Today's pointless discussion is on some of the meaningless celebrations that we as Tamilians honour. It caught my attention when one of the neighbours in my housing estate erected a canopy across the road blocking half of the road just to officiate the erection the small Muniswar statuette in his house compound. From my life experiences, I can say with conviction that the usual justification of such an erection is usually as part of fulfilling the demand of a dream. The Gods (or some of their representation of them, e.g. dog, whip or an apparition with a big moustache) would have manifested during their sleep and demanded or hinted for something of that nature. You cannot say this is something new or nonsensical as others have also known to have done this in the name of religion. Abraham (Ibrahim) almost put his son (Issac/Ismail) to the slaughter as God supposedly manifested in his dream to test his faith. Just as the unthinkable was about to happen, the 'sacrificial lamb' was replaced with a ram via miraculous work of God and now a good proportion of the world population rejoice this event as Eid Al Adha. The ceremony (at the neighbour’s newly built mini temple) started at the heat of noon sun with chanting of high pitch hymns accompanied by beating of loud drums. Just to clarify, I was not there witnessing the brouhaha. The obvious pandemonium was clearly audible to whole Taman! Interestingly, the sounds of the drums were the same as the one used in Tamil Nadu village funerals! The climax of the event was the billy goat sacrifice. From my limited knowledge of religion, this practice is not ordained by any of the reputable Hindu bodies anywhere in the world. In fact, such a similar sacrificial practice is one of the reasons Siddarta Gautama started his brand of religion which is really an off shoot of Hinduism.
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[Image][Image][Image][Image] Illustrations suggesting how the mass of human race is conned with hearsay. A convincing preacher has managed and will continue eluding mass hypnotism on his subordinates to achieve his self ego maniacal self interest by one day bringing homo sapiens to the brink of extinction following the same road as the mammoths, T-Rexes and Saber-tooth tigers!
Right up to the mid 20th century, only two groups of the world population pierce their ears – Indians and aboriginal head hunting people (e.g. Borneo, Africa, Papua New Guinea). Fast forward to the late 20th century and ear piercing became a fashion statement and an art. Many other body parts, visible and otherwise, got pricked as well. Together with this, other traditionally South Indian practices like nose ring and toe rings have became synonymous with the rebellious youth of the 21st century just like the pelvis gyrating and bra burning counterparts of the 50s and 70s respectively. The ear piercing ceremony in the Tamil society came about as a status symbol and became a hallmark of culture among the society as gold (in the earring) has had a special place in their society. It also created an avenue for relatives to meet and mingle as society had determined that certain relatives had specific roles in this ceremony and would be frowned upon if they fail in their undertakings. A few months ago, I was invited for such an event. It was hosted in a 5star restaurant with soothing ambience complete with traditional musicians and paraphernalia. For a few moments, the venue was immersed in a cheerful festive mood, with the baby hoisted on the shoulder and the highlight of the event was the piercing of the baby’s ear lobes by the traditional Indian jeweler with the seated on the maternal uncle’s lap! There was a designated master of ceremony who was giving a running commentary of the events and the significance of each step of the occasion. One particular comment that struck me was the reason for such a big fanfare on the ear piercing ceremony. If one were to look at the ear auricle, it is supposed to resemble the divine letter ‘Aum’ or ‘Om’ in the Tamil alphabet. Piercing the ear lobe is said to complete the letter by putting a dot where it is due. (Is this for real, rationalization or artistic creation, I wonder?)
How something frowned upon as a practice of the ‘less cultured’ as assimilated in to world culture and is considered trendy and hip. Here, Harrison Ford spotting earring on left ears. Why left ear? If worn on the right ear, it is a subtle announcement of the wearer being gay. I wonder if it applies on both sides of the Atlantic, bearing in the mind that the traffic is reversed on the either side of the Atlantic!
One of the functions that has outlived its usefulness in the ‘coming of age’ ceremony. It is done to announce to the world that their female child has attained menarche. During this time, probably the only time, the girl is given special diet rich is proteins and mineral so as ensure her future fecundity. (As if fertility is determined by the female factor alone!)
In the era when child marriages were accepted as norm, this ceremony hailed as perfect way to announce to the world around them that a maiden is available for continuation of species. At present times where the female is determined to rule the world with their academic and career ambitions, it appears totally irrelevant. They mostly choose their life partners way past the teenage years and their exposure to the outside via education and work makes it unnecessary. The society however has given many religious significances to this event and even the position of the stars at time of menarche is said to of high significance towards the fecundity and even her obstetric performance in her childbearing years!
Even though far from their motherland, the Jaffna Tamils still cling on to their age old practices. Here an immigrant family (Siva and Indira Segaran with Ketharini) performing a ‘coming of age’ (Poopunitha Neeratuvilla) ceremony in Toronto (1993). They are happy to be able to practice their own culture in a foreign land after being persecuted in their motherland! [Photo: Vincenzo Pietropaolo]
Usually, I do not give too much importance to things that are spiritual in nature. I just simply join the bandwagon to keep people, especially my loved ones, happy. Like when I, the first born to my father, was summoned to perform certain rights on the first anniversary of his death, I just obliged. I knew it would make my mother happy to see my father 'sent off' to the ethereal world in a proper manner. It does not matter that my parents towards the tail end of his life, could not stand each other but that is another story for another day.
