Pongal

Practice

This is a major harvest festival of south India. The festival derives its name from pongal, a sweet dish made out of fresh rice and jaggery. Pongal is cooked in every house on this festival day. It is the biggest harvest festival, spread over three days. Each of the three days is marked by different kinds of festivities. The first day, Bhogi Pongal, is a day for the family. Surya Pongal on the second day is dedicated to the worship of Surya, the Sun God.

Boiled milk and jaggery are offered to the Sun God, and friends greet each other asking, "Is it boiled?" The answer: "Yes, it is." The third day of Pongal, Mattu Pongal, is for worship of the cattle known as matu. Cattle are bathed, their horns polished and painted in bright colours, and garlands of flowers placed around their necks. The pongal that has been offered to the Gods is then given to cattle and birds to eat. The advent of Pongal is associated with spring-cleaning and burning of rubbish, symbolising the destruction of evil.

Each house will greet visitors with an intricate geometric or floral designs called kolam drawn on the floor in front of the house. The freshly harvested grain is cooked for a community meal where the entire village feasts. In Madras, a rath yatra procession is taken out from the Kandaswamy Temple. In Madurai, Tanjore and Tiruchirapalli, where Pongal is known as Jellikattu, bundles of money are tied to the horns of bulls, and village youth show off their manliness by wresting the money bundles at the risk of being gored.

Time:January 14 (every year)

Place:South India, in particular, Tamil Nadu.