We had a wonderful experience of the festivities at Kameswaram. At the outset, the weather Gods were kind and there was a gentle breeze from the morning. Meena of FIN explained how they celebrate Tamil New Year in Kameswaram.
The Tamil New Year Festival is celebrated over 15 days in rural Tamil Nadu. This time the government has mandated it be only for 9 days. The deity worshipped is Mother Earth called Mari Amman. She is the main Tamil mother goddess, worshipped since pre-Vedic times.
The festival starts on the first morning with a public reading of the Hindu Almanac called Panchangam. Here, the priest reads out the horoscope of the year of the 12 signs (calculated under moon signs rather than sun signs). On the first evening, the entire village gathers, and here we went to the nearby village of Vizundamavady as guests of Ms. Meena of FIN. Everyone was so happy to be able to celebrate the new year together after 2 years of COVID. My sister and I were the only one with masks and among those who decided to see all the activities on the big screen set at the edge! Thank you digital transformation! But we were also next to the speakers on this account – and less said on these – the better. However, the Master of ceremonies was excellent and kept us highly engaged!
The evening started with the “walk over hot coals”. Some people believe that inflicting self-pain can gain the sympathy of Mari Amman, and thus pray to her for a desired outcome against walking on a bed of hot coals. These coals take about 2.5 hours to be red hot. The men stroking the fire are doused regularly with water and turmeric powder. At least 50 men and women walked over the hot coals carrying some milk or flowers of the neem tree as offering to Mari Amman to be left at her shrine after walking. Some ran, some jumped, but most walked very slowly. Police were there. The walkers’ feet were doused with water and milk as they finished.
We talked with some of the women walkers, who were in fact very ecstatic. They had fasted for 9 days and today they had consumed only water. They were not even applying any cream for burns. They told us what they had prayed for and we assured them that we will also include their wishes in our prayers over the fortnight.
Throughout the fortnight every evening there will be performances by different groups of the village. Interestingly the only females who are allowed to dance are children. After puberty, girls are not supposed to dance. However, none of the women seemed to mind this. Everyone was very busy talking to friends and family. The entire village also participates in gathering funds for sumptuous meals throughout the festival. Every meal is prepared entirely by volunteers!
What lessons for city dwellers’ who have lost this feeling of neighbourly harmony! We have a lot to learn from our village communities!