Just the other evening a few of our classmates met after a wondrous gap of 50 years. Somewhere in the melee a friend remarked – you Kodavas are less than 100,000 in numbers and yet make a remarkable presence in Society. Discussions followed with comparisons to the Parsis who are equally unique and distinguished in all walks of life.
So what makes a Kodava special? Perhaps it’s our culture and definitely in the past noted for integrity, honour, honesty, hard work, hospitality and great leadership qualities. The community was ahead of their times in the role and equal status of women, “inclusive” in everything they did in terms of sharing with other communities in Kodagu – observed during festivals – especially Puthari.
Recent events where a lawyer tried in vain and got caught in a dastardly and deceitful crime of sowing seeds of causing communal strife – was exposed with the Administration promising to take the severest punishment – the Kodavas acted with surprising maturity relying on wise counsel within the community. While justice will take its own course, this auspicious occasion of Puthari should be used as the perfect time to heal differences, promote interdependence and act as “one”. The future of Kodagu depends on collaborative efforts and not divisive forces taking the upper hand. I particularly like the last few lines in the previous post – Puthari is the most important festival for Kodavas, where all communities come together to celebrate. Paradanda Subramani Kaverappa expressed hope that this much needed community building festivities will continue in the true Kodavaame spirit of celebrating Puthari as a Community.
As we know – “It takes years for a tree to grow again, or for that matter for a forest to regenerate. but once it’s done the landscape is beautiful”.
This Puthari let’s build the foundation for the Kodagu that we knew of pre -1956, when through a series of misevents we lost our statehood. Let’s move forward with determination to reaffirm the Kodava way of life as it used to be, inclusive of all communities that dance together in our festivals, spoke the language, wore a common attire, shared an unique cuisine – what more could we ask for this Puthari?
Music Credit: The Unknown Publisher of the Video on Social Media.
Please share and send your stories on Puthari, with images, videos, anecdotes. CLN would be delighted to publish it – afterall this is the spirit with which Puthari is meant to be celebrated.
I read the Puthari related news items on Coffeeland News and am in alignment with what Pardanda Subramani has to say. The editorial message from Anil Kuttappa is the right message to share amongst all communities residing in Kodagu – especially those who have lived here from time immemorial and with great kinship and interdependence.
We should not tolerate divisive forces be it deceitful human elements or vested political manoeuvring. We should stand united as inhabitants of Kodagu. We share a common culture and for those who have their roots firmly in the land – we’ve spoken a common language, shared similar food habits, traditional dress/jewellery, customs and celebrated the festivals with bonhomie. Most of all we have always held Pommale Kodagu as an extraordinarily special and sacred land which our ancestors have passed on to us over generations.
I hope these cherished values will be celebrated, respected and bonds strengthened during the next couple of weeks as a foundation for continued peaceful coexistence.”
As we explore, observe, participate, and expand our views, it’s important to recognize the elements of cultural influence – _who we are and how we relate to the land around us._ Expanding our understanding of the world starts with understanding our identity and how our cultural values influence our views of the world.
Culture is a set of norms and values that we may not even know we have because we learn them as part of growing up in a group that shares them. What we call Kodava culture has undoubtedly evolved and has been influenced by – in our case – a lot from other Dravidian cultures from Tulunadu, Kerala and so on; but has been fine tuned to the land where we belong.
Identity includes culture and many other personal things about us such as religion, changing demographics, political manipulations and many other factors.
Kodava culture is deeply rooted to our land, ancestral worship, respect for Mother Nature, agricultural practices and over a period of time (centuries) traits like integrity, responsible leadership, kinship and interdependence within communities – call it the Kodava way of life. Puthari is the ideal time to showcase our culture in its truest form – being hospitable, sharing within the community (the Thakka used to have enormous clout when people lived in AineManes as a joint family), inclusive celebrations, thorough cleaning of community public spaces like the Oor Mandh in preparation for the legendary dances and such community bonding activities.
In our childhood, the air was heavy with excitement eagerly awaiting the actual day of Harvest and subsequent rejoicing. Sadly a lot of our wetlands remain fallow which we need to bring to life again. Without growing paddy – where is the pride in shouting into the night – Poli…Poli…Deva. Let’s preserve our culture and agrarian practices despite all the challenges. Everything simply cannot be reduced to commercial terms – certainly not our culture in Kodagu!
I am fully aligned with Anil Kuttappa’s Editorial comment above. The Hospitality fraternity in Kodagu will benefit when in sync with the foresight of our ancestors.
Respecting Nature, conserving precious natural resources – especially water, maintaining the verdant landscape including participating in regreening measures, observing the sanctity of sacred spaces of all communities and not desecrating the land with garbage – and promoting peace and harmony should be the commitment of all in the hospitality industry – resorts, hotels, home-stays and restaurants included.
Communal harmony and a rich culture always makes it interesting for the informed visitors. This enhances the stature of the community and makes it more memorable for the visitors to a land where being hospitable is second nature or even part of our culture.
I was struck by the similarities of the Puthari post with what we follow in Tulunadu Region. I am posting relevant excerpts from https://mangaloreheritage.com/bunt-traditions/koral-parba/ with full credit to them to illustrate the similarities, simplicity, intention and other custom attributes within agrarian communities. Like Onam, it was not uncommon for all religious groups with deep roots to the land to participate in this august festival.
“All family members bathe early in the morning on this day and clean the entire house including the yard outside (‘jaal’ in Tulu). They also wash their equipment used regularly for cultivation and household activities. Before eating any food, male members of the family go to their fields to bring Koral (ear or spike of paddy corn). Head of the family first offers his prayer to the crop and field and cuts the first ‘Thene’ (Koral-grown ear or spike of the paddy corn).
All other members, including small girls follow him with a handful of ‘Thene’ each. The number of collected ear of corns (Thene) should be odd i.e. 3,5,7 or 9. When they bring home the ‘Thene’, they chant ‘Poliyo Poli’ as a prayer for prosperity and good tidings.
The family members keep the ‘Thene’ carried with so much devotion, in front of the ‘Tulasi’ Katte or Kuladevatha on a banana leaf along with all the cleaned equipment used for agricultural purposes. Different kinds of leaves such as mango, bamboo, jackfruit, betel leaves, skin of Aaladamara (a type of tree filled with milk), traditional flowers, arecanut along with different vegetables grown in the field are also added to the banana leaf along with the Koral.
All members of the family collectively pray there for the prosperity of family members, house and crop. This is called ‘Hosthu or illa dinjavune’. It is a ritual of honoring Mother Earth and paying gratitude to the food grains, mainly paddy.
Then the family members prepare small bunches of a set of all leaves together along with ears of the corn. This is tied at all the important places in the house such as entrance, poles, cowshed, household equipment, instruments, ploughs and vessels.
Puddar da Vanas
They cook the rice by adding odd number of new rice grains and enjoy lunch together along with many types of local dishes prepared on the occasion. This meal, popularly called “Puddar da vanas”, is a celebration by itself with many flavourful dishes. “Menthe da Ganji”, a sweet dish prepared with rice & fenugreek seeds is one of the mandatory dishes among many.
An imporant part of this tradition is to first offer the meal, usually on a banana leaf, to the ancestors. This is accompanied by a small prayer by an elder of the family. The full meal after the prayer is kept outside waiting for a crow to sample the offering as mark of acceptance by the ancestors. The food is served to everybody after the crows start eating.
All family members bathe early in the morning on this day and clean the entire house including the yard outside (‘jaal’ in Tulu). They also wash their equipment used regularly for cultivation and household activities. Before eating any food, male members of the family go to their fields to bring Koral (ear or spike of paddy corn). Head of the family first offers his prayer to the crop and field and cuts the first ‘Thene’ (Koral-grown ear or spike of the paddy corn).
All other members, including small girls follow him with a handful of ‘Thene’ each. The number of collected ear of corns (Thene) should be odd i.e. 3,5,7 or 9. When they bring home the ‘Thene’, they chant ‘Poliyo Poli’ as a prayer for prosperity and good tidings.
The family members keep the ‘Thene’ carried with so much devotion, in front of the ‘Tulasi’ Katte or Kuladevatha on a banana leaf along with all the cleaned equipment used for agricultural purposes. Different kinds of leaves such as mango, bamboo, jackfruit, betel leaves, skin of Aaladamara (a type of tree filled with milk), traditional flowers, arecanut along with different vegetables grown in the field are also added to the banana leaf along with the Koral.
All members of the family collectively pray there for the prosperity of family members, house and crop. This is called ‘Hosthu or illa dinjavune’. It is a ritual of honoring Mother Earth and paying gratitude to the food grains, mainly paddy.
Then the family members prepare small bunches of a set of all leaves together along with ears of the corn. This is tied at all the important places in the house such as entrance, poles, cowshed, household equipment, instruments, ploughs and vessels.
Puddar da Vanas
They cook the rice by adding odd number of new rice grains and enjoy lunch together along with many types of local dishes prepared on the occasion. This meal, popularly called “Puddar da vanas”, is a celebration by itself with many flavourful dishes. “Menthe da Ganji”, a sweet dish prepared with rice & fenugreek seeds is one of the mandatory dishes among many.
An imporant part of this tradition is to first offer the meal, usually on a banana leaf, to the ancestors. This is accompanied by a small prayer by an elder of the family. The full meal after the prayer is kept outside waiting for a crow to sample the offering as mark of acceptance by the ancestors. The food is served to everybody after the crows start eating.
The interesting part of this Tulunadu tradition is that local Christians also celebrate it with equal fervour on 5th September every year and enjoy a hearty vegetarian “Puddar da vanas”. They collect their “Koral” from the local church to conduct the ritual in their own way. interesting part of this Tulunadu tradition is that local Christians also celebrate it with equal fervour on 5th September every year and enjoy a hearty vegetarian “Puddar da camas”. They collect their “Koral” from the local church to conduct the ritual in their own way.”
Wow very well said. Definitely the future of kodavas lies in incluisivity and taking along all communities together and building bridges rather than burning them. Kodavas have always been very independant and forward thinking community and minor issues like the recent tirade and badmouthing of our national HEROES FMKMC AND GEN THIMMAIAH by a ADVOCATE should not bring a bad name to the community by falling trap to divisive forces wanting to break kodava unity and create unnecessary unrest in a very PEACEFUL KODAGU