Kaveri Sankramana
Kaveri Shankramana or Tula Sankramana
Kaveri Sankramana festival normally takes place in mid-October and is one of the prominent and sacred festivals of the Coorgs. Kaveri Sankramana is celebrated at Talakaveri the birth place of river Kaveri. On Kaveri Sankramana day a fountain from a small tank fills the holy tank at Talakaveri. People from all over the state gather at this place to dip in this holy water or Theertha. The Theertha is collected in bottles and reaches every home throughout Coorg. This Theertha is preserved in all Kodava homes. A spoonful of this water is fed to the dying, in the belief that they will attain moksha and gain entry to heaven.
Kailpodh
Kailpold festival is celebrated during the end of the paddy sowing. Kail means weapon or armory and Pold means worship. The festival also signifies the day that men should prepare to guard their crop from wild boars and other animals. Hence, on the Kailpoldu day, the weapons are taken out of the Pooja room, cleaned and pooja is offered.
Kailpodh is celebrated with great grandeur and variety of games and sports are held in the fields on this occasion. Shooting targets, running race (kesaru gaddhe ota) etc, are conducted on this day. In olden days the tribe used to set out on the hunt for game and as hunting is prohibited shooting competitions are organized.Puttari – The Harvesting Festival
Puthari:
‘Puttari’ means new rice, and Puttari or Huthari is the rice harvest festival in Coorg. Puthari is usually celebrated during end of November or early December. On the Puttari day, the whole family assemble in their ‘Ain Mane’ ( the common family house ) which is decorated with flowers, banana and mango leaves. Special foods like thambuttu, kadaumbuttu, holige and puttari paayasa are preapred on this occasion.
The Puttari festival is started of with the eldest member of the family handing a sickle to the head of the family, and one of the women leads a procession to the paddy fields, with a lit lamp in her hands. A gunshot is fired to mark the beginning of the harvest, with chanting of “Poli Poli Deva” by all the people present. Then the symbolic harvesting of the crop begins. The rice is cut and stacked and tied in odd numbers, and is then carried home, to be offered to the gods. A little crop is cut, bound in small bunches and is handed out to all those present during the occasion. The bunch of Paddy crop will be taken home by the folks and is preserved as a sign of prosperity.
The Puttari festival is started of with the eldest member of the family handing a sickle to the head of the family, and one of the women leads a procession to the paddy fields, with a lit lamp in her hands. A gunshot is fired to mark the beginning of the harvest, with chanting of “Poli Poli Deva” by all the people present. Then the symbolic harvesting of the crop begins. The rice is cut and stacked and tied in odd numbers, and is then carried home, to be offered to the gods. A little crop is cut, bound in small bunches and is handed out to all those present during the occasion. The bunch of Paddy crop will be taken home by the folks and is preserved as a sign of prosperity.
Kakkada Padhinett
Ashaada 18th
Kakkada is nothing but Ashada of the Kannadigas, Aati of the Tulvas and Aadi of the Tamils. The 18th day of Kakkada month is celebrated as the festival pertaining to Ayurvedic herbs. Kakkada month in Kodava calendar in Coorg, is one considered of the significant and auspicious days.
On the 18th day of “Kakkada” month, “maddhu soppu” a wild herb’s leaves are said to contain 18 varieties of herbal medicine as the plants emit a sweet aroma only on that day. Maddhu soppu is plucked and boiled in water to get the aromatic juice which will be in dark violet colour. Cakes and sweet porridge is prepared from this juice and consumed.
Monsoon in Coorg is a time to feast. Special dishes like mushroom and bamboo shoot curry (kanile curry), Crab curry are preapared. As monsoon is the time when people fall sick due to cold usually these foods help to increase immunity and maintain body temperature.
Courtesy : http://www.gocoorg.com/