In my two earlier posts I have written about Aghasankocha, rites and rituals performed by the families of our clan. They started on the 13th and end tomorrow. We were informed about it a few months ago. A lot of money is needed and each family in the thirty seven branches was requested to donate a certain amount. We went on the 18th to experience something which would happen only once in our life time.
For us the Fire God, Agni, is the go-between between us and the Gods. We worship Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, Lord Ganapati and our ancestors. One of the priests said worshipping our ancestors is something which should not be taken lightly. Their blessings are very important.
The atmosphere there was charged with positive energy. Vishnu sahasranama is considered one of the most powerful mantras. Towards the end, all the priests chanted it together. Family members joined in too. The chanting was soul stirring. We felt blessed to have been there. I listen to this mantra and also to commentary on it delivered by the late Sanskrit scholar, Shri Bannanje Govindacharya every morning in YouTube.
A cousin told me fascinating details of our clan. Our village is in the northern part of Kerala, not far from Karnataka border. In and around our village there have lived thirty seven generations of our clan for over nine hundred years. The original family is thought to have come from near Gokarna. About 800 years ago one family went to Trivandrum in South Kerala. And about 500 years ago many families migrated to other places in Kerala. Over the years many others would have migrated too. People have always migrated from one place to another through the ages.
Many years ago another cousin went to the land records office searching for some documents. He was given old documents which were beginning to crumble to pieces. At home he studied them in detail and talked about it with others. He learnt though another person about families of our clan living in south Kerala and speaking Malayalam. We speak Kannada. They were contacted by e mail. Two couples attended the function. One of them was celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary and they sponsored coconut barfi for lunch. I ate two pieces 😃. It is one of my favourite sweets.
It was almost 3o’clock when we left. We were very happy that we could attend at least on one day. The organizers have managed to telecast live on Facebook. This has helped many living far away to watch the proceedings.
The internet is a boon in so many ways.
https://hebbarskitchen.com/coconut-burfi-recipe-nariyal-barfi/
https://mukhamani.wordpress.com/2021/03/18/day-18-of-the-march-solsc-sol21/
https://mukhamani.wordpress.com/2021/03/19/day-19-of-the-march-solsc-sol21/
Thank you for sharing this special moment with us. It is wonderful to discover something new about your culture and your ancestry.
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Thank you.
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Ah, coconut barfi! Thanks for producing a blog so regularly. Always great to read.
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This is the March slice of life challenge San. We have to every day in this month. I have been posting in Slice of Life for four years but first time in the March challenge. Thank you.
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I really enjoyed learning more of your culture and history. I see that the second photograph has only men present. Are some ceremonies only attended by men?
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They are the priests and in our community there are no women priests. We all were sitting in front of them, some on mats on the ground and some on chairs.
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Now that you’ve said that I can see in the other photograph that is taken from another angle.
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The internet is a boon in many ways, yes…
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Wow! What a family history going back all of those years. I am so glad you post these because I learn so much. Thank you.
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What a beautiful ceremony and how fortunate to connect with ancestors in this way. Thank you for sharing the coconut barfi recipe. I love coconut.
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“Something which would happen only once in our life time.” To that, all I can say is wow! And speaking of once-in-a-lifetime moments, here’s one I remembered reading your slice. Back when I was 10 or 11 years old, I was assigned India for a country report in school. To add to my learning, I connected with an Indian couple who were neighbors of my family. Through a series of interviews, they taught me about their culture and (wait for it) showed me how to make sweet, delicious coconut barfi.
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Wah 👍 that is amazing.
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That was very interesting, thank you.
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I enjoy learning about your culture and religion in your posts. Thanks for including photos!
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