Ponggal by Selvarajah

Ponggal is a Hindu festival which falls in the middle of January. For the year 2003 Ponggal falls on 15th January. For Kuala Lumpur 7.00 a.m. is supposed to be an auspicious time to do the Ponggal.

Ponggal is a "thanks giving" festival for a good harvest. The main feature of this festival is the boiling of milk in a clay pot until it overflows when the family members gathered round the pot shout, "Ponggal Oh Ponggal" and add rice to it. In tamil Ponggal means boiling and overflowing.

In Tamil Nadu in India and Jaffana in Sri Lanka where a substantial portion of the population is involved in farming it is celebrated on a grand scale. Malaysian Indians too celebrate Ponggal but it was a less known hindu festival then Deepavali or Thaipusam.

My parents did not come out to Malaya as farmers but they still continued to celebrate ponggal as their parents did in Jaffana. Since my grandparents farms were individually owned, ponggal was a family affair and once the ponggal was over they continued with their normal routine It was a community affair and more elaborate in farms owned by Landlords. The ponggal was held centrally at the manor house and presents and entertainment was provided for the farm hands. Lately there is a certain amount of political and publicity influence in Malaysia and there is a tendency for estate workers from a few estates to jointly celebrate it in one of the estates with speeches by prominent people and call it "peoples ponggal".

On the day of the Ponggal, everyone must bath and get dressed before sunrise. A kolam is drawn and the ponggal pot is set up within the kolam which must be in direct view of the sun. Once the ponggal is ready the first portion of the rice porridge is made as offering and the remainder is then shared by the family and others present at the ponggal.

People who own cattle also celebrate "Mattu Ponggal" on the following day.

 Updated 12th Jan 2003