Pongal Festival

Pongal is a four-days-long harvest

festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu, a
southern state of India. For as long as
people have been planting and gathering
food, there has been some form of
harvest festival. Pongal, one of the most
important popular Hindu festivals of the
year. This four-day festival of
thanksgiving to nature takes its name
from the Tamil word meaning "to boil"
and is held in the month of Thai
(January-February) during the season
when rice and other cereals, sugar-cane,
and turmeric (an essential ingredient in
Tamil cooking) are harvested.

Mid-January is an important time in the

Tamil calendar. The harvest festival,
Pongal, falls typically on the 14th or the
15th of January and is the quintessential
'Tamil Festival'. Pongal is a harvest
festival, a traditional occasion for giving
thanks to nature, for celebrating the life
cycles that give us grain. Tamilians
say 'Thai pirandhaal vazhi
pirakkum', and believe that knotty family
problems will be solved with the advent
of the Tamil month Thai that begins on
Pongal day. This is traditionally the
month of weddings. This is not a surprise
in a largely agricultural community - the
riches gained from a good harvest form
the economic basis for expensive family
occasions like weddings.

The First Day

This first day is celebrated as Bhogi
festival in honor of Lord Indra, the
supreme ruler of clouds that give rains.
Homage is paid to Lord Indra for the
abundance of harvest, thereby bringing
plenty and prosperity to the land.
Another ritual observed on this day is
Bhogi Mantalu, when useless household
articles are thrown into a fire made of
wood and cow-dung cakes. Girls dance
around the bonfire, singing songs in
praise of the gods, the spring and the
harvest. The significance of the bonfire,
in which is burnt the agricultural wastes
and firewood is to keep warm during the
last lap of winter.

The Second Day

On the second day of Pongal, the puja or
act of ceremonial worship is performed
when rice is boiled in milk outdoors in a
earthenware pot and is then symbolically
offered to the sun-god along with other
oblations. All people wear traditional
dress and markings, and their is an
interesting ritual where husband and
wife dispose of elegant ritual utensils
specially used for the puja. In the village,
the Pongal ceremony is carried out more
simply but with the same devotion. In
accordance with the appointed ritual a
turmeric plant is tied around the pot in
which the rice will be boiled. The
offerings include the two sticks of sugar-
cane in background and coconut and
bananas in the dish. A common feature
of the puja, in addition to the offerings, is
the kolam, the auspicious design which
is traditionally traced in white lime
powder before the house in the early
morning after bathing.

The Third Day

The third day is known as Mattu Pongal,
the day of Pongal for cows. Multi-colored
beads, tinkling bells, sheaves of corn and
flower garlands are tied around the neck
of the cattle and then are worshiped.
They are fed with Pongal and taken to
the village centers. The resounding of
their bells attract the villagers as the
young men race each other's cattle. The
entire atmosphere becomes festive and
full of fun and revelry. Arati is performed
on them, so as to ward off the evil eye.
According to a legend, once Shiva asked
his bull, Basava, to go to the earth and
ask the mortals to have an oil massage
and bath every day and to eat once a
month. Inadvertently, Basava announced
that everyone should eat daily and have
an oil bath once a month. This mistake
enraged Shiva who then cursed Basava,
banishing him to live on the earth
forever. He would have to plough the
fields and help people produce more
food. Thus the association of this day
with cattle.

The Fourth Day

The Fourth day is known as Knau or
Kannum Pongal day. On this day, a
turmeric leaf is washed and is then
placed on the ground. On this leaf are
placed, the left overs of sweet Pongal
and Venn Pongal, ordinary rice as well as
rice colored red and yellow, betel leaves,
betel nuts, two pieces of sugarcane,
turmeric leaves, and plantains. In Tamil
Nadu women perform this ritual before
bathing in the morning. All the women,
young and old, of the house assemble in
the courtyard. The rice is placed in the
centre of the leaf, while the women ask
that the house and family of their
brothers should prosper. Arati is
performed for the brothers with turmeric
water, limestone and rice, and this water
is sprinkled on
the kolam in
front of the
house.
Pongal in
South East
Asia:
Indonesia,
Singapore, Pongal Festival
Malaysia,
Myanmar and others.

Festival in these places.

Indonesia has about 2,000
to 10,000 Tamils, where as
Singapore has about
200,000 Tamils who
constitute the third main
cultural group. Malaysia
has a 1,060,000 Tamil
population and Myanmar
(Burma) had a Tamil
population of 200,000 at
one time, but since the
end of the Second World
War the number has been
reduced. Cambodia has
1,000 Tamils, China 5,000
and Thailand 10,000.

Pongal Celebrations in
these Countries
In Indonesia, Singapore,
Malaysia and Myanmar the
festival of Pongal is one of
the biggest Hindu festivals
celebrated on a national
scale that rallies round the
Tamils from far and wide.
Numerous temples are
spread over in these small
and diverse immigrant
countries and Tamil
cultural activities take
place with deep
involvement on an
international spread. For
four days, Hindu temples
situated in these countries
ring with rhythmic sounds
of bells, drums, clarinets
and conch shells as
Southern Hindus celebrate
Pongal - the Harvest
Festival.

An early morning ritual in

the homes begins with rice
cooked in new pots which
are allowed to boil over as
a sign of prosperity. In the
temple, rice is also
prepared while prayers are
chanted to the
accompaniment of the
musical instruments.
Vegetables, sugar cane
and spices are offered to
the gods and later
 consumed by devotees to
cleanse themselves of
their past sins.

Pongal In Oceania: Australia, New

Zealand, Fiji

Australia with a population of over 18

million has about 30,000 Tamils spread
out in all the six states, but the
concentration is mainly in the states of
New South Wales and Victoria. New
Zealand has about 3,000 Tamils, mostly
professionals who have migrated on their
own. In Fiji, out of an Indian population of
350,000, the Tamils could number about
80,000.

Pongal Celebration In These

Countries
In Australia, there are more than ten
Hindu temples spread over all the states.
Thus, the Pongal festival is celebrated by
Tamils residing these, though the manner
of celebration is not as traditional as
those celebrating it in India. In New
Zealand, attempts are being made by
Tamils to construct temples and organize
Pongal festival to consolidate their
cultural and religious links. In Fiji, most of
the Tamils have lost their Tamil identity
and are Tamils only in name. The South
Indian Sanmarga Sangam is the pioneer
body that forged the Tamil culture and
the Hindu practices in the country by
celebrating the harvest festival of Pongal.
 Pongal in Oceania

Pongal in the Gulf: Bahrain, Qatar, UAE,

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
Bahrain is the home for over 7,000
Tamils, mostly professionals and workers.
Qatar is the home for about 4,000 Tamils,
mostly from Tamil Nadu. In December
2000 the Qatar Tamil Sangam was
inaugurated for conducting Tamil cultural
programs, teaching of Thirukkural and
conducting Tamil elocution contests for
Tamil children.
In United Arab
Emirates (UAE),
there are about
10,000 Tamils
spread over the
several states,
having come
from Tamil
Nadu and Sri Pongal in the Gulf
Lanka as
professionals and workers in many
sectors.

Pongal Celebration In These

Countries
Tamils residing in these countries has
started to build up the feeling of
togetherness. Few Hindu temples have
been erected in Oman and Dubai. Pongal
is celebrated on a grand scale in Dubai
and in a few other states. Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait are home for a substantial
number of Tamils who are recent
migrants and Pongal celebration is
gearing up here.
 Pongal in Europe: Britain, France, Germany,
Italy, Switzerland, Denmark

Britain has more than 300,000 Tamils.

France has more than 60,000 Tamils
from Pondicherry. Germany has well over
50,000 Tamils and more than half of
them went as refugees from Sri Lanka.
Italy has about 25,000 Tamils, and
Switzerland has about 40,000 Tamils.
Denmark has over 7,000 Tamils the
majority, being refugees. There are two
well-patronized Hindu temples - one for
Vinayagar and another for Abhirami - and
the Tamil population has got well
adapted to the Danish environment.

Pongal Celebration In These

Countries
In Britain and France many Hindu
temples are serving the Tamil community
well religiously and culturally, by
organizing the Pongal celebration. In
Germany, religious fervor among the
Tamils gets intensified during the Pongal
Celebration. Although Tamils are well
entrenched in this country and integrated
with the local community, yet they are
actively alive to their Hindu religious and
Tamil cultural links by organizing Pongal
celebration at a single place. Other than
that, during Pongal, temples draw a large
number of the Tamil Diaspora from all
European countries, so much so that it
becomes the nerve centre of Tamil
cultural activism.
 Pongal in Africa: Mauritius, Reunion,
Seychelles And South Africa
Pongal in Europe

Mauritius has a Tamil population of

115,000, the larger bulk from the
southern state of Tamil Nadu who arrived
there since 1727 to work in the sugar
cane plantations. Reunion is an Indian
Ocean island being run as a French
Department. Tamil settlements started as
far back as 1848 as indentured labor,
mainly from Pondicherry and Karaikal,
the French territories in Southern India.

Seychelles, a group of islands in the

Indian Ocean, has a Tamil history of
about 230 years. Now there about 4000
Tamils in trading as well as in the
professions. In South Africa, Tamil
migration started from 1860, and now
there are more than 250,000 Tamils
spread over many cities, the
concentration being in Natal and Durban.
There is a sort of Tamil renaissance and
the Tamils there take great pride in their
age-old traditions.

Pongal Celebration In These

Countries
There are more than 250 temples in
Mauritius and Pongal is celebrated on a
national level as it is declared as a public
holiday. In reunion, there are about
120,000 Tamils with a large number of
Hindu temples run by voluntary
organizations where the rituals and
customs of Pongal celebration is
preserved well.

The organization of the Seychelles Hindu

Kovil Sangam in 1984 and the building of
the first and only Navasakthi Vinayagar
temple brought together all the Tamils to
further consolidate and nurture their
cultural and religious links. The annual
Pongal festival is a major event where
cultural troupes are invited. The
organization celebrates the Pongal
festival on a national scale.

In South Africa, Tamil cultural

organizations help a lot to recover the
beauty of the Pongal Celebration. The
Pongal festival has promoted Tamil
oneness. Many temples that were built in
South Africa, has immensely helped to
preserve the rich traditions of Pongal
festival.

Pongal in Africa
 Tamils in Americas: USA and Canada

USA is the home for more than 300,000

Tamils both from Tamil Nadu and Sri

Tamils in Americas: USA and Canada

Lanka. Canada has a large concentration

of Tamils amounting to 300,000.

Pongal Celebration In These

Countries
There are many more pro-active
voluntary organizations keeping the
Tamil culture alive by performing the
various rituals associated with the Pongal
Festival. There are also numerous
temples that observe Pongal and in turn
satisfy the religious fervor of the Tamil
Diaspora community.

Pongal Festival at a small village near Gingee &

Thiruvannamalai at Tamilnadu, India