Tirupur: The villagers of Peirakottai and Ammapatti near Udumalaipettai have heralded in Pongal celebrations with traditional folk arts and cultural events such as Salangai Maadu, Devar Aatam and Kummi Paattu, as is the norm every year. About 200 families living in these villages celebrate Pongal dancing with cattle which they consider as the "farmer’s friend."
Tirupur: The villagers of Peirakottai and Ammapatti near Udumalaipettai have heralded in Pongal celebrations with traditional folk arts and cultural events such as Salangai Maadu, Devar Aatam and Kummi Paattu, as is the norm every year. About 200 families living in these villages celebrate Pongal dancing with cattle which they consider as the "farmer’s friend."
Sponsored by the Veerapandi Katabomman Amaippu, folk art have found expression in the practices of these villagers every year since cultural events are organised every year, on the eve of Pongal.
While the Salangai Maadu dance is a hit with both children and adults, Urumi and Kummi Pattu which are traditional folks arts of Tamil Nadu are a favorite with both men and women folk.
“The cattle which are given as ‘nerthi’ are reared in the tribal hamlets of the Amaravathi forests and are brought in for the Pongal festivities into the villages. After being given Pongal and fruits for the occasion, the cattle are then returned to the hill tribes,” say villagers. The sight of the cows and bulls dancing with 'Salangai ' on their legs and necks, along with the villagers, is a sight to behold. Villagers who congregate during the Pongal festivities, wherever they live, pass on the tradition to the younger generation by teaching the young ones all the traditional folk arts during Pongal.
Villagers near Udumalaipettai had also batted for permanent enactment of a law facilitating Jallikattu, when protests rocked Tamil Nadu regarding the same. These simple but enthusiastic village folk believe in preserving the age-old cultural practices that are synonymous with Pongal, for posterity.