Navarathri
festival is the commemorative festival for Hindus, based on the myth of the
victory of Goddess Kali (Durga) over Mahishasuran, the Demon King who ruled the
universe. Bommakolu, the festival of dolls is traditionally been celebrated by
the Tamil Brahmins during the nine days of Navarathri festival. In Kerala too,
there are many Tamil Brahmin settlement areas and in all these places the
families celebrates Bommakkolu for generations.
During this
festival, different types of dolls mainly that of Gods and Goddesses are
arranged on steps in a special place at the home, decorated with flowers, streamers
and lamps. Prayers and worship are held on all these days, especially in the
evening. Apart from the dolls of Gods and Goddesses, dolls depicting the themes
from the Hindu mythology like ‘Dasavatharam’, Ramayan, Village folks, birds and
animals etc are also displayed.
In
the evenings, these families, especially ladies used to go to other homes to
see Bommakkolu. By tradition, the visitors (ladies) are requested to sing a
song which is an offering to the deities. An eatable made of Channa,
jaggery etc is usually prepared for the
evening and after dedicating this to the deity, it is distributed among the
visitors, along with sweets, beetle leaves etc.
Now
a day, apart from the homes, the community members jointly arrange Bommakkolu
in a common place, usually in ‘Brahmana Samooham Madom’, a joint community for
Tamil Brahmins in Kerala for social gathering, prayers etc. Samooham
Madoms at Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Guruvayur, Angadippuram,
Kozhikode etc, now hosts Bommakkolu. For the community members, the
festive period is a best time for social networking too.
Pic & video: Tali Brahmana Samooham Madom, Tali, Kozhikode
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