India Yankee 2 Do Festivals

By Abi Hooper

India is a country of countless festivals and barely a week goes by without some sort of celebration in Shyanubhoganahalli.

One of the biggest and most famous festivals here is Diwali and we have been lucky enough to experience this major Hindu festival in our villages. Diwali is known as the ‘festival of lights’. The story goes that Lord Rama, and his bride Sita were separated when Rama went to war and Sita was kidnapped by an evil monster named Ravan. When Rama heard the news he went looking for Sita with Hanuman. Rama and Hanuman defeated Ravan and freed Sita but when the three of them tried to make their way back to their village it was pitch dark, so the villagers all lit candles as a path for them to find their way.

Today Diwali is celebrated with candles because it is believed that the house with the brightest lights will attract Rama, Sita and Hanuman.

There were certainly some good contenders for the brightest house in our village. The whole of Shyanubhoganahalli was lit up and IY2 made our own contribution by decorating our accommodation building with candles and drawing a ‘rangoli’ pattern on the doorstep.

We also dressed up for the occasion: the girls bought saris and were whisked off by the women of the village to be transformed complete with bindis and flowers for our hair and the boys wore Indian ‘lungis’. Our new look was very well received by all the villagers as it was the first time many of them had seen us out of our construction gear and the girls actually looking like girls for once!

In the evening we were treated to impromptu firework displays around the village which were nerve-wracking at times but pretty spectacular. Diwali was definitely been one of the highlights of our time here so far and an experience that won’t be forgotten.

A more obscure festival ‘Ayyappan’ has also just come to and end in our village. This 12 day festival originates from Sabarimala, Kerala, where the God Ayyappan was born.

Legend has it that in Sabarimala, Ayyappan’s mother was very sick and the doctor said that she needed milk from a tiger to survive. A village meeting was arranged to summon someone to collect the milk and no one came forward.....except of course Ayyappan who went to the forest and bravely took on the female tiger to bring back the milk and his mother was saved.

The festival celebrating this story comes to Shaynubhoganahalli and the surrounding villages once a year. Some of the men from the village join together to obey certain rules such as bathing at 3am every morning in cold water, wearing the same orange cloth for the duration of the festival and abstaining from meat and dairy as well as physical contact with women. The men also pray every morning at 7am -8am and again in the evening between 7and 8pm. Much to IY2’s delight this was broadcasted on the loudspeakers located in the holy tree next to our accommodation. It went on for some hours every morning and evening along with various songs of worship. This all took place within a temporary temple built from branches and leaves.

On the last day of Ayyappan there was a big celebration starting at 4am when the men taking part walked on a bed of hot burning coals with nearly the whole village turning out to watch. The group witnessed the spectacle first hand going down to the canal very early. After a dramatic build up with chanting and drums, the fire walking was led by a man dressed as Ayyappan in a pink silk costume with bells on his ankles who effortlessly danced across first, followed by about 15-20 others. This is by far the most incredible thing any of us have seen since coming here in Shyanubhoganahalli.

 When it was over ‘Ayyappan’ and his followers lead a precession back to the village carrying a huge wooden statue of Mahadeshwaram the Tiger God, our Team Leader Sunil being one of them. When we got back to the village we were still reeling with excitement form what we had just seen and needed some chai to bring us back down to earth! The same evening a feast of nice sambar and dessert served to the whole village from supersized cooking pots. Hundreds of villagers snaked round the temple eating together. It was noted among the UK volunteers that this kind of community gathering is a rare sight back home and we were all touched by the sense of community spirit.

That said, when Ayyappan came to an end IY2 were not at all sad to say goodbye to the early morning loudspeaker wake-up calls but felt privileged to have experienced such an extraordinary festival.

 Although the UK volunteers are looking forward to Christmas at home (decorations are already up at camp IY2 and Christmas songs are constantly hummed) nothing can quite compare to the festivals we have been enjoying in Shyanubhoganahalli.