PONGOL, the first day of the Tamil year, a Tamil festival, about the llth January, when the sun enters Capricorn, and is the greatest of the unseetarian festivals of the Hindus. The Pongol is nothing else but the pagan feast for the birth of Mithras. The last presents the allegory of the regeneration of the sun, and that of I'ongol is for the return of this planet. The renewal of the solar year has been always celebrated with great solemnity among all nations. It is the Sankranti or 3faha Sankranti of other Hindus. The festivity lasts three days, during which the Hindus employ themselves somewhat in the same manner as the Europeans do on the first day of the year. To the Hindus the" feast of the Pongol is a season of rejoicing, for two special reasons. The first is, that the month of Magha, i.e. December—January, every day in which is unlucky, is now over ; and the other, that it is succeeded by a month, each day of which is lucky. For the purpose of avert ing the evil effect of the baleful month of Magha, about four o'clock in the morning the Sanyasi ascetics go from door to door of every house, beating on a plate of iron or copper, which pro duces a piercing sound. All who sleep, being thus roused, are counselled to take wise precau tions, and to guard against the evil presages of the month, by expiatory offerings and sacrifices to Siva, who presides over it. With this view, barly morning, the women scour a space of about 2 feet square before the door of the house, upon which they draw several white lines with flowers, and upon these they place several little balls of cow dung, sticking in each a citron blossom. These little balls are probably designed to represent Vighneswara, the remover of obstacles, whom they desire to propitiate with the flowers. Each day these little lumps of cow-dung, with their flowers, are picked up and preserved in a private place, till the last day of the month Magha ; and when that comes, the women, who are alone charged with this ceremony, put the whole in a basket, and march from the house, with musical instru ments before them, clapping their hands, till they reach some waste place, where they dispose of the relics. Then, with the first day of the new month begins the festival, the first day of which is called the Bhogi Pongol, i.e. Indra's Pongol, and it is kept by inviting the near relations to an enter tainment, which passes off with hilarity and mirth. The second day is called Surya Pongol, i.e. Pongol of the sun, because it is set apart in honour of the sun. Married women, after purify ing themselves by bathing, which they perform by plunging into the water without taking off their clothes, and coming out all wet, set about boiling rice with milk in the open air, and when it begins to simmer, they make a loud cry, all at once repeating the words Pongol ! Pongol! it boils ! it boils! The vessel is then lifted off the fire, and set before the idol Vighneswara, which is placed close by, and, after having been offered to the image, part of the rice is given to the cow, and the remainder distributed among the people.
This is the great day of visits among the Hindus. The salutation begins with the question, Has the milk boiled?' to which the answer is, `It has boiled ; ' and from this the festival takes its name Pongol, i.e. boiling. The third day is called the Madu Pongol of cows. On it they mix, in a great vessel filled with water, some saffron, cotton seeds, and leaves of the margosa tree ; and then, going several times round all the cows and oxen belonging to the house, they sprinkle them with the water, as they turn to the four cardinal points ; and make the Hasht-anga, or prostration of the eight members, before them four times. This ceremony is performed by the men only. Next, the cows are all dressed out, their horns being painted with various colours, and garlands of flowers and foliage put round their necks and over their backs. They likewise add strings of cocoanuts and other fruits, which are soon shaken off by the brisk motion of the animals which these trappings occasion, and are picked up by children and others, who follow the cattle on purpose, and eagerly eat what they gather, as something sacred. The cattle then, being driven in herds through the villages, and made to scamper about from side to side by the jarring noise of many sounding instruments, are during the re maiuder of the day allowed to feed at large without a keeper, and whatever trespass they commit is suffered to pass without notice or re straint. At the conclusion of the festival, they take the idols from the temples, and carry them in pomp to the place where the cattle have been collected. The Deva-dasa singing girls of the temple are also present. On the eve of the cele bration of the festival, houses are cleaned, broken roofs are repaired, the rude external decorations of the walls are painted afresh, and the sacred signs of the Vaishnava are carefully picked out above the threshold. The potter plies his wheel incessantly, for every Hindu house must be fur nished with new utensils. The rice-man is busy with cadjan and style, buying up new grain from needy cultivators, for in every house new rice only may be used. Parents who during the past year have given a daughter in marriage, and seen her settled in her new house, send her large quantities of grain, fruits, and household stuffs, that the Pongol may be kept without touching the small capital of the young couple.—Garrett. See Pola.