king to contemplate on the bad behaviour of himself, in order to bring back a natural harmony. This realization as a king brought back to life, the husband Kovalan or Palanga who is well portrayed in the Sinhala ballad ‘Pattini Hella’ and the Tamil ballad ‘Silappadikaram'.

This is one of the reasons why the Tamils Hindus and Buddhists celebrate this season of well being in keeping with their cultural ethos. When the climate changed the trees as well as the vegetation was lively. The food brought from the seven directions included cadju, vattakka dalu, kosata or jak seeds, ash plantains, vambotu, etc. This food is believed to be one of the most delicious meals brought down the generations.

The hatmaluva is cooked once a year only to celebrate the new year meal. The housewife will see to the fact that the meal is devoid of fish and meat.

Picture by Tilak Perer

The hatmaluva is mixed with the newly cooked milk rice or kiribat. The milk rice is made out of the newly brought harvest (alut sahal) first taken to the temple and blessed which is called pansal panguva or the share for the temple. The most significant feature in the New Year is the period of ganudenu or the transaction of money.

The junior members in the family will give a little money to the elders, but in turn the juniors will undoubtedly receive double the amount from the seniors. There is also the transaction of money on the part of the housewife with the water well in the compound. It is believed that though the watering well is an inanimate helper, yet it is regarded as a fused family member who needs to be looked after as a near and dear relative.

Day in day after the housewife and her cooks have to look after the water well carefully to see that the water is clean and fit for drinking and cooking. The animals in the house too are looked after well during this period. In our ancestral house there lived two bulls and two cows. All of them helped our lives as relatives of the house. They were given fresh anointment of oil on their skins before the dawn of the New Year. They were also fed with the newly brought punnaku and hay in new buckets. The grandmother goes to have a look at them, and she used to, as I remember talk to them, blessing them to look after us for the years to come.

The auspicious time to do work is called ‘wada allima’ or the commencement of work. During this period, the members of the family are requested to concentrate on the work they have to do. The aunties will take up knitting and sewing.

The uncles or mamas will go out to the compound with the gardening utensils to plant new trees. This is kept in keeping with one's own occupation. One of my uncles happened to be a teacher. I saw him taking out the Buddhist text and reading stanzas. I was sensitively influenced by this trend of work.

Since then I too take out Dahmmapada and read during the ‘wada allima’ time. Some servants engage themselves in their daily work like piling firewood, treating animals, and planting trees etc.

Then comes the auspicious time for anointing oil on the head (hisatel galvima). This is done by veterans who use the given list of herbal leaves inclusive of kohomba and nuga. Here again betal plays a vital role. The place, where this is performed normally, is the temple under the guidance of seniors who are skilled in the performance. While applying the medicinal oil a meaningful stanza is uttered. It goes as follows:

‘Molgahe dalulanaturu

kalukaputa suduvenaturu

gembidittita tana enaturu

ekasiyavissata desiya vissak ayuboveva’

(Until the pounding pole sprouts out tendrils, until the black crow turns white, and until the she tadpole gets breasts, may you live two hundred and twenty years, instead of one hundred and twenty years).

As children the verse as uttered by the elders while applying oil on our heads looked like lyrics that evoke a smile in the first hearing. But today, as we rediscover things of the past, we see that there is sense in each line of utterance.

It is said that the highest age is 120 years. But the blessing is to make one live 220 years. With this blessing we leave the premises with a heart full of happiness. We take a dip in the river or go to a place to take our first bath for the New Year.

Followed by this ritual we have time to play various folk games. We become either participants or observers or both. New Year brings families together. New Year makes us feel the bliss of participation.