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These magical rituals of renewal

by Chamitha Kuruppu

Call it Aluth Avurudhu or Puththandu, in a few days' time Sri Lankans will celebrate the National New Year. Our own New Year that is not celebrated elsewhere in the world, is unique to Sri Lanka, a New Year that is suffused with all things auspicious.

Sri Lankans will make any excuse to return to their hometowns to be with their loved ones. This is a time for re-union.

The festival is celebrated to mark the Sun moving from Meena Rashiya to Mesha Rashiya. The Sinhala and Tamil New Year will not dawn at midnight as it happens all around the world, when the Gregorian New Year dawns. Astrologers will determine the auspicious dawn of the New Year.

The Prince of Peace, who controls thunder, lightening, wind and rain, is believed to come down to earth, bringing peace and happiness to mankind. Now, this is a pertinent question? Why do New Year rituals begin with the cleaning of the house? Probably because folks in the villages prepare for the week-long celebrations, while others flock to the city bus stands and railway stations to travel home to be a part of this national festival. Tired travellers are buoyed seeing a spanking new house however, as every humble abode is given a fresh new look.

Some happy folks in the peripheries prepare sweetmeats, such as kevum, kokis, atirasa, aggala, aluva, and asmi while others in the urban jungle buy them. Usually New Year's day is believed to begin somewhere between April 13 and 15. The New Year will dawn at an auspicious time determined by the movement of the sun and the stars in the heavens. Unlike the customary New Year, there is an astrological conclusion to the old year, and a difference of few hours between the old and the new. This neutral period is reserved for religious activity.

The New Year dawns at a pre-determined time for preparing the first meal. When the housewife prepares milk rice, the family members need to be dressed in the lucky colours of the year. The first meal is a family meal. Rituals galore, such as the exchanging of money, which is in a sense a wish for financial stability. The next day or two will involve playing games, eating, drinking, merry-making and visiting relatives and loved ones.

Approximately, about three days after the Avuruddha, the auspicious time will arrive for the first bath of the year. An adult member of the family will anoint the family members with specially prepared herbal oil.

With this ritual (and in a herbal sense at least, 'annual'.....) bath Avurudhu comes to an end and Sri Lanka gets back to its normal pace of life, which is almost phenomenal, considering that normal life comes to a full-stop for over ten days.

The real value of the Sinhala and Hindu New Year lies in its traditional way of celebrating the festival. It is in the villages that the New Year is celebrated with a passion, with festivities lasting many days after the 14th has come and gone.

Urbanization has made New Year a nostalgic make- believe exercise for urbanites. But in most parts of the country people still follow the old practices, and that's where this nation's heartland lies.

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