All about Tamil Pongal festival in Taiwan 2019
This year Mayur Indian Kitchen is proud to participate and provide Indian cuisine in Pongal Thiruvizha 2019 at Taipei organized by Taiwan Tamil Sangam, as well as the NCTU’s annual Pongal festival in Hsinchu. There will be many regional Indian performances and cultural activities. In both, the events are for Indians and Non-Indians, in short, for all. If anyone wants to know more about the Tamil culture, traditions, language etc. one should join and celebrate this festival together. What is Pongal and its traditions etc.!? Read below to know more about the traditional Tamil festival.
台北場登記報名Taipei Pongal : https://bit.ly/2Coh4tQ
新竹場登記報名NCTU Hsinchu Pongal link : https://www.facebook.com/events/277095482956813/
今年，馬友友印度廚房 很榮幸能參與由「台灣泰米爾桑格姆組織」舉辦的Pongal Thiruvizha 2019，以及台灣交通大學在新竹舉行的年度Pongal節，我們將在以上活動現場供應道地的印度美饌。
屆時，活動現場將有許多印度地區的表演和文化活動，這兩個活動都歡迎所有人一起共襄盛舉。
如果您想了解更多關於泰米爾文化、語言......等的資訊，歡迎共同參與慶祝這個節日。
想知道什麼是Pongal及其傳統文化......等，請閱讀以下內容以了解更多。
About Pongal Festival
Pongal is one of the most popular harvest festivals of South India, mainly of Tamil Nadu. Pongal falls in the mid-January every year and marks the auspicious beginning of Uttarayan - sun's journey northwards.
The history of the festival can be traced back to the Sangam Age i.e. 200 B.C. To 300 A.D. Although, Pongal originated as a Dravidian Harvest festival and has a mention in Sanskrit Puranas, historians identify the festival with the Thai Un and Thai Niradal which are believed to have been celebrated during the Sangam Age.
Pongal festival lasts for four days. This four days long festival of Tamil Nadu is celebrated for showing gratitude to nature. The literal meaning of Pongal is "spilling over" and it had been named so, because of the tradition of boiling rice in a pot until it starts overflowing. Other traditions of the celebration include drawing of Kolam, swinging & cooking of delicious Pongal.
The first day of the festival is celebrated as Bhogi festival in the honour of Lord Indra, (the God of rain). Prayers are offered to Lord Indra for timely rain and bountiful harvest. Another ritual which is performed on this day is called Bhogi Mantalu. Traditionally, all the useless household articles are thrown into the fire made of wood and cow-dung cakes. The burning of all that is old is symbolic of starting off a fresh new year. On the second day, lord Sun is worshipped by the people. As per the ritual rice are boiled with the milk outdoor in an earthen pot which is offered to Lord Sun. People wear traditional clothes and sing and dance in the praise of God. The third day of the celebration is known as "Mattu Pongal". As farmers cultivate their lands are depend on cattle, so they honoured and worshipped by the farmers on this day. The fourth and the last day of this festival are celebrated as "Kannum Pongal". On this day, Lord Ganesha and Goddess Parvati are worshipped.
Some legendary stories are also associated with Pongal festival celebrations. The two most popular legends of Pongal are stories related to Lord Shiva and Lord Indra.
According to a legend, once Shiva asked his bull, Basava, to go to the earth and ask the mortals to have an oil massage and bath every day and to eat once a month. Inadvertently, Basava announced that everyone should eat daily and have an oil bath once a month. This mistake enraged Shiva who then cursed Basava, banishing him to live on the earth forever. He would have to plough the fields and help people produce more food. Thus the association of this day with cattle.
Another legend of Lord Indra and Lord Krishna also led to Pongal celebrations. It is said when Lord Krishna was in his childhood, he decided to teach a lesson to Lord Indra who became arrogant after becoming the king of all deities. Lord Krishna asked all the cowherds to stop worshipping Lord Indra. This angered Lord Indra and sent forth his clouds for thunderstorms and 3 days continuous rains. Lord Krishna lifted Mount Govardhan to save all the humans. Later, Lord Indra realized his mistake and divine power of Krishna.
Thus the festival of Pongal brings happiness and peace for all. It is a festival when God is praised with simple faith and sincerity.
Pongal是印度南部最受歡迎的豐收節之一，主要舉辦在泰米爾納德邦。 這個節日舉辦在每年1月中旬，象徵著Uttarayan吉祥的開始-意思是太陽正在向北旅行。
該節日的歷史可以追溯到Sangam時代，即公元前200年，到公元前300年；雖然Pongal起源於Dravidian豐收節，並且在梵語中被提及，但歷史學家認為泰國Niradal節，是從Sangam時代開始的。
Pongal節日持續四天。這個為期四天的泰米爾納德邦節日，是為了表達對大自然的感激而慶祝。
Pongal的字面意思是“溢出”，而且它之所以如此命名，是表示傳統的煮湯會在鍋中溢出。此活動的其他傳統還包括繪製Kolam，跳舞和烹飪美味的Pongal。
節日的第一天是為了紀念主Indra（雨之神）而舉辦的Bhogi音樂節。為祈禱雨神能提供雨水和豐收。在這一天進行的另一種儀式叫做Bhogi Mantalu。
傳統上，所有壞掉的家居用品都被扔進由木頭和牛糞蛋糕點燃的火中。燃燒所有舊的東西象徵著新的一年的開始。
在第二天，太陽神受到人民的崇拜。根據儀式，人民用戶外的土鍋燉煮米飯及牛奶，供獻給太陽神。在這天人們會穿上傳統服裝，唱歌跳舞，讚美上帝。
慶祝活動的第三天被稱為“Mattu Pongal”。由於農民種植土地須仰賴於牛，因此他們在這一天受到農民的尊敬和崇拜。
這個節日的第四天也是最後一天，被稱為“Kannum Pongal”。在這一天，人民會祭拜Ganesha和女神Parvati。
一些傳奇故事也與Pongal節日活動有關。
Pongal最受歡迎的兩個傳說是與濕婆神和英德拉勳爵有關的故事。
根據一個傳說，濕婆會要求他的公牛巴薩瓦去凡間，要求凡人只能每月一次地進行精油按摩和洗澡。但巴薩瓦宣布每個人都應該每天吃東西，並且每個月都要洗一次油浴。這個錯誤激怒了濕婆，後者詛咒巴薩瓦，驅逐他永遠生活在地球上。他不得不耕田，幫助人們生產更多的食物。因此成就了Pangol與牛的關聯。
英德拉勳爵和克里希納勳爵的另一個傳說也引發了Pongal的慶祝活動。據說，當克里希納勳爵在童年時，他決定向英德拉勳爵請教，後來他在成為所有神靈之王后變得傲慢。克里希納勳爵要求所有的牧牛人停止崇拜英德拉勳爵，這激怒了英德拉勳爵，並用暴風雨和連續3天降雨發出了他的神蹟，後來克里希納勳爵抬起Govardhan山來拯救所有人類。
因此，Pongal節為所有人帶來幸福和平安。
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