Thai Pongal
Thai Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in Sri Lanka. Pongal coincides with the festival Makara Sankranthi celebrated throughout India. Pongal in Tamil means “boiling over or spill over.” The boiling over of milk in the clay pot symbolizes material abundance for the household. Thai Pongal, celebrated at harvest time, is traditionally intended to thank the Sun God and farmstead livestock that helped create the material abundance.
The holiday denotes the start of the Tamil month of Thai. It marks the day when the Sun purportedly shifts northwards. It signifies the commencement of Uttarayana, which represents the northward journey of Sun. The days get longer in the Tamil lands. The holiday may well be 1000 years old although some are of the view that the festival is older. Epigraphic evidence suggests the celebration of the Puthiyeedu during the Medieval Chola empire days.
A pongal kolam is a special one, unlike a normal one. Check the notes.
A cow with horns painted for the Tamil festival of Pongal in a Puducherry village.
For Indian Festival Bhogi, the festival of bonfire (Celebrated mainly in South India) is the first day of Pongal (January). It is celebrated in honor of god Indra
பூளைப்பூ' + வேப்பிலைக்கொத்து + ஆவாரம்பூக்கொத்து = இம்மூன்றும் சேர்ந்தக கட்டே பூளைப்பூ என்று ஒரே பெயரில் விற்கப்படுகிறது. பொங்கல் தினத்திற்க்கு முன்தினம், இதனை முன்வாயில் கூரையில் செருகி வைப்பர்.
Pongal is celebrated as a Thanks-giving function.On the first day of celebration, people prepare sweetened rice called' pongal' and offer it to Sun God.The next day is "Mattu Pongal" when cows, sheep and all cattle are decorated and well-fed, The next day is "Uzhavar Thirunaal" when people make gestures of gratitude to agriculturists
| We thank Photographers Alagu., Kamala L, Ravichandrae, the_unnamable, Vinay Shivakumar, sowri, த*உழவன் for sharing their work. |
