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Pongal (festival)

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For the dish, see Pongal (dish).

Pongal
Pongal dish cooked for the occasion of the festival
Observed byPrimarily Tamil Hindus in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, United States, Indonesia, Mauritius, Singapore, UK, South Africa, Canada, Australia, Gulf countries
TypeHindu[1][2]
SignificanceHarvest festival
CelebrationsPongal (dish), decorations, home coming, prayers, processions, gift giving[3]
DateFirst day of the 10th month of Thai (Tamil calendar)
2024 dateMonday, 15 January[4]
Frequencyannual
Related toMakar Sankranti, Magh Bihu, Uttarayana, Maghi, Maghe Sankranti, Shakrain
Tamil is written in a non-Latin script. Tamil text used in this article is transliterated into the Latin script according to the ISO 15919 standard.

Pongal (/ˈθaɪˈpoʊŋʌl/), also referred to as Thai Pongal, is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils. It is observed in the month of Thai according to the Tamil solar calendar and usually falls on 14 or 15 January. It is dedicated to Surya (the solar deity in Hinduism) and corresponds to Makar Sankranti, the Hindu observance celebrated under many regional names throughout the Indian subcontinent. The festival is celebrated over three or four days with Bhogi, Surya Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kanum Pongal, observed on consecutive days.

According to tradition, the festival marks the end of winter solstice, and the start of the sun's six-month-long journey northwards called Uttarayana when the sun enters Capricorn. The festival is named after the ceremonial "Pongal", which means "to boil, overflow" and refers to the traditional dish prepared from the new harvest of rice boiled in milk with jaggery. Mattu Pongal is meant for celebration of cattle when the cattle are bathed, their horns polished and painted in bright colors, garlands of flowers placed around their necks and processions. It is traditionally an occasion for decorating rice-powder based kolam artworks, offering prayers in the home, temples, getting together with family and friends, and exchanging gifts to renew social bonds of solidarity.

Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Tamil people in Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India. It is also a major Tamil festival in Sri Lanka and observed by the Tamil diaspora worldwide.

Etymology

Thai Pongal is a portmanteau of two words: Thai (Tamil: 'தை') referring to the tenth month of the Tamil calendar and Pongal (from pongu) meaning "boiling over" or "overflow." Pongal also refers to a sweet dish of rice boiled in milk and jaggery that is ritually prepared and consumed on the day.[6]

History

The principal theme of Pongal is thanking the sun god Surya, the forces of nature, and the farm animals and people who support agriculture. The festival is mentioned in an inscription in the Viraraghava temple attributed to the Chola king Kulottunga I (1070–1122 CE), which describes a grant of land to the temple for celebrating the annual Pongal festivities.[7] The 9th-century Shaiva Bhakti text Tiruvempavai by Manikkavacakar vividly mentions the festival.[7] It appears in Tamil texts and inscriptions with variant spellings such as ponakam, tiruponakam, and ponkal.[8] Temple inscriptions from the Chola period to the Vijayanagara period detail recipes similar to pongal recipes of the modern era with variations in seasonings and relative amounts of the ingredients.[8] The terms ponakam, ponkal, and its prefixed variants might also indicate the festive pongal dish as a prasadam (religious offering) which were given as a part of the meals served by free community kitchens in South Indian Hindu temples either as festival food or to pilgrims every day.[8]

Observance and traditions

Offering from harvest to Gods during Pongal

Pongal is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils.[1][9][6] It is observed in the month of Thai according to the Tamil solar calendar and usually falls on 14 or 15 January and hence is also referred to as Thai Pongal.[3] It is dedicated to the Surya, the Sun God and corresponds to Makar Sankranti, the harvest festival under many regional names celebrated throughout India.[10][11][12] According to tradition, the festival marks the end of winter solstice, and the start of the sun's six-month-long journey northwards when the sun enters the Capricorn, also called as Uttarayana.[1] The festival is observed for three or four days in Tamil Nadu, but for one or two days in urban locations and by the Tamil diaspora outside South Asia.[1][9] The three days of the Pongal festival are called Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal, and Mattu Pongal.[13] Some Tamils celebrate a fourth day of Pongal known as Kanum Pongal.[9] It is traditionally an occasion for decorating, offering prayers in the home, temples, getting together with family and friends, and exchanging gifts to renew social bonds of solidarity.[3][14]

Cuisine

Main article: Pongal (dish)
Pongal made from rice with milk and jaggery

The festival is named after the "Pongal" dish, which forms the festival's most significant practice. The dish is prepared by boiling freshly harvested rice in cow milk and raw cane sugar.[1] Additional ingredients such as coconut and ghee along with spices such as cardamom, raisins and cashews are also used.[13][8] The cooking is done in a clay pot that is often garlanded with leaves or flowers, sometimes tied with a piece of turmeric root. It is either cooked at home, or in community gatherings such as in temples or village open spaces.[15][8] The cooking is done in sunlight, usually in a porch or courtyard and the dish is dedicated to the Sun god, Surya. After it is traditionally offered to the gods and goddesses first, followed sometimes by cows, then to friends and family gathered.[16] Temples and communities organize free kitchen prepared by volunteers to all those who gather.[17][3] Portions of the sweet pongal dish (Sakkarai Pongal) are distributed as the prasadam in temples.[13]

The dish and the process of its preparation is a part of the symbolism, both conceptually and materially.[6][14] It celebrates the harvest and the cooking symbolizes the transformation of the gift of agriculture into nourishment for the gods and the community on a day that when the sun god is believed to start the journey north.[6] The dish "boiling over" is believed to symbolically mark the blessing by Parvati.[15] It is the ritual dish, along with many other courses prepared from seasonal foods for the gathering.

Kolam

A traditional kolam decoration during Pongal

The festival is marked with colorful kolam artwork. Kolam is a form of traditional decorative art that is drawn by using rice flour often along with natural or synthetic color powders.[18] It includes geometrical line drawings composed of straight lines, curves and loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots.[19]

Bhogi

The first day of the Pongal festival is called Bhogi, which marks the last day of the Tamil month Marghazhi.[7] On this day people discard old belongings and celebrate new possessions. The people assemble and light a bonfire in order to burn the heaps of discards.[20] Houses are cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look.[13] Prayers are offered to Indra, the king of Gods with thanks and hopes for plentiful rains in the year ahead.[13] Kaappu kattu is a tradition of tying leaves of Azadirachta indica, Senna auriculata and Aerva lanata in the roofs of houses and residential areas that is widely practiced in the Kongu Nadu region.[21][22] Bhogi is observed on the same day in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[23] Fruits of the harvest are collected along with flowers of the season and a mixture of treats along with money is given to children, who then separate and collect the money and sweet fruits.[24]

Surya Pongal

A Kolam artwork showing a Pongal pot

Surya Pongal or Thai Pongal is the second and main festive day, and is dedicated to the sun god Surya.[13][20] It is the first day of the Tamil calendar month Thai and coincides with Makara Sankranti, a winter harvest festival celebrated in other parts of India. The day marks the start of the Uttarayana, when the sun enters the tenth house of the zodiac.[9] The day is celebrated with family and friends with new clothes worn and the preparation of the traditional pongal dish in an earthen pot.[9] The pot is typically decorated by tying a turmeric plant or flower garland and placed in the sun along with sugarcane stalks.[9] The homes are decorated with banana and mango leaves, decorative florals and kolams.[9]

Relatives and friends are invited and when the pongal starts to boil and overflow out of the vessel, participants blow a conch or make sounds while shouting "Pongalo Pongal" ("may this rice boil over").[25] In rural areas, people sing traditional songs while the pongal dish is cooking.[6] The Pongal dish is first offered to Surya and Ganesha, and then shared with the gathered friends and family.[26] People traditionally offer prayers to the sun in the open and then proceed to eat their meal.[27] A community Pongal is an event where families gather at a public place for a ceremonial worship.[28][29]

Mattu Pongal

A kolam depicting a cow on Mattu Pongal

Mattu Pongal ("Madu" meaning cow) is the third day of the festival meant for the celebration of cattle.[6] The cattle is regarded as sources of wealth as it is a means for dairy products and fertilizers, used for transportation and agriculture.[9][27] The cattle are bathed, their horns are polished and painted in bright colors with garlands of flowers placed around their necks and taken for processions.[30] Some decorate their cows with turmeric water and apply shikakai and kumkuma to their foreheads. The cattle are fed sweets including pongal, jaggery, honey, banana and other fruits. People may prostrate before them with words of thanks for the help with the harvest.[27]

Jallikattu, a traditional bull taming event held during Pongal

The day marks a ritual visit to nearby temples where communities hold processions by parading icons from the sanctum of the temple in wooden chariots, drama-dance performances encouraging social gatherings and renewal of community bonds.[27] Other events during Pongal include community sports and games such as Jallikattu or bull fighting.[27] Jallikattu is a traditional event held during the period attracting huge crowds in which a bull is released into a crowd of people, and multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull's back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape.[31] Kanu Pidi is a tradition observed on Mattu Pongal by women and young girls where they place a leaf of turmeric plant outside their home, and feed pongal dish and food to the birds, particularly crow and pray for their brothers' well being.[9][27] Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their filial love.[13]

Kanum Pongal

Kanum Pongal or Kanu Pongal is the fourth day of the festival and marks the end of Pongal festivities for the year.[32] The word kanum in the context means "to visit" and families hold reunions on this day. Communities organize social events to strengthen mutual bonds and consume food and sugarcane during social gatherings.[13][33] Young people visit elders to pay respects and seek blessings, with elders giving gifts to the visiting children.[13][34]

Contemporary practices

Pongal preparation in a community gathering

Pongal festival maybe viewed more as a "social festival" since the contemporary celebrations do not necessarily link it to temple rituals.[9] Temples and cultural centers organize the ritual cooking of Pongal dish, along with fairs (Pongal mela) with handicrafts, crafts, pottery, sarees, ethnic jewelry for sale. These sites hold traditional community sports such as Uri Adithal ("breaking a hanging mud pot while blindfolded"), Pallanguḻi and Kabbadi, as well as group dance and music performances in major cities and towns.[35][36]

Pongala

Pongala is celebrated in Kerala, a state that shares historic cultural overlap with Tamils through Chera dynasty according to Sangam literature. The rituals including the cooking of pongal dish, social visits, and the reverence for cattle is observed by some communities and is observed on the same day as Tamil Pongal.[37] The celebrations include dance (Kathakali) and musical performances by boys and girls, as well as major processions featuring the temple goddess.[38] In the Attukal Bhagavati Temple near Thiruvanathapuram, Attukal Pongala is celebrated in the month of February–March which attract large crowds.[39][40]

Others

In Karnataka, the festival days are similar, except the dish is called "Ellu". Decorations and social visits are also common in many parts of Karnataka.[41] The festivities coincide with Makara Sankranthi, Maghi and Bihu celebrated across various parts of India.[42][43][44]

In Sri Lanka, the celebration of Pongal among Sri Lankan Tamils varies slightly from the customs and practices followed in India. The Pongal festivities generally last only two days, essentially focused on Thai Pongal day. The custom of cooking Pongal is therefore carried out on the first day, rather than the second as in India, where Thai Pongal is preceded by Bhogi.[45]

Geography

Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Tamil people in Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India.[46][47] It is also a major Tamil festival in Sri Lanka.[48] It is observed by the Tamil diaspora worldwide,[49][50] including those in Malaysia,[51] Mauritius,[52] South Africa,[53] Singapore,[54] United States,[55] United Kingdom,[56] Canada,[57] and the Gulf countries.[58] In 2017, Delegate David Bulova introduced a joint resolution HJ573 in the Virginia House of Delegates to designate January 14 of each year as Pongal Day.[55]

See also

References

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