Friday 4 May 2018

Thiruvāthira Vratham

Thiruvāthira Vratham/तिरुवातिरा व्रतम् is like the Karvā Chauth of north India. But the rituals are completely different. According to the Malayalam calendar, this day falls on the Thiruvāthira star of Dhanu month. Thiruvathira star is known as Ārdrā in Sanskrit. Unmarried Malayali Nair girls observe this fast to get a good husband and married Nair women observe this fast for the good health and long life of their husbands. Thiruvathira is also believed to be the birthday of Lord Shiva.The rituals of Thiruvāthira Vratham are as follows,

Thutichu kuli(तुटिच्चु कुळि)

Thutichu kuli starts ten days before Thiruvāthira. On the day of Thiruvāthira, girls and young women wake up at 2:00 am, that is before sunrise and go to Temple Pond. There they immerse the half of their bodies and stand in a circle. Then they sing a devotional song on Lord Shiva and Devi Pārvathi. While singing, they make sound with hands by hitting the hands together just below the surface of the water, with left-hand kept fisted and right-hand open. This ritual is called Thutichu kuli. The sound made by hitting the hands is taken as the music for this devotional song. The first line of this devotional song is as follows "Bhagavān thante thirunāl allo, Bhagavathikku thirunombu allo. Unnaruthe.Urangaruthe.(भगवान् तन्त्टे तिरुनाळ् अल्लो, भगवतीक्क तिरुनोम्ब अल्लो. उण्णरुते. उरंगरुते.)." It means "for God(Lord Shiva) it is the birthday, for Goddess(Devi Pārvathi) it is the sacred fasting day. Please do not eat. Please do not sleep."   

Offering prayers at the Temple 

After the Thutichu kuli ritual, women take bath and get dressed. They also wear homemade kohl or Kājal in their eyes, put Bhasma, sandalwood paste and Kumkum on their forehead and adorn their hair with Dashapushpam. Dashapushpam are the ten important flowers worn by women on the day of Thiruvāthira and these flowers are also used to decorate Goddess Bhagavathi on the Month of Karkitaka. Dasha means ten and Pushapam means flower(s). The Dashapusham are Thiruthaali, Cheroola, Puvvamkurunnilla, Kayyonni, Nilappana, Mukkutti, Uzhinja, Karuka, Muyal Cheviyan and Vishnukranthi. And after that they chew Murukkān. Murukkān is peeled and chopped arecanuts wrapped with beetel leaves. After chewing Murukkān, they visit the Temple. Unmarried women pray to get good husband and married women pray for the good health and long lives of their husbands. 

Food 

After coming back to home, women prepare regular food for other family members and fasting dishes for them. Only vegetarian food is prepared on this day. Women who are taking Vratham or fast do not eat rice dishes. Dishes are made from broken wheat and Ettangādi Kizhangu(एट्टगांडि किष्ज्यगं). The term "Ettangādi Kizhangu" means "tubers of eight markets". They are eight different types of tubers used in Thiruvāthira recipes. 

Thiruvāthirakkali/तिरुवातिराक्कळि

After having lunch women perform Thiruvāthirakkali in the front courtyard of their house. Thiruvāthirakkali is a typical folk dance performed by women on the day of Thiruvathira and they perform it in front of their family members only. This dance is performed around a lit Vilakku(traditional Kerala lamp). Most of the songs used in Thiruvāthirakkali are devotional songs. The types of Thiruvāthirakkali are, 

1) Kaikottikkali/कइकोट्टिक्कळि - Kai means hand, kottuka means clapping and kali means performance. This this dance is performed by clapping the hands. It is also known as "clap dance" in English.

2) Kummi/कुम्मि - Kummi is the faster version of Kaikottikkali. 

3) Kinnamkali/किण्णम्कळि - Kinnamkali is performed by holding steel plates in the palms of both hands. It is an astonishing dance because in some steps the palms are turned downwards for 2-3 seconds but the plates never fall down.  

4) Pinnal Thiruvāthira/पिन्नल् तिरुवातिरा - In Pinnal Thiruvathira, Vilakku is not lit in the center. Long ropes are tied together above on a support. Number of ropes will be equal to the number of women. Women encircle around the ropes, each and every one of them hold a rope in one hand and start performing this dance. Sometimes women hold a plate in another hand.