Dividing Thamizhar over April New Year
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Another New Year dawns!
Puthaandu Vaalthukkal.
Subha Aluth Avuruddhak Wewa
Happy New Year
This April new year according to the traditional 60 year astrological cycle will be called the “Vyaya Varusham”. Once again the Kuyil – Koha will sing and the Oonjal – Onchilla swing as Sithirai – Wap unfolds.
With bombs killing innocent civilians and mobs burning people alive the new year celebrations seem a hollow farce. The ceasefire brokered by the much maligned Norwegians has despite its flaws averted bloodshed and destruction on a large scale for four years. In spite of the mutual bickering by politicians and politicised persons the ordinary people on both sides of the ethnic divide have certainly had the benefits of peace.
Now everything seems shaky. A president elected on a hardline mandate surrounded by hawkish secretaries, commanders and advisers on one side.A self – appointed national leader in command of a ruthless military machine on the other.A silent majority yearning for lasting peace and justice caught in the middle. Will the fragile peace crumble? is the question as both sides prepare for war while mouthing platitudes of peace.Hopes of a war free “vyaya” new year seem slender.
Heralding the “puthu Varusham” on that melancholy note let me return to my favourite grouse at the commencement of each traditional “aluth avuruddhu”. Its all about my pet phobia – the subtle and not so subtle moves to divide the Thamizh people on a religious basis at the beginning of each April new year.
[Pic: Sunrise in Thalaiyadi, Vadamaratchi, Jaffna District]
Look at the opening lines of a news story in a Colombo English daily.” Special arrangements have been taken by the police to maintain law and order during the Sinhala and Hindu New Year season by deploying an additional force of more than 400 policemen and 60 special emergency radio communication units in the Greater Colombo area.” it says.
Once again the Colombo media rides its hobby horse. It is “Sinhala New year” for the Mahajathiya but only “Hindu New Year” for the Sulujathiya.When it comes to the Sinhala people the new year is portrayed as being for both the Buddhists and Christians. When it comes to the Thamizh people the New Year is depicted as being for only the Hindus and not the Christians.
This may seem a trivial issue but it bothers many of us at this festive time. This April new year is one festival that is common to an overwhelming number of Sinhala and Thamil people in the Island of Sri Lanka. What is saddening and maddening is the recurring phenomenon of widespread attempts to divide the Tamils on a religious basis on this happy occasion.
[Pic: Sunset in Negombo]
With very few exceptions most Sri Lankan media in English and Sinhala refer to the April New Year as Sinhala and Hindu New Year. Instead of saying Sinhala and Tamil new year the reference is to Sinhala and Hindu. If the yardstick for this is the fact that Christian Tamils cannot subscribe to a Hindu new year then by the same token it is equally inapplicable to Sinhala Christians too. If so it should be Buddhist and Hindu New Year. Assuming an overarching Sinhala identity on the one hand and denying the same to Tamil on the other smacks not only of double standards but possesses designs to divide the Tamils on account of religion.
[Pic: Sunset in Koonithivu, Muthur]
Granted that the calculation of years on the basis of a 60 year cycle has its roots in “Hindu” astrology. It is also a fact that Christians following Western custom regard Jan 1st as the New Year.The reality however is that Jan 1st has become “universal” over the years. Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians all celebrate Jan 1st as New Year. The Christians may have their Watchnight services but nowadays most places of worship have special ceremonies to mark the occasion.
It is the 365 day cycle after Jan 1st that is followed by everyone in Sri Lanka and the world in practice. The April New Year has become more of a cultural event. The world is awaking up to the reality that all of us have multiple – identities and that the notion of “one land, one language, one race , one culture, one people” etc are outdated. All of us have different identities, interests and spaces. Multiple and plural are the realistic terms of the present and future.
[Pic: Sunrise in Galle]
The custom of having two new years is but one example of this “multi” in ourselves. As far as Tamil Christians were concerned the introduction of Christianity through Westerners did result in many following or aping their practice and customs. Neglect of our traditional cultural values was a regrettable legacy. Post – Colonialism however has brought about a fresh reappraisal There has been a conscious effort to identify with all things Thamil. The Post – Independence politics has accelerated this desire.
Thai Pongal and Sithiraip Puthaandu are seen as Tamil cultural festivals and not as Hindu festivals. If one were to go to our rural or semi – urban places one would find some Christians also participating and enjoying these festivals as their own. These festivals open up Tamil cultural space. It is however less pronounced in the cities.
Three things are now affecting this pleasant commonality. The state of affairs in the Country and modernisation is restricting the time devoted to the common cultural space in these festivities. The limited time makes people focus more on religion than the social aspects.
Secondly there is an increasing tendency on the part of Hindu Tamils to transform these cultural festivals into religious ones. This is notably so in the case of Thaipongal which was a non – religious event.
Thirdly the rise of religious fundamentalism among Christians particularly the new converts is creating a situation where people are abhorring and shunning these festivals as ungodly and pagan. Thus the cultural roots and legacy of us all is being undermined.
A Western missionary who served in Lanka once issued a call to “Ceylon” in poetic language. In that he envisioned a noble future for this Land where the races would blend and the people would march in unison to the beat of a single drum. Today in this environment of strife that vision seems a mirage.
Yet hope springs eternal. Even if we cannot ascend to sublime heights we can at least not descend to despicable depths. Even if we cannot unite on the basis of a broader identity let us not divide ourselves further on narrower identities.
It would indeed be a sad day for all of us if we gradually get pushed into singular grooves instead of living and experiencing this vast legacy of humanity to which we are all heirs .
Nearly sixty years have passed since Independence. We are yet to assume a true national identity. We have not transcended our imagined sense of ethnic community.
If this regressive process gains strength we will become Buddhists and Christians and Hindus and Christians. That day is still to dawn.
Until then (God forbid) we are Sinhala and Tamils enjoying our common legacy of April New Year. The “Sithirai” New Year is for Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka. It cannot be for Sinhala and Hindu only. This sustained effort to prolong this “divide” by the Sri Lankan media deserves the strongest possible condemnation. [transCurrents.com]
