CHENNAI: Outside an Amman temple, nearly five bricks coated with sandhanam (sandalwood paste) and kungumam are placed together, so you that you light a fire in-between them to prepare koozhu (rice-porridge). This is a common sight in almost all the temples in Chennai during the Tamil month of Aadi (July 16-August 17).
City Express takes a tour to find out more about the significance of Aadi. There are a number of auspicious days for goddess Amman in this month. To name just a few — Aadi Pirappu, Aadi Ammavaasai, Aadi Karthigai, Aadi Pooram, Aadi Peruku, Aadi Velli and Varalakshmi Nombu.
Despite such a line-up, families avoid occasions like marriage, house shifting and taking important business decisions. Why? “Aadi is a month that is dedicated to the goddess. We, as devotees, worship her fervently during this month,” said Usha Rani, who undertakes rituals and other religious activities. Tuesday, Friday and Sunday are considered to be the auspicious days in Aadi. People usually prepare items like koozhu, pongal or curd rice and distribute it to people. “I have been offering pongal to Amman for nearly 36 years. I do it because my grandmother and mother have being doing it for many years, and I want to follow them. Also, I believe the goddess drives me to do this,” said Gija Bhai, as she was making pongal in the temple on Mint Street.
Another devotee Meenakshi, who was spotted distributing pongal with jaggery at a small temple in Nungambakkam, said, “We make food for the entire day and feed the poor. In the morning, we make koozhu and fish; in the afternoon, its rice and jaggery, and for the night, we make kozhukattai and fish again.”
Apart from preparing food and distributing it to people, events like paal kudam poojai (devotees carry milk pots and give it to the goddess) and poo medhikarudhu (walking over burning embers) are common too.
While some follow these rituals in the footsteps of their ancestors, others believe they are doing it as part of their vows after their wishes were fulfilled by the goddess. Most Amman temples are decorated with colourful lights and host a series of cultural, religious events that go on till late in the night.
Rituals that bond many communities
City Express looks deeper into the Aadi festivities to know its anthropological, social and cultural significance. Professor A R Venkatachalapathy from the Madras Institute of Development Studies has researched subjects like social and cultural history of the State. He explains the Aadi festival is celebrated differently in the urban and rural areas.
“In the urban areas, it is closely related to Amman and Friday is an auspicious day. The festival is more women-centric and was inclined to give charity as people give away alms and feed the poor,” he explained.
But in villages, the festival is tied to agriculture. “Aadi month is the season where the harvest is over and the next cycle begins. This is also the month where people can do financially planning for their families and businesses,” he explained.
Visit an Amman temple and you will find groups of people performing rituals…do these festivals help in bonding the communities? Venkatachalapathy said, “All festivals perform the role of bringing together communities. This is basically to strengthen the bond among people through religious events in temples.”
On the other hand, Professor S Sumathi, HoD, anthropology, University of Madras, said, “The word ‘community’ was started by mankind. Right from the beginning of the evolution, people wanted to live in groups. And rituals are an expression of a society. People form communities to share their happiness in the name of religion.”
There are many aspects that need to be looked into during this month. One main feature is the climate. The newly-wed couples are restricted from having sex during this month. “So that they can avoid having a newborn during the peak of summer (Chithirai month) the following year, which would be uncomfortable for both mother and child,” explained Prof Sumathi.
From where did the Amman concept arise? “The entire world started off with matriarchal domination unlike today, which is more patriarchal. Communities attributed certain features to womanhood and projected it as personification of goddess. It was a concept of gender identity. This is how the Amman concept emerged. Those days, women played a crucial role in family and in society at large,” she said.
Auspicious days in aadi 2016
Aadi Pirappu, the first day of Aadi, begins with pujas and a visit to temple. There will be a feast on the day with special delicacies like payasam and vadai. Dakshinayana Punyakalam, the night of the Devas, begins on the first day of Aadi. Some communities perform tharpanam on this day.
The sun changes its direction during this period and next six months is the night time of the gods. So no special occasions like marriages, naming ceremony for newborns, valai kappu, etc are held in the month
Aadi Karthigai (July 28) is a festival dedicated to Lord Muruga
Aadi Chevvaai & Velli – all Tuesdays and Fridays in Aadi are auspicious
Aadi Ammavaasai (August 2) – New moon day in Aadi is meant to offer shradha and tharpanam to our ancestors
Aadi Perukku (August 3) – The festival is dedicated to river Cauvery and falls on the 18th day in Aadi month. People make lemon rice, coconut rice, puliotharai and vadai and eat them on the river banks. In some parts of Salem, families gather in open space and stuff empty coconut shells with dal, rice and jaggery. They then bake the contents in the fire created by burning coconut fibre
Aadi Pooram (August 5) – Pooram is said to be the birthstar of goddess Amman; hence the day is dedicated to Andal
Varalakshmi Puja (August 12) – Worship of Goddess Lakshmi