podalangai
30th December 2007, 10:41 PM
Several hubbers - particularly those born abroad and those whose families have been settled in cities for a few generations - may never have personally experienced how Margazhi Thingal is observed in rural Tamil Nadu. For their benefit and also because I feel quite homesick at this time of the year, I thought I'd describe how it is observed in the village where my parents live.
Each "ur" within the panchayat village has its own set of little shrines. The biggest temple, though, is a Sivan kovil, and this is the centre of Margazhi celebrations. Each morning, there is a procession around the village, headed by an elder who walks in front with the temple flag, and followed by people with drums and other traditional instruments, with the children of the village making up the rear. The procession starts at 4 a.m., and visits every house in the village. The villagers have by then washed the courtyards and streets and drawn very elaborate kolams outside their houses - a lot of them wake up even earlier because they'll be making the pilgramage to Sabari malai. The village isn't very big, but the procession takes at least two hours, because everyone insists that there must be a prayer in their house, and then on feeding everybody who's attended the prayer.
At around 6 or 6.15 a.m., the procession reaches the temple. The archakars have been preparing for the morning pujai in the meantime, and when the procession arrives the pujai starts. The kovil also has a small sannidhi to Narayana, so they recite both Thiruppavai and Thiruvembavai. Once the main pujai is finished, the people of the village sing bajanais.
After the bajanais, every child presents stands up in turn and recites the verse of thiruppavai or thiruvembavai for that day (they can choose to do either or both). Some of them make mistakes, obviously, but when they do so they are gently corrected by the people present - nobody gets angry with them for getting it wrong. It is quite charming - and also moving - to hear small children, four or five years old, trying to recite the verses with their mazhalaichol. :) Houses take turns to make the prasadam for the day's prayers - if a household is having difficult times financially, others will contribute ingredients so that everybody gets the "punyam" of preparing prasadam.
On the night of December 31, there is a huge prayer at a tiny Amman shrine (originally a sacred stone) under a tree in one of the farms of the village. Preparations begin around a week in advance, with the shrine receiving a fresh coat of chunnambu, and the entire surroundings being much spruced up.
Towards Pongal, pilgrims leave for Sabari malai. There's always a fairly large group, with around a hundred or so of the men of the village making the pilgrimage. Children also go - the youngest this year is ten. Margazhi has ended by the time they come back, but in the meantime preparations have begun for the pilgramage to Pazhani for Thai poosam. The pilgrims - there are usually fifty or sixty of them - walk all the way to Pazhani from the village. They spend the nights in Sivan kovils along the way. Four or five cooks travel with them, and they hire a truck which drives behind them carrying all the ingredients they need. People who fall sick on the way or are too old or tired also travel in the truck. When they return, the village returns to its normal routine.
Perhaps others could share their memories of how the month is celebrated in their home areas in Tamil Nadu or elsewhere in the "thamizh kurum nal ulagam." I would also very much like to hear reminiscences from older hubbers about how things were in their younger days. :)
Each "ur" within the panchayat village has its own set of little shrines. The biggest temple, though, is a Sivan kovil, and this is the centre of Margazhi celebrations. Each morning, there is a procession around the village, headed by an elder who walks in front with the temple flag, and followed by people with drums and other traditional instruments, with the children of the village making up the rear. The procession starts at 4 a.m., and visits every house in the village. The villagers have by then washed the courtyards and streets and drawn very elaborate kolams outside their houses - a lot of them wake up even earlier because they'll be making the pilgramage to Sabari malai. The village isn't very big, but the procession takes at least two hours, because everyone insists that there must be a prayer in their house, and then on feeding everybody who's attended the prayer.
At around 6 or 6.15 a.m., the procession reaches the temple. The archakars have been preparing for the morning pujai in the meantime, and when the procession arrives the pujai starts. The kovil also has a small sannidhi to Narayana, so they recite both Thiruppavai and Thiruvembavai. Once the main pujai is finished, the people of the village sing bajanais.
After the bajanais, every child presents stands up in turn and recites the verse of thiruppavai or thiruvembavai for that day (they can choose to do either or both). Some of them make mistakes, obviously, but when they do so they are gently corrected by the people present - nobody gets angry with them for getting it wrong. It is quite charming - and also moving - to hear small children, four or five years old, trying to recite the verses with their mazhalaichol. :) Houses take turns to make the prasadam for the day's prayers - if a household is having difficult times financially, others will contribute ingredients so that everybody gets the "punyam" of preparing prasadam.
On the night of December 31, there is a huge prayer at a tiny Amman shrine (originally a sacred stone) under a tree in one of the farms of the village. Preparations begin around a week in advance, with the shrine receiving a fresh coat of chunnambu, and the entire surroundings being much spruced up.
Towards Pongal, pilgrims leave for Sabari malai. There's always a fairly large group, with around a hundred or so of the men of the village making the pilgrimage. Children also go - the youngest this year is ten. Margazhi has ended by the time they come back, but in the meantime preparations have begun for the pilgramage to Pazhani for Thai poosam. The pilgrims - there are usually fifty or sixty of them - walk all the way to Pazhani from the village. They spend the nights in Sivan kovils along the way. Four or five cooks travel with them, and they hire a truck which drives behind them carrying all the ingredients they need. People who fall sick on the way or are too old or tired also travel in the truck. When they return, the village returns to its normal routine.
Perhaps others could share their memories of how the month is celebrated in their home areas in Tamil Nadu or elsewhere in the "thamizh kurum nal ulagam." I would also very much like to hear reminiscences from older hubbers about how things were in their younger days. :)