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Pongal is the harvest festival of Tamils. This celebration is characteristic of their environment and culture. The theme of the celebration of Pongal evolved from the concept of “Thinai” (landscape, environment and people) of Tamils. This is a celebration when we give thanks to nature. Professor Sivathamby states that “this festival is taken as a farmers’ day and is interpreted as the Mayday of the Tamils”.
The sun is the most prominent natural feature that people can see, but are unable to reach physically. Sun as the source of energy and life. As a God, sun represents an image
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of a powerful male whose power over the land mother symbolically culminates at the time of harvest. It is a festival where worshipping sun, the patriarch as well as thanking mother earth for her benevolence. Tamils believe that he is the God of nature who gives a bountiful harvest. Within the perimeters of a kolam design (floor decoration done with white powder) typically, firewood is used to cook the rice in the courtyard. The clay Pongal pot, decorated with mango leafs on the neck, is set up on a three stone or clay stand, in the direct view of the Sun (East).
Traditionally, the kolam is laid in front or side of the house. The Pongal is done on a regular stove in the kitchen by Tamils in the Western countries like Canada, USA, UK, France etc.
Pongal has been misrepresented as a Hindu festival. It is not celebrated by all Hindus of India or of the world. This festival
Parvathy Kanthasamy- PhD
does not belong to a caste, clan or a religion. It is a secular festival. This festival can be celebrated by any human being of the world.
The origin of Pongal is not known as it is a celebration of thanksgiving to nature, and has been carried out for centuries, if not millennia. There is evidence in Sangam literature that it was a day celebrated by farmers. Paraththai is another celebration of the collective labour of the farmers’ harvest.
The whole family come together to do Pongal. They come together as a family and clean the courtyard the day before Pongal. Husband and wife play an important role in Pongal. The boiling over and spilling over of milk from the Pongal pot is the most auspicious moment during cooking. It symbolizes the flourishing of life, joy and abundance. The spill over of milk is a symbol of prosperity and the Pongal should come above the neck of the pot when the cooking is almost done, to indicate abundance. Fire-crackers are lit to celebrate the Padaiyal (offering) to the Sun. Then the relatives eat together. Pongal is done in everyone’s home, unless they have a death or childbirth in the household. During that time, their neighbours will share their Pongal with these families.
The second day, the Pongal is done in the cattle shed to honor the cattle. Cattles are very important in the life of the farmers in agriculture, as well as for other routine help as means of transport. They play an important role for the farmers in the production of rice paddy and milk. Therefore, the cows and bulls are decorated with flowers and they are fed some Pongal. In the evening they have a bull race festival in the village. This is what happens during Pongal in the rural Tamil areas in Sri Lanka.
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In North America thanksgiving was originally celebrated by the First Nations people. Now it is celebrated by all North Americans, and it is celebrated on a National Holiday. For them it is the celebration carrying the concept of sharing food and harvest.
Thai Pongal has emerged today as an important Tamil Festival in the Diaspora. It is a significant event in the heritage and culture of Tamils in North America and Europe. This has created some political debate in Tamil Nadu and other parts of the world. The DMK popularized Pongal in India. The Creative Association of Tamils in Toronto considered Pongal day as the 1stday of January of the Lunar Calendar and this day as the beginning of the year. April 1st has been considered the beginning of the Tamil Calendar year by the Hindu Tamils. This has created a controversial dialogue among Tamils.
There is a proverb in Tamil “Thai PiranthaalVazhi Pirakkum” -“when Thai (January) is born, there are opportunities or ways out.” The significance of pre-Pongal day is massive cleaning up inside and outside the homes and cattle shed/pens. Purity is on every one’s mind on Pongal day. Those who can afford to buy new clothes for Pongal will wear them and others wear clean clothes. This is celebrated elaborately in Malaysia, Singapore and India. The Sri Lankans do not give much prominence to Pongal but to Tamil New year.
In Canada, there are no clay pots, so Thai Pongal is cooked in a new silver pot. Since Pongal is in January, in cold countries like Canada, cooking indoors with firewood is hazardous and may not be allowed by the authorities for security reasons. Some people buy new pots every year. Traditionally children are told to take a shower and sing Thevaarams, the Tamil Saiva hymns. Since it is not a public holiday in the Diaspora, people make Pongal very early in the morning and eat it for breakfast. They make some sweets too. Most children are not taught about the importance of Pongal. Children who go to Tamil classes at school learn about this tradition. Some Tamil organizations celebrate Pongal on the following weekend in Canada, a decision made by the Hindu priests, who traditionally also decide on the dates for the Charriot festivals and Holy Water festivals in temples, in order to draw more people for the utsavas (festivities).
However, most organizations do not celebrate it as a Hindu Festival but as a secular festival including all sects of the religion. Even in a Catholic Monastery in Sri Lanka, Pongal is celebrated today as a Tamil Farmers day and a secular festival. Today, many changes are taking place in the Diaspora. Prior to the Diaspora, changes were taking place in Tamil Nadu under the Dravidian Movement. This festival is adapted as a significant one to unite Tamils.Pongal was rediscovered with the emergence of DMK (Dravidian Munnettra Kazhakam, Party for the Advancement of Dravidians) under the leadership of C.N.Annadurai and later, Karunanithi, Neduncheliyan and Sittirarasan.
The phrase “ UzhavarThirunaal” (Festival of farmers) is an invention by DMK for their ideology. They cultivated the idea of secularism in the concept and made the youth of Tamil Nadu to embrace and take ownership of the festival. Care was taken to exclude the myths related to Pongal. This was carefully guided by leading poets in the Kavi Arangu, and Paddi Mantram forums and through Cinema in film like “Vivasaayi”. In the 1960s Pongal was established as the most famous Tamil Festival in South India.
It was an amazing intervention or adaptation by the DMK. These changes were taken to Malaysia and Singapore through Cinema. The Sri Lankan Tamils were not fully involved with this political climate, even though there were DMK followers among them. Yet, this has become a common symbol of Tamils all over the world. The TamilTigers took the lead in politicizing Thai Pongal as the Tamils’ most prominent festival, especially in the Diaspora. Whatever political view one may have, the Tamils will come together as one in the concept of Thai Pongal, a cultural celebration for all Tamils of the world.
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No matter their politics, Thai Pongal is a uniting Festival for all Tamils and we will start renewing contact with fellow Tamil sisters and brothers. Our identity is established as Tamils despite where we live: be it in Toronto, California, UK, France, Australia, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar and soon, we all will be united to share our culture through the international symbol of Thai Pongal. We may not all speak the language in the Diaspora, but we will continue to be united by the cultural significance of Thai Pongal to every Tamil around the world.
Our ancestors lived with the Thinai concept in mind; that is living with nature. Thai Pongal is a tradition evolved from our traditional concept of Thinai. The children of Tamils would continue to unite and feel the sense of belonging in their identity as Tamils. This symbolism also unites the abandoned Tamils from Trinidad and other places, where the Tamils were taken as indentured labourers, and creates a new chapter in their life by renewing their forgotten roots through Pongal culture.
It brings new meaning in publicizing this as a harvest festival. Even if they are married to a non-Tamil, they still can celebrate it with openness. We teach our children about our cultural heritage and identity.We unite them with other Tamils by celebrating Thai Pongal. We reinvent our traditional arts. We bring the Parai, mulavu, kummi, kabadi, kuuthu, folk dance etc. to help our children learn and perform at the festivals and to be proud of our rich ancient traditions of Tamil culture.
Pongal as a festival is a secular festival which is open to all communities. Diaspora transform, reimagine and remake their cultural festivals to assert and reaffirm their cultural pride and identity. For Tamil Diaspora, Pongal could be made into a secular communal festival to celebrate a meal with their friends and families. In the US, Pongal is a cultural holiday students can avail in schools and in college like Jewish holidays. The secular nature of Pongal also unites Tamils of various faiths. By learning the cultural roots of Pongal festival, youths from Tamil Diaspora can actively create a Pongal festival that reflects their cultural values and perspectives of the two cultures they embody.he Tamil Mirror
The Tamil Mirror
