Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 613

THE LAST DAY OF PONGUL
573
sun).
In fact the feast appears to be specially dedicated
The married women first of all bathe with
to the sun.
their clothes on, and while still dripping wet put rice to
boil in milk on a fire in the open air.
As soon as it begins
to simmer, they all cry out together, Pongul, Pongul !
Pongul, Pongul ! Almost immediately afterwards they re-
move the vessel from the fire and place it before the idol
of Vigneshwara, to whom they offer a portion of the rice
another portion is given to the cows, and the rest is eaten
by the people of the house.
On this day Hindus again exchange visits. On meeting
Has the rice
each other the first words they say are
It has boiled.'
boiled ?
to which the answer is
It is
for this reason that the feast is called Pongul in the south
of India, the word being derived from pongedi in Telugu,
and pongaradu in Tamil, both signifying to boil.
The third day is called the Pongul of the cows. On this
day they put into a big vessel filled with water some saffron
powder, some seeds of the tree called parati, and some
leaves of the margosa-tree.
After mixing the ingredients
well together, they sprinkle the cows and the oxen with the
liquid, walking round them three times.
All the men of
the house (for the women are excluded from this ceremony)
then turn successively towards the four points of the com-
pass and perform the sashtanga, or prostration of the six
members, four times before the animals \
The horns of the cows are painted in various colours,
and round their necks are hung garlands of green leaves
interlaced with flowers.
On these garlands are hung cakes,
cocoanuts. and fruits, which, as they are shaken off by the
animals, are eagerly scrambled for and devoured, as though
they were sacred things, by the crowd following.
The cows are then driven together outside the town or
village, and are then made to scatter in all directions by
the aid of drums and noisy instruments.
On this day
cattle are allowed to graze everywhere without restraint
and no matter what damage they may do in the fields,
they are never driven away.
The idols are afterwards taken from the temples and
;
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:
'
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1
As already explained,
—Ed.
it is
prostration of the eight, not six members.