Aadi Pirappu
The Tamizh month of Aadi (mid-July to mid-August on the Gregorian calendar) is the first month of the six month long cool season in the Eastern part of the world. It denotes the change of the path of the sun and the arrival of wind and the much needed monsoon season. As farmers, our ancestors largely depended on rain for prosperity as it cultivated their crops. As a result, the month of Aadi was spent worshipping Goddess Mariamman for rain and showing gratitude for water and its life-sustaining properties.
Aadi Pirappu, which generally falls between July 15th and 17th, literally translates to the birth of Aadi or the first day of Aadi. It is celebrated by making either Aadi Kool which is a sweet and aromatic porridge made with brown rice flour, coconut, and jaggery or Kollukattais which are sweet steamed dumplings filled with jaggery, lentils and coconut, as pictured above. It is customary to welcome the month of Aadi, with sweet treats with the hope that the next six months is filled with sweetness or goodness.
Aadi Sevvai (each Tuesday of Aadi) and Aadi Velli (each Friday) is considered highly auspicious for the worship of Goddess Amman, Durga, Shakthi, etc. Women observe a fast, make vows, pray for an ideal life partner or for the health of their husbands. Aadi Pooram which celebrates the birth of Goodess Andal (an avatar of Goddess Lakshmi) and Aadi Amavaasai, which is a fast observed by those with deceased fathers, both fall during the month of Aadi. It is believed that ancestors can depart the otherworld to see and offer their blessings to their living ancestors on Aadi Amavaasai or the new moon day of Aadi.
Despite Aadi being a sacred month and a month that leads way to many auspicious festivals the following month, the month itself is considered inauspicious for occasions such as weddings. This may be due to the fact that a child conceived during this period will be born in the Tamil month of Chithirai (mid-April to mid-May), which is the hottest month of the year and not ideal for a recovering post-partum mother and newborn baby in the motherland. Our ancestors truly had a reason for all their rituals and practices.