Nowadays, women's empowerment is given great importance everywhere. Women should be given equal rights or respect in all fields. Various events are being held, campaigns are being organized, seminars are being held about this. There are various types of government projects; various posts about this are going viral on social media.
Mothers take bath in the morning and clean the Tulsi Mancha.
But this issue of equal rights has been in the rural culture of our district for a long time. An example of this is ‘Poura Ashtami’. There was no distinction between boys and girls in this festival. This festival is about the first child of the family whether it is a boy or a girl.
It is not limited to us. Among Kartik, Ganesha, Saraswati and Lakshmi, Lakshmi is the eldest. Therefore Goddess Lakshmi is also worshiped in this event.
Aftear cleaning they decorate the Tulsi Mancha.
Most notably, domestic animals are not left out of this festival. Same rule there. Poura Ashtami is celebrated with the first born calf of the cowshed.
Nowadays we celebrate festivals of other states or other countries and post them on social media. But such a beautiful festival which has always taught us that boys and girls are equal, we have no excitement about that festival. Why should we not be proud of such a beautiful festival in Medinipur district?
Let's take a look at the customs of this festival.
Name of the Festival - Poura Ashtami, Poduan Ashtami or Poduan Ashtami.
Gifts for Poura - new clothes (yellow colour), red or black ghumsi (thread) , tulsi (Basil) stick garland or a garland of beal (Aegle marmelos) sticks.
Prohibition - Those who have Ashtami are prohibited from eating ‘Bhuja or Muri (parched rice) on this day. Mothers do not eat Black-eyed pea, Radish unless this Ashtami goes.
Mantra - No Mantra is used.
Purohit - Usually performed by mother, grandmother. Fathers also do in special cases. No priest is needed.
This festival is known by the three main names Poura Ashtami, Poduan Ashtami or Poduan Ashtami in the region of undivided Medinipur district. Whatever the pronunciation, it means 'elder child'. This festival is celebrated to wish the well-being of the first child of the house. Although the festival is for the elder children, other members of the family, including the younger ones, join in the joy from the morning of this day. Poura Ashtami is also observed for the Poura child irrespective of his age.
Banana leaves are being picked.
Poura Ashtami is celebrated on the eighth tithi of the Krishna Paksha of the month of Agrahayana i.e. the eighth tithi after Raspurnima every year. This practice has been prevalent in almost all of Rarh (2) Bengal and adjoining areas of Orissa. Naturally there is an influence of Oriya culture in this Paura Ashtami. In West Bengal it is mainly observed in the undivided Medinipur district.
First the mothers bathe, then wash and decorate the Tulsi Mancha. After that small round gods and goddesses are made with dung and decorated. Gods and goddesses dressing with this cow dung vary in different regions of undivided Medinipur. For example, in the Kanthi (Contai) region, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar are visualized by making three cow dung idols on top of banana leaves and new paddy are piled on their heads. Again, in the area along the Subarnarekha Basin, Pinda or Pindi is placed near Tulsi Mancha and leaves of turmeric trees are spread on it. Govardhan (God) is made of cow dung. Small balls are formed. The number is five, seven, eight or more. Then on that little cow dung shapes, paddy, Scutch grass, Kull leaves (Ziziphus mauritiana leaves), Radish seedlings are spread (4). In some places one of the cow dung ball shape is worshiped as Narayana and the other as Lakshmi on top of the banana leaves. Narayana is given sandalwood and whole betel nut and Lakshi is given vermilion and Myrobalan. In some places the number of these cow-dung-ball-shapes are 11 or more.
The turmeric batter is being made.
Purnachandra Das in his book Kanthi Lokachara writes –
"Paduwa Ashtami is exactly seven days after the Padiyan festival. It was the first Ashtami of the year in the reckoning of Sharad Varsha. The word Paduwa means first. Parents celebrate the birth of their first child on this tithi. The The child is smeared with turmeric, dressed in yellow clothes and sandalwood tilaks are given on the forehead. Imagine Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar, three cow dung idols are made and fresh rice husks are piled on their heads. Lakshmi Puja is also performed on this day. The offering is eternal."
Mothers do not eat Black-eyed pea and Radish unless this Ashtami goes.
Paura Ashtami is connected with Lakshi Puja in the month of Agrahayana. Lakshmi is the eldest child, so the tradition of celebrating Poura Ashtami with her has been going on for years. Radishes, sugarcane, durba grass, Cow's first calf dung, sandalwood, vermilion, incense, atap rice are used in this special puja. Lakshmi is smeared with turmeric paste. It contains fenugreek, sesame, rice, turmeric. Paddy plant is given. Pitha is made with rice batter and ghee. Fruits such as Paniphal (Water chestnut), bananas, dates etc. are given. Kashaphal, Amdala, Sindur are given. Any woman of the house can perform puja. At the same time, the idols of Grihalakshmi, Elephant, Pigeon, Ghat, Peacock etc. are worshiped on the wooden throne or 'Thakur Khetiali'. 'Thakur Khetiali' is a special type of seat made of wood in which all other idols including Maa Lakshmi are placed. The puja of this Goddesses Lakshmi starts from the first Thursday of the month of Agrahayana, during Makar, Makar is given and Lakshmi is kept in an earthen pot, although the timing of this Grihalakshmi Puja varies from region to region, after Durga Puja the idol is taken out and worshiped again during Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, washed with tamarind. But every year the first Thursday of Agrahayana month is not before Poura Ashtami, some years it is after Poura Ashtami. That is, Poura Ashtami happens before Lakshmi goddess comes out of the earthen pot.
Those who have Ashtami are prohibited from eating ‘Bhuja or Muri (parched rice) on this day.
On Poura Ashtami, new clothes and other items are usually brought from the maternal uncle's house. New clothes are also bought at home. After marriage, however, it is no longer mandatory to bring clothes from the maternal uncle's house. In case of girls it comes from father's house and in case of boys it comes from in-law's house. However, in many cases Ashtami items come from the maternal uncle's house after marriage.
A variety of rural sweets are offered.
Mothers do not eat anything from the morning of Poura Ashtami. Parmanna (5) is cooked with freshly harvested paddy. Luscious food is served for the pouras with different types of pitha, puli, sweet etc. Mothers do not eat Black-eyed pea and Radish unless this Ashtami goes. Poudas are forbidden to eat Bhuja or Muri (parched rice) on this day. First the elder child is smeared with raw turmeric paste and abata (abata). Abata is a mixture of amlaki, haridra etc. which is used as a body cleanser. This is followed by bathing. After bathing new clothes are put on. Yellow coloured cloth is usually given. Some people keep new clothes near Tulsimancha for puja. A brass pot is placed next to it, in which amdala, kashaphal, atab chal, durba, sindoor, sandalwood tilak are given. In the Suvarnarekha region, another special item used in the puja is Chua, which is bought from the Bene shop, a bit like sandalwood, a soft sticky substance which is given as an inoculation on the head of Poura including Ghat, Thakur, along with a yellow liquid called Aaula. , which is spread everywhere including Govardhana.
পৌড়াকে নানান পদ সাজিয়ে খেতে দেওয়া হয়। শুধু বড় সন্তানের জন্যই নয়, এই ভুরিভোজের ব্যবস্থা থাকে বাড়ির সমস্ত সদস্যদের জন্য।
পৌড়া অষ্টমী, পড়ুঁয়া অষ্টমী বা পড়ুয়ান অষ্টমী
On the other hand, the elder calves of the cowshed are also bathed, then garlands are made of shaluk flowers and worn around their necks, and sandalwood and vermilion are applied to their foreheads.
Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar are visualized by making three cow dung idols on top of banana leaves and new paddy are piled on their heads.
A brass pot is placed next to it, in which amdala, kashaphal, atab chal, durba, sindoor, sandalwood tilak are given.
Then Poura was taken to Tulsitala and allowed to sit. Red or black ghunsi (thread) is tied around the waist for their well-being. A garland of tulsi (Basil) stick or a garland of beal (Aegle marmelos) sticks is worn around the neck. All the elders of the house bless the Poura with durba, flowers, atab rice etc. The surroundings are filled with the the sound of conch shells and the aroma of incense. Mother blesses her first child with fota (6) on forehead.
পড়ুঁয়া অষ্টমীর ভিডিও দেখুন | Watch the video of Fall Ashtami
After that he is made to eat various types of delicious food. Not only for the Poura, these foods are arranged for all the members of the house. Paura Ashtami is one of the most popular rural festivals of our district. This festival gives an educational message to the society. Through this, personal and social communication has increased. People got a chance to know themselves. These festivals are very important in preserving rural traditions. We hope that our tradition will survive through these festivals.
Arindam Bhowmik
midnapore.in
(Published on 16.11.2022)
(1) Abata is a mixture of amlaki (Phyllanthus emblica), haridra (Turmeric) etc. which is used as a body cleanser.
(2) Rarh region is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to various sources throughout history, it is mainly coextensive with the state of West Bengal, also comprising parts of the state of Jharkhand in India.
(3) Tulsi Mancha is a pedestal on which Tulsi the Hindu sacred plant is planted and worshipped everyday by the housewives at dusk.
(5) Parmanna – Kheer, kheeri, payesh, payasam or phirni. Also known as sweet rice is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and only with rice. It is typically flavoured with desiccated coconut, cardamom. It is typically served as a dessert.
(6) The mother took sandalwood paste on her finger and made small circular marks on her son's forehead.
