අලුත් අවුරුද්ද the big celebration

Saturday, 11 April 2015 01:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By D.C. Ranatunga Just three days more for Aluth Avurudda, the much-awaited Sinhalese and Tamil New Year. Time to down tools is at 7.13 in the morning on Tuesday, 14 April. The auspicious time to light the hearth and start cooking the first meal for the New Year is at 2.05 in the afternoon. The time to start work and enjoy the first meal is at 2.42 p.m. Looking back on my childhood days, things have changed so much. We tasted ‘kevum’, ‘kokis’ essentially during Avurudu. So we really relished them. Today these are available over the counter throughout the year. Not so then. They were made in every single Sinhala home for Avurudu. It was a rather tedious process, yet it was looked forward to by the household. We waited for Avurudu to get new clothes. Invariably they were sewn by the mothers at home. We waited for the ‘ganu-denu’ time to collect a little cash. We waited for relations to pay the Avurudu visits. They would bring goodies and the close ones gave us a few coins as well. It was also the time when as children we were free to join the other village-folk and play. Invariably we had our own cliques of boys in our own age limit to play ‘vala cadju’ or ‘gudu gudu’. The girls preferred to go on the swings put up on branches of trees, singing ‘onchili varam’. They often joined the elders to play the ‘rabana’.

Rituals and traditions Avurudu then meant weeks – sometimes even months – of preparation. The rituals and traditions are very much connected with the lifestyle of the agricultural community. A portion of the new crop of paddy is separated immediately after harvesting done earlier, for use during the Avurudu. That paddy is used to prepare the Avurudu ‘kevili’ and of course, the first meal of ‘kiribath’ to be tasted at the auspicious time. The garden is cleaned up and the house is white washed giving a new look for the Aluth Avurudda. Organising the sweetmeats from the time the paddy is turned to flour – all done at home with helpers from the neighbourhood – until the final product is ready for the table is time consuming, taking a few weeks. It’s joyous activity with the family members – young and old – participating along with the ‘kitchen staff’. National festival Avurudu is the national festival celebrated by the Sinhalese and the Tamil communities on the same day. It is the only solar festival and falls on the day the sun enters the mansion of Aries (‘Mesha Rashiya’) from the mansion of Pisces (‘Meena Rashiya’). The calculation is based on the Hindu calendar and the festival has been borrowed from the Hindus. The period of transition from ‘mesha’ to ‘meena’ is called ‘nonagathe’ – denoting that there are no auspicious times during that period. Also known as ‘punya kalaya’, it is normally used to go to temple, offer flowers, recite the ‘gathas’ and meditate. The dawn of the New Year is marked by the lighting of the hearth at the auspicious time, then boil a pot of milk and cook ‘kiribath’. The table is laid out with sweetmeats prepared. A comb of ripe plantains normally from a tree grown in the backyard adorns the table alongside the ‘konda kevum’, ‘mung kevum’ ‘athirasa’, ‘kokis’, ‘aasmi’, ‘aluva’, ‘aggala’- all ‘musts’ in the list. Dishes with ‘lunu miris’, ‘seeni sambol’ and ‘hakuru’ are also on the table to accompany the main dish – ‘kiribath’. The first meal is preceded by indulging in one’s normal day-to-day activity (‘weda alleema’) at the auspicious hour. This again is obviously a tradition started by the farmer who would use the mammoty to till the soil and the knife to cut a branch as a symbol of starting work for the New Year. The children are encouraged to read a school text and write a few lines facing the direction determined by the astrologers as the auspicious one for the New Year, just as much as they indicate a lucky colour. The mother gives the lead by reading a Dhamma book.

Everyone wearing the new clothes they had received for ‘Avurudu’ greet each other – the younger ones offering a sheaf of betel to the elders seeking forgiveness for anything they had done during the year, which they should not have done. A token cash transaction by way of ‘ganu denu’ is made among the family members. The ‘ganu’ (take) and ‘denu’ (give) really happens between the ones who earn while in the case of others, mainly the children, only the ‘ganu’ is practised. Cash transactions are always done using a betel leaf to cover the note(s) so that the receiver does not know the amount that is being transacted. Then comes the time for the entire family to sit together at the table and enjoy the first meal. The mother starts by serving everyone a piece of ‘kiribath’. The table is laid out during the whole day to entertain the neighbours and close relations, who would invariably drop in to pay their respects. It is also customary to send a plate of sweetmeats to the neighbours who in return do the same. The elders generally make the first visit for the ‘avurudda’ to the temple to pay their respect to the Chief Prelate – ‘Loku Hamuduruwo’ by offering a sheaf of betel. The married children in the family visit the parents of both parties on the same day unless the auspicious times fall after dusk and they have to travel a distance. Then they would come the next day and share a meal with the rest of the family. Betel is offered and gifts are given. Traditional games The village youth gather in an open space for the traditional games which are ‘Avurudu specials’. Among the popular ones are the ‘pandu keliya’, ‘ buhu keliya’, ‘pol keliya’, ‘lee keliya’, ‘salli geseema’, ‘eluvan aleema’, ang edeema’, chak gudu’, and ‘vala cadju’. Cart racing using ‘race karatta’ is a popular contest. Elephant races are rare but quite entertaining. Pillow fights are a popular game. ‘Grease polla’ is another where they climb a pole applied with grease or oily substance. The winner is the one who climbs to the top. Many fall off halfway and are disqualified. Both males and females get together for indoor games, the most popular ones being the ‘panchi keliya’ and ‘keta gaseema’. It’s a day or two later that the anointing of oil at the auspicious time takes place. Most of the male folk gather at the temple for the ceremony conducted by the head monk. The oil is prepared at the temple using different types of herbs. Specified types of leaves are hung above the head where the individual would stand facing a particular direction while the monk applies the oil on the head chanting a blessing. Sometimes the oil is collected in advance and an elder in the house would perform the ceremony at home. There is also a date and time given to set off for your usual vocation. Again, the famer community would use this time to start preparing the paddy field or the land to grow another crop. In today’s context this is rather impractical because everyone cannot be on leave for several days after ‘Avurudu’. ‘Aluth Avurudda’ is thus a revamping of customs and traditions and above all, it helps to maintain values built up over several generations.