In April (the month of Bak) the islanders (Sri
Lankans) celebrate their National New Year Aluth Avurudhu in Sinhala and
Puththandu in Tamil. The sun moving from the Meena Rashiya (House of Pisces) to the
Mesha Rashiya (House of Aries) signals the dawning of the Sinhala/Tamil New
Year. However, unlike the usual practice where the new year begins at
midnight, the National New Year begins at the time determined by the
astrologers. Not only the beginning of the new year but the conclusion of
the old year is also specified by the astrologers. And unlike the customary
ending and beginning of new year, there is a period of a few hours in
between the conclusion of the Old Year and the commencement of the New Year
, which is called the nona gathe (neutral period). During this time one is
expected to keep off from all types of work and engage solely in religious
activities.
April is the month of reveal
and revelry, the most intoxicating of the 12 months of the year, when Lanka
and her people of the prepare to celebrate new beginning in harmony with
mother nature. It is the season of the
Avuruddha, the annual new year celebration by the Sinhala and Tamil people
of the island, a great national festival which has persisted in all its
traditional glory for no less than 2,000 years. Recognized officially and observed
countrywide as the National New Year, the celebrations take seven days,
varying only slightly from the age old venerable traditions which are still
observed to the letter by Sri Lankan's of all ages and social background.
Perhaps one of the remaining
authentic folk celebrations in the world, the avuruddha stands as a
monument to a people whose lives, to a large extent, still revolve around
the grace of mother nature and her most domineering subject, the sun.
The traditions new year celebrations in mid-April originated as a harvest
thanks giving, the high-point of the annual production cycle. Interwoven
closely with the first astrological phase of the sun, it is timed to coincide with the first
partakings of the season's blessings, namely rice.
Astronomically, it is celebrated on the day on which the sun passes from
Meena Rashiya (Pisces) to Mesha Rashiya (Aries), when Sihalese and Tamils
bid farewell to the year passed an usher in a brand new one with prayers,
meritorious deeds, traditional observations and seemingly unending
celebrations.
The new year falls on the 13th or 14th day of April, preceded by at least
two weeks of preparations, devoted largely to shopping and the making of a
hundred-and-one varieties of sweetmeats. Schools have their holidays during
the month of April, so children are often the willing helpers in and around
home, getting the household ready for the eventful day.
Over the years, Sri Lanka too has become commercial minded, this factor
being symbolized each year around this time with shops and sidewalks densely
packed with every imaginable item deemed necessary for having a jolly good
time.
Cloths play an important part in the holiday buying-spree, tradition carried
through once again, for in the past, it was after the harvest that a family
received new clothes. It is still customary for each member of the family to
receive at least one suit of clothes to mark the occasion.
The Avuruddha is heralded by the constant lighting of fire crackers and the
unmistakable call of the koel bird, populary known as the koha which coos
only once a year-at this time.
Pay some attention to the multitude of sweet aromas flowing from country
kitchens, which get crowded with clattering damsels preparing an assortment
of coconut oil-based sweetmeats, which are high on the traditional holiday
menu.
The day prior to the Sinhala and Tamil New year is one of anticipation. City
bus and train stations are crowded with people in a hurry to get to their
homes. Most people return to their ancestral homes, obviously with a longing
to celebrate the holidays in much the same way they did as children.
Cooking is completed, the hearth cleaned, fires extinguished, with fresh
pots and pans now awaiting the preparation of the first meal of the new
year. The ensuing period, astrologically prescribed is a time for complete
relaxation. All activities are suspended and a lull ensues, as a nation
waits for the dawning of the new year.
The new year approaches with a pre-determined time for pre -paring the
ceremonial first meal. Dressed in the year's lucky colour, facing the
auspicious, as the thunder of fire crackers, as housewives prepare a dish of
Kiribath made from the first batch of the
year's harvest of rice.
Kiribath or milk rice , is Sri
Lanka's quintessential festive food; an unsweetened rice pudding cooked in
cream of coconut and placed reverently at the head of the table, right
benith an equally revered coconut oil lamp.
The whole family will sit for the first meel, soon after transacting some
business, referred to traditionally as ganudenu, or the act of receiving
and giving. The time now is at its most auspicious, so it is believed that
whatever is initiated at this time will undoubtedly yield fruits. Frames
will plant a tree, students will read a book, etc.
The clock-watching is now over. The next day or two will mark the most
joyous period of the year; playing, eating, drinking, merry making and
visiting relatives and loved ones.
There will be very few shops and restaurants open
during this time, with the whole country seeped in celebration. The fun and
frolic will continue till it is time for anointing with herbal oil, the
auspicious time which falls roughly about three days after the Avuruddha.
Hear, an adult member of the family will prepare a very special herbal oil
and anoint family members, with blessings for a wonderful year to come. with
it, Avurudhu comes to an end and Sri Lanka gets back to its normal pace of
life.
|