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Thiruvathira
Thiruvatira is the women's festival of Kerala. It is celebrated in the
Malayalam month of Dhanu. The popular conception of this festival is that it is
the commemoration of the death of Kamadevan; the cupid of our national
mythology.
Kamadevan was destroyed in the burning fire of the third eye
of Lord Siva; one of the chief members of our Divine Trinity. Hence he
is now supposed as having only an ideal or spiritual existence. He exerts
a powerful influence upon the passions of human nature. In earlier days,
the festival used to be celebrated as follows: About  a
week before the festival practically opens, at about 4 in the morning
every young female member of the Nair families, gets out of her bed and
takes her bath in the pond. A fairly large number of these young ladies
collect themselves in the pond for the purpose. Then they plunge into
the water and begin to take part in the singing. One of them then leads
off by means of a peculiar rhythmic song chiefly pertaining to cupid.
The singing is simultaneously accompanied by a curious sound produced
with the hand on the water. The palm of the left hand is closed and kept
immediately underneath the surface of the water. Then the palm of the
other is forcibly brought in the slanting direction producing a deep loud
noise. This process is continuously prolonged together with the singing.
One stanza is over, along with the sound and then the leader stops a while,
for the others to follow her in her wake. This continues until the conclusion
of the song. Then all of them make a long pause and then begin another.
The process goes on until the peep of the dawn, when they rub themselves
dry and come home to dress themselves in the neatest and grandest possible
attire. They darken the fringes of their eyelids with a sticky preparation
of soot mixed up with a little oil or ghee and sometimes with a
superficial coating of antimony powder. They also wear white, black or
red marks, lower down the middle of their foreheads close to the part
where the two eyebrows near one another. They chew betel and thus redden
their mouth and lips.
Then they proceed to the enjoyment of another
prominent item known as Oonjal (swing). A long bamboo piece is taken and cut from
the root end of it leaving the other end whole untouched. Then the two holes are bored. One on the cut end of each one of the two parts into which the
bamboo is split. A small piece of the same, material about a yard in length is
divided along the gain in two equal parts. One of these is taken and its both
ends are cut into points which are thrust into the holes of the long bamboo piece. This is securely nailed and strongly attached to the long bamboo.
It is then hung by a very tight strong rope to a horizontal branch of the
neighbouring tree. Then the player seats herself on the small piece attached between the split positions which are firmly held by her two hands. The whole
thing is propelled upwards by someone from behind. The ladies drive immense
pleasure from their process of swinging backwards and forwards.
On the festival day, they take a morning bath and in the noon a grand lunch
is served. The essential
ingredients of it is being ordinary ripe plantain fruits and a delicious
preparation of arrow-root powder purified and mixed with jaggery or sugar and
also coconut. The women spend the whole night singing and dancing.
Thiruvathirakali
also known as Kaikottikkali is a dance in which a group of women dance in
a circle around a lighted brass lamp. They are dancing to the rhythms of the
songs they sing. They wear the traditional dress, consisting of two pieces,
dhoti and an upper garment across the breast and look elegant and sprightly for
the game. The leader of the group sings the first line which is repeated by the
group to the simple rhythm of clapping hands. There are many songs which are
exclusively sung as Tiruvathira songs, popular Kathakali songs are also
included. The kinetic phrases are so simple that any new comer easily gets
initiated to the game. This dance form had been keeping its basic posture for
centuries. The bent of the body, hand movements and dance gestures are common to the
region.
'Ettangadi chuduka' is an important ritualistic act of women. On this
day, eight different tubers are roasted in the fire. Through this
ritual, it is believed that Kamadeva's body represented by the tubers is regained. This delicious
preparation known as Thiruvathirappuzhukku, a special dish prepared by these
tubers forms the main item for lunch. In some places, women spend the whole
day taking no food except this preparation. The night long music and dance is interspersed
with a ceremony called Patirappoo choodal. It is a ritualistic
wearing of flowers at midnight. An image of Shiva is placed in the centre of the
courtyard in front of lighted brass lamp where flowers, plantains, and jaggery
are offered to the deity. The women perform the dance around the image and each
participant adorns a few flowers from the offering and have the arrowroot preparation of
puzhukku and tender coconut milk, which are the items of the food.
The morning bath during the season while the climate is extremely cold make
the women's body cool and composed. Apart from the religious significance of the
day, the women of Kerala enjoy good exercise and entertainment on this day. After
the midnight, ritual of adorning with flowers, the dance and music continue till
sunrise. The participants take the morning ablution and with it they conclude
the festival.
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