The Tamil festival of Ponggal is celebrated over three to five days.
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The first day of Ponggal is Bhogi and what you see features a ceremonial house-cleaning where old, worn-out items are burned and new ones are brought out. The next day, women draw intricate designs in front of their houses using wet or dry rice flour.
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The word Ponggal means “to boil over,” and so it is the name of the dish prepared from newly harvested rice for the festival. The Ponggal dish is prepared by boiling rice with coconut, peanuts, jaggery (unrefined sugar), chickpeas, and milk until the pot overflows - this signifies good luck and an abundance of blessings. Women draw a kolaam or auspicious design with rice flour on the floor. Then they create a small stand with cow dung on which they will later place the Ponggal pot.
Prayers and bowls of ponggal are offered to Surya (the sun god), Bhogi (the rain god), and Indra. The farmers then take the ponggal rice, mix it with water and sprinkle it over their fields. They believe it to be a natural pesticide.
The third day of the festival is called Maatu Ponggal and it is dedicated to the cows that have faithfully assisted in the cultivation of the crops. As a reward, the animals are bathed and decorated with paint, flowers, beads, and bells.