Source: www.sundaytimes.lk
JAFFNA, SRI LANKA, August 16, 2009: Jaffna’s annual Nallur festival is a major religious and social event which draws devotees from the far corners of the world to this famous Hindu temple in northern Sri Lanka. Rain or shine, even through the dreadful war years, the Nallur festival has been held every year without a break. Although attendance suffered during the period of prolonged fighting, the level of devotion never slackens.
At the crack of dawn–before the sand becomes painfully hot–dozens of men of all ages perform the devotional practice of lying on the ground and rolling around the temple while reciting verses or just praying to the deities. Cries of “Haro Hara” and “Muruga” rend the air as women perform their own circumambulation, stopping every few steps to bow and kneel again. Many devotees repeat this practice every day of the festival, in fulfillment of vows.
The annual 25-day Nallur festival is a special magnet for Tamil expatriates and their families. In addition to the festival’s religious significance, there is a strong social component: because it occurs during August, when expatriate children living in the west are home for their summer break, their families
use the occasion for match-making. Parents make agreements to bring their offspring to the temple premises, so that each can see the other from a distance. “If the girl or boy is not satisfied, no feelings are hurt–because neither party was aware their parents had made such an arrangement,” one resident said.
During the last few days of the festival, hundreds of devotees fulfill vows of penance, petition or thankfulness by dangling from carts–supported only by hooks pierced through the skin along the back of their hands, body and legs. Swinging with the movement of the carts, such devotees are a common sight at many temple festivals in Sri Lanka. Another feature of these festivals is the Kavadi dance, which also sees many getting into a trance.
The vows are taken throughout the year for a multitude of reasons–a serious illness, undergoing an operation, before sitting an examination, seeking a job or after getting one, surviving the war, looking for a partner or getting one.