Avurudu Hangover

 

Pic by Ravindra Dharmathilaka www.nation.lk

Post-Christmas Stress Disorder is frequently observed in people of western countries after the Christmas season. Dr. Danister L Perera predicts that Sri Lankan people are also on the verge of developing a Post-Sinhala Avurudu Stress Disorder if the current system persists. “Some people go insane due to the significant distress caused during the Christmas season. They become stressed when they fail to organize and plan, financial and social aspects during the season. I fear that our people will soon develop a similar disorder in the Avurudu season,” Dr. Perera opined.

Dr. Danister L Perera is from Pahala Bomiriya, Kaduwela. Having received primary education from the Korathota Village School, he entered Rajasinghe Madya Maha Vidyalaya for his Advanced Level examination. Upon finishing school education he went to one of his relatives who practices Ayurveda medicine. The knowledge he gained there inculcated in him an interest in the field and therefore he decided to join the Gampaha Ayurveda Institute. After graduating, he focused on social science, social and cultural anthropology and herbal plants in his post graduate studies. His main focus is on research and publications while working as a visiting lecturer in several state universities as well as international agencies such as UNESCO. He was the former director to the Herbal Plants Conservation Project at the Ministry of Indigenous Medicine and the Secretary to the Ayurveda Medical Council. He currently works with a few private institutions.

People take loans and salary advances during the season to spend for the New Year gifts, groceries, clothes or household equipment as they want to celebrate it to the best of their possibilities. There were instances reported, where people pawned their gold to raise the necessary money. “After the New Year they have to worry about paying loans or the deducted salaries. All the happiness gained on the New Year day is lost, when you have to worry about paying bills,” he said. “New Year is not about the rituals or traditions anymore. It’s about the party and the way we are going to celebrate the day. It will soon become a day like valentines day, father’s day or mother’s day,” he added. He further explained how people worry about New Year parties and become tired and stressed once the party season is done with. “It’s like a hangover. The purpose of Avurudu, is to refresh and renew, is completely lost,” he added.

Any country has its own cultural values. Likewise, New Year traditions are a part of our culture which comes from ancient times. “Such cultures with traditions continued from the ancient history are rare and very powerful. Fortunately we belong to such a culture and these New Year traditions are a part of that,” he explained. According to astrology, New Year begins when the sun moves from Meena Rashiya (house of Pisces) to Mesha Rashiya (house of Aries). It also marks the end of the harvest. “On one hand, New Year celebrations are a part of the agricultural economy of the country and it is also connected to nature,” he said.

The Sun covers a period of twelve months or one year traveling through the twelve houses of the zodiac in its nonstop traversing. “This explains how our ancestors understood and tuned well to nature. They observed the cyclic changes in nature and they created the time unit called ‘the year.’ Later, with the traditions and rituals, this adaptation to the environment became ceremonial,” he added. He also mentioned how similar ceremonies, originating from worshiping the Sun, are present in the countries near the equator.

As Perera explained, the New Year also became a period during which our ancestors relaxed after the harvest. “I believe that this concept of starting everything afresh formed with the religious influence similar to starting a new birth,” he said. “It also carries an extra ordinary social value.” The precise times when the old year (Parana Avurudda) ends, and the New Year begins. The period from Parana Avurudda to the dawn the New Year is the Nonegatha (inauspicious) period where all work ceases. It brings a relief to the person’s body as well as the mind. It also gives a break to the materialistic equipment used by that person. With everything at ease the person has time to think about the spiritual side of life and focus on religious activities. “This is what should happen. But sometimes these are ignored with cultural transition of the society. It is difficult to practice what should be practiced because of the ways of businessmen,” he pointed out. 

He further explained how the Sinhala New Year traditions and rituals are challenged by the culture of the contemporary businessmen. “People forget traditions due to the commercialized economy. Businessmen have succeeded in making people believe that collecting goods from discount sales is the best way to get ready for the New Year. Notice the way people rush to and fro and congested roads two, three days before the New Year day. Media also holds a responsibility in this,” he noted.

As he pointed out Nonegatha is not a time to relax anymore. It is a time to listen to the radio announcers jabbering and a contest between television channels to see which one telecasts the best rated Hindi movie. “They are responsible of destroying the structure of the New Year,” he stressed. “The countdown to the Neketh times is the other mania media practices. People are made to believe that they have to attend to Neketh at the exact correct second. There is no base to this. It is not about lighting the match or eating the first piece of Kiribath at the correct second,” he added.

According to Perera, these ancient rituals are all about inculcating good habits among people. The Avurudu schedule is the ideal time table for a person to practice throughout his or her life. He explained that the Sinhala Avurudu rituals contain effective elements than the Japanese 5S organization methodology. “The 5S methodology was taken in to our systems with gratitude since it came from abroad. But if one is to analyze the elements of the Avurudu rituals, it has better organizational schemes from health, cleanliness or timeliness,” he exclaimed. He said that Avurudu Neketh is a reminder to renew the family, social and cultural values which people should practice everyday. He further explained this with the ritual or atoning oil.

“Hisa thel gema is a reminder to live healthy throughout the year. Atoning oil should be done frequently to maintain health. But today, people are made to believe that it’s for Apala (malefic period) and if they don’t do it on the Neketh time or there will be no use. But it’s a myth,” he said.

He further said that media should be held responsible for destroying the provincial diversity of the New Year rituals. “Avurudu rituals and the culture were different from region to region. Over the years media introduced new customs to people disregarding that. Regional identity is nonexistent now. What we see on TV is all made up,” he reiterated. He also pointed out how people have deviated from environmental friendly practices like playing Rabana during Neketh time to firing crackers and how environmental unfriendly things have become the norms.

Anyone could witness Colombo city deserted during the Avurudu week. There is no traffic or people rushing along the payments. Dr. Perera said that this is the best example to understand the power of the New Year. “People leave the city to go to their hometowns, where they belong to. Therefore Avurudu is also an event which reminds people about their origins,” he said. “There is a danger to this too. When people leave Colombo, they take Colombo culture to the village. That should not happen. The value system of the village is untouched. Bring the village culture to Colombo. But don’t spoil the village with city evils,” he reiterated.

“When you leave Colombo, take nothing with you, not even the Colombo gifts. Village is richer than the city. It doesn’t expect gifts from the city. That is the concept which should be promoted during the New Year season,” Perera added. He also mentioned the environmental hazards caused on days like Valentines Day, fathers’ day or the mothers’ day by polythene and plastic wrappers. He stressed that similar harm is caused by the gifts exchanged on Avurudu season.

Perera believes that media does not have a way out since they are funded by these businessmen who have their own agendas. They create needs among people in order to sell their products. Therefore the actual needs are replaced by these introduced needs. “We used to make our New Year delicacies at home. If you analyse this you will realize that most of these rituals are skill based. Since everything is available in the market, people started loosing their skills,” he pointed out. “It’s not bad to have a piece of cake on Avurudu, even Kokis is not an indigenous delicacy. But don’t buy cake from a shop. Bake it at home.”    

However according to Perera protecting the culture does not mean that the rituals and traditions should remain static over the years. “It doesn’t mean that we need to have a Thirikkal race instead of bicycle races. I believe it is okay to wear denims and t-shirts instead of the national costume as long as they still appreciate prostrating at the feet of their parent with beetle leaves,” he opined. “The core of tradition should be protected while adapting to the new world,” he added.

Dr. Perera believes that it is still not too late to protect these traditions. “It’s time to think back. “Leaving these unhealthy habits is not impossible at all.  We have to leave the party concept and go back to healthy practices. Making that happen is my dream,” he said. “In the worst case scenario someone will take this to a western country and repackage and sell it to us in the form of a new system like the 5S,” he added.