| Pongal | |
|---|---|
 Pongal dish cooked for the occasion of the festival | |
| Observed by | PrimarilyTamil Hindus inIndia,Sri Lanka,Malaysia,United States,Indonesia,Mauritius,Singapore,UK,South Africa,Canada,Australia,Gulf countries |
| Type | Hindu[1][2] |
| Significance | Harvest festival. Thanking theSun God for agricultural abundance, and celebration of cattle. |
| Celebrations | Preparation ofPongal, decorations, home coming, prayers, processions, gift giving[3] |
| Date | Last day of the ninthTamil calendar month ofMargazhi (Bhogi) First day of the tenth month ofThai (Thai Pongal) and next one or two days (Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal) |
| 2025 date | 13-16 January[4] |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | Makar Sankranti,Magh Bihu,Uttarayana,Maghi,Maghe Sankranti,Shakrain |
Pongal is a multi-dayHinduharvest festival celebrated byTamils. The festival is celebrated over three or four days, which are namedBhogi, Thai Pongal,Mattu Pongal andKaanum Pongal, beginning on the last day of theTamil calendar month ofMargazhi, and observed on consecutive days. Thai Pongal is observed on the first day of the Tamil calendar month ofThai and usually falls on 14 or 15 January in theGregorian calendar.
According to tradition, the festival marks the end ofwinter solstice, and the start of the Sun's six-month-long journey northwards calledUttarayana when the Sun entersCapricorn. It is dedicated to thesolar deitySurya and corresponds toMakar Sankranti, the Hindu observance celebrated under various regional names across theIndian subcontinent.
The festival is named after the ceremonial "Pongal", which means "boiling over" or "overflow" inTamil language and refers to the traditionaldish prepared by boiling rice withmilk andjaggery. Mattu Pongal is meant for celebration ofcattle, and the cattle are bathed, their horns polished and painted in bright colors with garlands of flowers placed around their necks and processions on the day. The festival is traditionally an occasion for decorating with rice-powder basedkolam artworks, offering prayers at home, visiting temples, getting together with family and friends, and exchanging gifts to renew social bonds of solidarity.
Pongal is also referred to asTamizhar thirunal ("the festival of Tamil people") and is one of the major festivals celebrated by the Tamil people across various religions. It is observed by theTamil diaspora in the Indian state ofTamil Nadu, parts ofSouth India,Sri Lanka and other parts of the world with significant Tamil population.
Thai Pongal is a combination of twoTamil language words:Thai (Tamil: 'தை') referring to the tenth month of theTamil calendar andPongal (frompongu) meaning "boiling over" or "overflow." Pongal also refers to a sweetdish ofrice boiled withmilk andjaggery that is ritually prepared and consumed on the day.[5] It is also referred to asTamizhar thirunal ("the festival of Tamil people").[6]
The principal theme of Pongal is thanking the Sun godSurya, the forces of nature, and thefarm animals andpeople who support agriculture. The festival is mentioned in an inscription found at theVeeraraghava Swamy Temple. Attributed to theChola kingKulottunga I (1070–1122 CE), the inscription describes a grant of land to the temple for celebrating the annual Pongal festivities.[7] The ninth centuryShaivaBhakti textTiruvempavai byManikkavacakar details the festival.[7] It appears inTamil texts and inscriptions with variant spellings such asponakam,tiruponakam, andponkal. Temple inscriptions from the Chola andVijayanagara periods detail recipes similar topongal recipes of the modern era with variations in seasonings and relative amounts of the ingredients. The termsponakam,ponkal and its prefixed variants might also indicate the festive pongal dish as aprasadam (religious offering) which were given as a part of the meals served by free community kitchens inSouth Indian Hindu temples either as festival food or to pilgrims every day.[8]
Pongal is a multi-dayHinduharvest festival celebrated byTamils.[1][5][9] The three days of the Pongal festival are calledBhogi, Thai Pongal, andMattu Pongal.[10] Some Tamils celebrate a fourth day of Pongal known as Kanum Pongal.[9] While the festival is observed for three or four days inTamil Nadu, but for one or two days in urban locations and by theTamil diaspora outsideSouth Asia.[1][9]
Bhogi marks the first day of the Pongal festivities and is celebrated on the last day of theTamil calendar monthMarghazhi.[7] On this day people discard old belongings and celebrate new possessions. The people assemble and light a bonfire in order to burn the heaps of discards.[11] Houses are cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look.[10] Prayers are offered toIndra, the king of Gods with thanks and hopes for plentiful rains in the year ahead.[10] Kaappu kattu is a tradition of tying leaves ofAzadirachta indica,Senna auriculata andAerva lanata in the roofs of houses and residential areas that is widely practiced in theKongu Nadu region.[12][13] Bhogi is observed on the same day in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu,Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh andTelangana.[14] Fruits of the harvest are collected along with flowers of the season and a mixture of treats along with money is given to children, who then separate and collect the money and sweet fruits.[15]
Thai Pongal is the main festive day, celebrated on the next day of Bhogi.[10][11] It is observed on the first day of the Tamil calendar month ofThai, and usually falls on 14 or 15 January as per theGregorian calendar.[3] It is dedicated to theSun deitySurya and corresponds toMakar Sankranti, the harvest festival under various regional names celebrated throughout India.[16][17][18] According to tradition, the festival marks the end ofwinter solstice, and the start of the sun's six-month-long journey northwards when the sun enters theCapricorn, also called asUttarayana.[1]
Dedicated to Surya, it is celebrated with family and friends with new clothes worn and the preparation of the traditional pongal dish in an earthen pot.[9] The pot is typically decorated by tying a turmeric plant or flower garland and placed in the sun along withsugarcane stalks.[9] The homes are decorated with banana and mango leaves, decorative florals and kolams.[9] Relatives and friends are invited and when the pongal starts to boil and overflow out of the vessel, participants blow aconch or make sounds while shouting "Pongalo Pongal" ("may this rice boil over").[19] In rural areas, people sing traditional songs while the pongal dish is cooking.[5] The Pongal dish is first offered to Surya andGanesha, and then shared with the gathered friends and family.[20] People traditionally offer prayers to the sun in the open and then proceed to eat their meal.[21] A community Pongal is an event where families gather at a public place for a ceremonial worship.[22][23]
Mattu Pongal ("Madu" meaning cow in Tamil) is the third day of the festival meant for the celebration ofcattle.[5] The cattle is regarded as sources of wealth as it is a means fordairy products andfertilizers, used fortransportation and agriculture.[9][21] The cattle are bathed, their horns are polished and painted in bright colors with garlands of flowers placed around their necks and taken for processions.[24] Some decorate their cows withturmeric water and applyshikakai andkumkuma to their foreheads. The cattle are fed sweets including pongal, jaggery, honey, banana and other fruits. People may prostrate before them with words of thanks for the help with the harvest.[21]
Kanum Pongal or Kanu Pongal is the fourth day of the festival and marks the end of Pongal festivities for the year.[25] The wordkanum in the context means "to visit" and families hold reunions on this day. Communities organize social events to strengthen mutual bonds and consume food and sugarcane during social gatherings.[10][26] Young people visit elders to pay respects and seek blessings, with elders giving gifts to the visiting children.[10][27]
Pongal is traditionally an occasion for decorating, offering prayers in the home, temples, getting together with family and friends, and exchanging gifts to renew social bonds of solidarity.[3][28] It is viewed more as a "social festival" since the contemporary celebrations do not necessarily link it to temple rituals.[9] Temples and cultural centers organize the ritual cooking of Pongal dish, along with fairs (Pongal mela) with handicrafts, crafts, pottery, sarees, ethnic jewelry for sale. These sites hold traditional community sports such asUri Adithal ("breaking a hanging mud pot while blindfolded"),Pallanguzhi andKabbadi, as well as group dance and music performances in major cities and towns.[29][30]
The festival is marked with colorfulkolam artwork. Kolam is a form of traditional decorative art that is drawn by usingrice flour often along with natural or synthetic color powders.[31] It includes geometrical line drawings composed of straight lines, curves and loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots.[32]
The festival is named after the "Pongal" dish, which forms the festival's most significant practice. The dish is prepared by boiling freshly harvestedrice incow milk and rawcane sugar.[1] Additional ingredients such ascoconut andghee along with spices such ascardamom,raisins andcashews are also used.[8][10] The cooking is done in aclay pot that is often garlanded with leaves or flowers, sometimes tied with a piece of turmeric root. It is either cooked at home, or in community gatherings such as in temples or village open spaces.[8][33] The cooking is done in sunlight, usually in a porch or courtyard and the dish is dedicated to the Sun god, Surya. After it is traditionally offered to the gods and goddesses first, followed sometimes by cows, then to friends and family gathered.[34] Temples and communities organize free kitchen prepared by volunteers to all those who gather.[3][35] Portions of the sweet pongal dish (Sakkarai Pongal) are distributed as theprasadam in temples.[10]
The dish and the process of its preparation is a part of the symbolism, both conceptually and materially.[5][28] It celebrates the harvest and the cooking symbolizes the transformation of the gift ofagriculture into nourishment for the gods and the community on a day that when the sun god is believed to start the journey north.[5] The dish "boiling over" is believed to symbolically mark the blessing byParvati.[33] It is the ritual dish, along with many other courses prepared from seasonal foods for the gathering.
The day marks a ritual visit to nearby temples where communities hold processions by parading icons from the sanctum of the temple in wooden chariots, drama-dance performances encouraging social gatherings and renewal of community bonds.[21] Other events during Pongal include community sports and games such asJallikattu or bull fighting.[21] Jallikattu is a traditional event held during the period attracting huge crowds in which a bull is released into a crowd of people, and multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull's back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape.[36] Kanu Pidi is a tradition observed on Mattu Pongal by women and young girls where they place a leaf of turmeric plant outside their home, and feed pongal dish and food to the birds, particularlycrow and pray for their brothers' well being.[9][21] Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their filial love.[10]
Pongal is observed by Tamil community inKerala, and it is a local holiday inIdukki,Palakkad,Pathanamthitta,Thiruvananthapuram, andWayanad districts.[37] InAttukal Temple near Thiruvanathapuram,Attukal Pongala is celebrated in the month of February–March.[38][39] This similarly named celebration ofPongala includes dance (Kathakali) and musical performances, and processions featuring the temple goddess.[40]
InKarnataka, the festival is celebrated over several days similar to Pongal, and the dish prepared is called "ellu". Decorations and social visits are common during the festivities.[41] Pongal festivities coincide with Makara Sankranthi,Maghi andBihu celebrated across various parts of India.[42][43][44]
In Sri Lanka, Pongal is celebrated by theSri Lankan Tamils and the Pongal festivities last two days, essentially focused on Thai Pongal day. The custom of cooking Pukkai, a dish similar to Pongal, and made ofred rice,mung beans and milk, is carried out on the first day.[45][46][47]
Pongal is one of the major festivals celebrated by Tamil people across various religions in Tamil Nadu.[48][49] It is also celebrated in other parts ofSouth India,[50] and is a major Tamil festival inSri Lanka.[51] It is observed by the Tamil diaspora worldwide,[52][53] including those inMalaysia,[54]Mauritius,[55]South Africa,[56]Singapore,[57]United States,[58]United Kingdom,[59]Canada,[60] and theGulf countries.[61] In 2017, DelegateDavid Bulova introduced a joint resolution HJ573 in theVirginia House of Delegates to designate January 14 of each year as Pongal Day.[58]
It is now viewed by an increasing number of people as a symbol of all that is local and indigenous to Tamilnad. In many quarters it is celebrated today as thamizhar thirunal: the day auspicious to Tamils.
Christians in Tamil Nadu use their common native language which is Tamil. In dress, food habits, social customs and relationships, common festivals, and so on, Christianity in Tamil Nadu has a shared identity of its own with all the people of the State. Many Christians are well-versed in Tamil music which is profusely used in their worship or celebration of cultural events. Festivals like Pongal are celebrated together. There are paradigms of inculturation.
