Sinhala and Hindu New Year:

Let's Celebration in harmony

It is just over three months ago that the entire world ushered in the New Year,(according to the Gregarian calendar) with much fanfare. Today we in Sri Lanka and a few other countries in the Asian region such as India, Myanmar, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and China are preparing to usher in yet another new year which is celebrated observing traditional customs and rituals. What is significant about the new year celebrated in April in our country is that it is common to the two major ethnic communities in our country. The Sinhalese and the Tamils welcome the New Year at an auspicious time and observe many common age-old rituals and customs which last for nearly a week.

The Sinhala and Hindu New Year which dawns on April 14 this year is of great significance because it is the first new year we are celebrating since the dawn of peace, in our Motherland, after nearly three decades of conflict It is a symbolic new year because it could be the platform to unite the two communities still healing from the scars of the suffering, destruction and bloodshed caused due to acts of terrorism by the LTTE, and the ethnic clashes that occurred from time to time.

The treasured dove of peace has finally alighted on our beloved Motherland which has been weeping tears of blood all these years. The auspicious time to bridge the ethnic divide and put behind us the traumatic experiences of that dark era has now come.

The new year which would dawn in another three days time should be looked upon by everyone as the uniting factor and ushered in with hearts filled with peace, love and brotherhood. Like the koel's melodious call, let the song of peace echo throughout our land uniting us as one nation.

Many of you must be already in high spirits, preparing for the coming festival with your parents and family members. The fragrant scent of erabadu flowers which blossom around this time of the year may not perfume the air of the heart of cities, which are virtually concrete jungles, but it certainly would add a refreshing smell to the already purified air in the environs of villages.

The song of the koel which heralds in the new year is also more audible in the villages where the age-old traditions of this rich festival are still kept alive.

If you happen to be a city person with no links to a village to visit during the coming festival, don't fail to pay attention to any form of publicity (either in the print or electronic media) that centres around the rich traditional customs and rituals of the new year.. The festival speaks volumes for our glorious cultural heritage. In this hi-tech cyberspace world, most of our traditional customs, rituals, arts and even our values are dying out.

Even though the hustle and bustle of life in this modern world give us no space or time to practise many of these traditions, especially connected with the new year, we could certainly educate ourselves about them, and hold on to them as best as we could, without letting them go into oblivion. Celebrate the new year wearing a radiant smile on your face, a joyous song of love in your heart and an open mind atuned to peace and harmony.

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Some traditional 'n' customs

* The entire new year festival is governed by time. No celebrations start or end outside of the auspicious times given by astrologers. These auspicious times or nekath as they are known in vernacular (local langauge) are determined by the astrologers according to the planetary movements. Auspicious times are part and parcel of some people's lives especially in the villages. Everything from birth to death is done according to these nekath.

The astrologer or nekath rala as he was known had a place of honour among village folk. When the new year season dawns, the nekath rala was given pride of place.

Visiting him laden with the best of produce from one's own fields and Avurudhu delicacies was a must. Today this may be observed only in some parts of the country as astrology is widely practised and giving auspicious times for the new year festival or any other activity is no longer confined to a nekath rala.

* Preparing the hearth for the new year is also an age-old custom that is still practised in many villages. Usually it is carried out by the mother and in the event there are daughters-in-law they too join her in this chore. What is generally done is, clay mixed with cow-dung is applied over the hearth which is cleaned of all the ash prior to this. As more than one hearth is normally used for cooking, once the cow-dung is applied and the hearths are ready, one new hearth is reserved to cook the traditional new year meal while the others are used to do the day-to-day cooking.

In several villages in the North Western Province, the ash from the hearth is placed in a winnowing fan (kulla) and kept outside the house until the dawn of the new year.

The ritual of saving the old ash from the hearth is done because of a belief that a mythical character called the alu bokka will eliminate all the bad effects and take away evil spirits from the house.

* Visiting in-laws and relatives is a must during the new year. In older times people used to carry loads of gifts such as fresh produce from their home gardens and cultivations, paddy from the fields and other home-made products especially when they visited their in-laws . In return the visitors too were given many gifts to take back with them.

* A custom which is observed in some parts of the country, especially in the South is ganu-denu or transactions with the well. As water is considered sacred, the well which provides the water for the village folk is also considered sacred and the first transaction is done with the well. A few coins wrapped in a piece of clean cloth along with a little kiribath and some flowers is put into the well. Then the first bucket of water is drawn.

* Anointing the head with oil made using specially prescribed leaves for that year is another important custom. Did you know that just as people are anointed with oil during a new year, even elephants kept in temples or at home are anointed with oil?

* Games - who celebrates the new year without playing various traditional games? There are certain games that are played specially during the new year season. Pancha and olinda keliya, pora pol gehima, raban gehima, gudu panima and onchili padeema or going on gaily decorated swings are very popular among them.

* Offering a sheaf of betel leaves and worshipping elders as a mark of respect is traditional and specially observed during the new year. A typical bulath atha comprises forty leaves but this number is rarely adhered to, today. There is a special way to offer it and worship. The sheaf should be given with both hands, with the stems towards the receiver.

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Fast facts

* In Tamil the new year is referred to as Chittirai varushapirappu and in Sinhala it is called the aluth avurudda .

* When the Sun moves from the Meena Rashiya (House of Pisces) to the Mesha Rashiya (House of Aries) the new year dawns.

* The nonagathaya is the period between the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year. All work ceases during this time and people usually indulge in religious observances during this time.

* Cooking milk rice or kiribath at the auspicious time is a tradition a majority of people observe todate. In the hill country, especially in Kandy, a delicacy called the hath maluwa that has seven different flavours is cooked during the avurudhu season.

The Hindus prepare sakkara pongal and other special sweetmeats at new year.

* According to the almanac or the Wakkia panjangam in Tamil, this year is called Vikirthi. The almanac is called the Panchanga litha in Sinhala.

* It was a belief that if we eat hot oil cakes or kavum just out from the pan, the evil spirits will come into our souls. There were 18 kinds of oil cakes made in the past and some of them were sedhi kavum which are oil cakes made using the spoon, utupu kavum, made with a coconut shell and ulundu kevum apart from the konde kevum which is popular even today.

* Auspicious colours are determined by the day on which the new year dawns because each day has a presiding planet which has its own colour.

According to astrological predictions the colour for Sunday is copper, Monday-pearl white, Tuesday-red, Wednesday-green, Thursday-gold, Friday-multi-colour and Saturday-black and blue. This year's colour will be green (pachcha in Sinhala)

*A herbal water called maruthu neer made in the kovil is applied by the Hindus when they bathe during Vishu punya kalaya , before the new year dawns.