Thai Pongal focuses on farming community

T V Pereira

The Tamil Thai Pongal festival which highlights the core values of the culture and civilization of the Hindu farming community, normally falls between January 12 and 15 each year and in actual fact is a thanksgiving ceremony to the Sun God, the nature spirit of the forerunner which brings plentiful harvest and prosperity in agriculture, and also to the farm animals for their assistance and contribution in providing a successful crop, and is celebrated as a cultural event on a grand scale by Tamils throughout the island.

Last year, just a mere 20 months after Sri Lanka's valiant Security Forces liberated the country from the gruesome clutches of the LTTE under the inspiring leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Thai Pongal celebrations were held for the very first time on a national ceremony scale at the Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna where thousands of people from all walks of life in the Northern district lined the streets and also converged at the stadium grounds to greet the President who was the chief guest at the function and mainly to express their appreciation for establishing peace and harmony in the whole of the island, for securing the freedom of the Tamil population enabling them to hold the festival openly after almost 30 years, and further for visiting the North as the first people-elected President of Sri Lanka to do so.

One nation

President Mahinda Rajapaksa on this occasion emphasized that it was the government's prime objective to abandon divisions of petty political differences and unite Sri Lanka as one nation, and that it remains the duty and responsibility of all politicians to unite as a single force sans party politics for the development of the whole country as one nation.

The President also expressed that he was very happy to participate in the grand cultural event in the Northern Province – the Thai Pongal celebrations.

Thai is the first month in the Tamil almanac and Pongal means the art of boiling to overflow. The name Pongal is also given to the main dish made from harvested rice, lentils and spices. ‘Thai Pongal’ would therefore mean the preparation of the first boiled meal of rice for the year, with hopes and aspirations.

Thai Pongal is the sacred day on which farmers venerate the Sun God by offering the first part of their farm produce in the form of cooked rice to the nature spirit, in reciprocation of the bountiful harvest. It also becomes the chosen day on which they show their gratitude to the farm animals.

New path

In a general context, the cow provides milk, the ox and the buffalo energize them and help produce rice in plentiful – thus all of these animals are considered to contribute immensely in bringing prosperity to the farmer families, in the sphere of agriculture. Generally the main purpose of the Thai Pongal festival, which is the most popular of all Hindu festivals, is to encourage social cohesiveness, building of harmony and unity among the community, and most important, to recognize the services rendered by the farmers who provide food for the rice eaters not forgetting the nature spirit, the Sun, and the farm animals which deserve love and affection.

Rice eaters fall in line and find themselves obliged to venerate and thank the Sun God and farm animals for producing their staple diet. Every rice eating man and woman especially in Asia find that he or she is bound by this obligation as rice is produced with the help of the nature, spirit and animals on the farm. Therefore this festive occasion is celebrated not only by farmers but also by rice eating people as well, on the first day of the Thai Pongal calendar, the dawn of which to them is the beginning of a new path.

The rituals of this family festival are connected with the boiling of a pot of rice at sunrise at the front doorstep of the house. All the members of the family gather around the pot of rice, enjoy the occasion and wish one another with the delightful cry ‘Pongal oh Pongal'. It is boiling, it is boiling, we are getting what we expect. The feeling behind the words is that the universe, god and mother earth offer a rich, abundant harvest, so that it overflows their requirement and their lives will be full or abundant in many ways for the years to come. The rice is cooked with dhal and sugar, and is called ‘Ven Pongal'. Ven means white. Another variety is also prepared with dhal, greengram and jaggery and called ‘Chakkarai Pongal'. Chakkarai means sweet.

Many legends

Thai Pongal has many legends. One is that it rained incessantly for several days and the level of the waters rose, forcing the people to move to the Govindha Mountain to escape being drowned in the floods. But soon the floods spread to even the mountain and the people fearing that the water would rise further prayed to Lord Krishna to save them. Lord Krishna taking pity on the people lifted the Govinda mountain on his little finger to save the people from being washed away by the rains and flood.

Another interesting story states that one day Lord Shiva commanded his bull Nandi to go to the earth and tell his devotees to have an oil bath daily and to have food twice a week. However Nandi got it all mixed up and requested the people to eat daily and bathe twice a week. Lord Shiva was annoyed and said, “Now that people need to eat more, you stay on earth and help them plough the fields more.”

Thai Pongal is a family-oriented four day festival, centred around successful farming, to which a number of parties contribute. The Sun provides energy in the process of food production and sun light is a necessity for plants to grow. There should, in addition be rain to provide water, which is a must in agriculture. There are the farm animals which help in tilling and preparing the land for agriculture and finally the farmer who makes use of all these aspects to make the harvest successful.

The Thai Pongal festival is spread over four days. The first day of the festival which falls on the last day of the Tamil month of Margazhi, is called Bhogi. Bhogi is dedicated to God Indra, who is the God of Clouds and Rain, which make the crops grow.

'Bhogi Pongal' is a day for the family. On this day the inmates of the house clean their homes, collect all unwanted items and burn whatever could be burnt. Houses are washed, doorways are painted with vermillion and sandalwood paste, houses are decorated with colourful flowers and leaves, and 'Bhogi' the Rain God is worshipped.

In India, where the majority of the population are farmers, it is held as a rural festival and is the withdrawal of the South-East monsoons. The place where the Pongal Pooja is to be conducted, which is generally an open courtyard, is cleaned and smeared with cow dung. The following day, the second day, offerings are made to both the Sun God and the Rain God for ushering in prosperity for the family. The rituals begin early in the morning with every member arising early, bathing and dressing in new clothes and gathering at the front of the step of the house or in the front garden termed muttram. Kolams designs are drawn in the front yards of the houses with rice flour paste. The idea is to provide eats for ants and insects so that they too would bless the household.

At the centre of the design is a lump of cow dung into which is stuck a five-petal pumpkin flower as a symbol of fertility. The designs are essentially, to purify the place. A senior member of the family, the grandmother, the mother, or even the father conducts the cooking while the other members do the assisting. A firewood hearth is set-up using three bricks. The cooking commences by putting a clay pot with water on the hearth.

Love and peace are the central themes of this Tamil festival which may be celebrated by one and all as it is non-relevant to any particular denomination.