CHOODI POOJA, THE FLAVOUR OF AMCHIGELESWomen perform Choodi Pooja every Friday and Sunday of Shraavan Maasa (Month). A newly married woman performs her first Choodi Pooja in the presence of many elderly women, separately in her home and her parents home. Shraavan is the month when GSB Hindu women celebrate many festivals and offer many poojas. Choodi Pooja is one of them. Choodis are believed to have cooling and healing effect on the heads of the women who wear them. A standard Choodi requires many flowers and herbs to be collected, as mentioned here - 1. Ratnagandhi 2. Ratha Pushpa 3. Gauri Pushpa 4. Kaaylya Dolo (Crows Eye) 5. Anwaali 6. Aarati Pushpa 7. Kangani Pushpa 8. Shanka Pushpa 9. Mithaai Pushpa 10. Cat’s Nails 11. Wild Grass (Dibrankoru) 12. Plantain yarn (Vaayu) for tying. Making Choodis is a work of art and the formation of flowers and herbs should look balanced in colour and texture. Women personally pick the fresh flowers and herbs where they are available freely. They carefully select the ingredients and make the Choodis and arrange them in a tray. Next, they prepare a prasadam(Offering) sweet, normally puffed rice(Aralu) with jaggery and grated coconut flavoured with a hint of cardamom. Alternately, they use Beaten Rice (Avalakki) instead of puffed rice. Sometimes, Panchakajjaaya or five ingredient sweet is prepared and offered. The door step (Hosthilu) are decorated with chalk designs (Rangoli or Humbraa Chalk) First, pooja is offered to Tulsi plant with a brass pedestal lamp, water drops fed to the Tulsi plant and also consumed by the one offering the pooja (Aachamana). Kaajal and Kumkum are applied to Tulsi as a symbol of womanhood, sweet is offered, followed by Soorya Namaskaara(Sun Worship). Then Choodi is offered to Tulsi and aarati (Flame) is shown to Tulsi. Later, they offer pooja and Choodis to the Door step (Hosthilu). Finally, all the Gods within home are offered similar pooja and Choodis. The remaining Choodis are offered to elderly women by the younger ones. They all wear the Choodi in their hair locks. In return, the elders also present a choodi to the younger ones. For the next four weeks or eight days, GSB women will be busy, going from house to house, offering choodis and receiving choodis!
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 15:44:26 +0000
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