Pongal

About

Pongal is the harvest festival of the Tamil people. It is kept in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Sri Lanka and wherever Tamil families live. The name comes from the Tamil word pongu, which means to boil over or overflow. It refers to the pot of new rice and milk that is cooked on the main day and is allowed to rise and spill.

Pongal belongs to the Tamil solar calendar. It begins in the month of Thai, around the time the Sun enters Makara (Capricorn) and starts its northward journey. In practice this means the main day falls on around January 14 or 15 every year. The festival lasts four days: Bhogi, Thai Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal. Each has its own meaning.

Significance and stories

At its heart, Pongal is a thank-you. Farmers give thanks to the Sun for the light that ripens the crop, to the earth for its yield and to the cattle that work the fields. The first day, Bhogi, is linked in popular tradition with Indra, the lord of rain. The second is for Surya. The third honours cattle, and the fourth is for relatives and the community.

Several local stories are told about Pongal, and accounts differ from place to place. Many Tamil families simply say that Pongal is the festival of the harvest and of thanksgiving.

How to observe (puja vidhi)

1. Bhogi. On the day before the main festival, clean the house and clear out old and unused things. Some people light a small fire of old items at dawn, as a symbol of letting go. Where fire is not possible, simply donate what you no longer need.
2. Prepare the courtyard. On the main day, draw a kolam (a rice-flour design) at the door. Many families set up a place in the open, facing the sunrise.
3. Decorate the pot. Tie a fresh turmeric plant, with its leaves, around the neck of a new pot. Mark it with turmeric and kumkum.
4. Cook the Pongal. Pour water and milk in the pot and bring it to a boil. When the milk rises and spills, family members call out "Pongalo Pongal" and some blow a conch.
5. Add rice and jaggery. Add the new rice, moong dal and jaggery. Sweet Pongal (sakkarai pongal) is made with ghee, cashew nuts, raisins and cardamom.
6. Offer to the Sun. Place the cooked Pongal on a banana leaf, with sugarcane, bananas and betel leaves, and offer it facing the Sun with a lit lamp, camphor and a short prayer. Then share it.
7. Mattu Pongal. On the third day, thank the cattle. Wash and decorate them, and feed them rice, fruit and jaggery. Families without cattle may offer fruit to a cow at a temple.
8. Kaanum Pongal. On the fourth day, visit relatives and friends, and share a meal.

Traditions vary by family and region. Follow your own elders' custom.

Puja items (samagri)

• A new clay pot, or a clean brass or steel pot
• Fresh raw rice from the new harvest, moong dal, jaggery, milk and ghee
• Cashew nuts, raisins and cardamom
• Turmeric plant (a fresh turmeric root with leaves), if you can find one
• Sugarcane stalks and bananas
• Banana leaves
• Turmeric, kumkum, flowers and betel leaves with betel nut
• Rice flour and coloured powders for the kolam
• An oil lamp, camphor and incense

Fasting and food

Pongal is a feast, not a fast. Many families eat only after the offering to the Sun, so the first meal may come late. This is a custom, not a rule. If you are pregnant, nursing, elderly or have a health condition, follow your doctor's advice and eat on time.

The main dishes are sweet Pongal and ven pongal, a savoury version made with pepper, cumin and ghee. The meal usually includes harvest vegetables and is traditionally vegetarian.

Regional customs

In Tamil Nadu, Pongal is among the largest family festivals of the year. Villages hold community cooking and games, and some places hold bull-taming events (jallikattu) on Mattu Pongal, a practice that is also publicly debated. In Sri Lanka, Tamil communities also keep Thai Pongal.

The same winter day is celebrated under other names elsewhere. Karnataka marks it as Makara Sankranti with the sharing of ellu-bella. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana keep Bhogi, Sankranti and Kanuma. Punjab has Lohri and Maghi. See the pages on Makar Sankranti and Lohri.

Celebrating in the USA

Pongal often falls on a working day. Many Tamil associations hold a community celebration on the nearest weekend, with a shared meal and kolam competitions. Check with a local temple or Tamil sangam.

At home, cook Pongal on the stove in a regular pot. Open fires are not allowed in most apartments, so do the Bhogi cleaning without a fire. Smoke alarms react to boiling milk and ghee, so use the exhaust fan and keep the pot in view. Draw the kolam on the front step or a tray with rice flour.

Indian grocery stores usually stock raw rice, jaggery, moong dal, banana leaves (often frozen), sugarcane and turmeric root. A piece of fresh turmeric root is a fine substitute for the plant. If the Sun is hidden, face a bright east window.