Badagas of the Blue Mountains

Our site has helped in tracing and uniting long lost friends. Can some body help trace BM Babu – Wg Cdr JP

Dear Sir,

The biggest and most important festival of Badagas

HETHE(Y) HABBA

will be celebrated on MONDAY,  the 28th Dec 2015.

The Hethe(y) Habba festivities start on the 21st December and culminates on 28th Dec 2015 with the main function.

Learn about Hethey Habba here

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[Most of the info below is reproduced from the page Hethe Habba]

‘HETHAI HABBA’ is the biggest festival of Badagas

Hethai Habba is always on the first MONDAY (SOVARA), the most sacred day of Badagas, after the full moon (paurnami – HUNNAWAY ) that falls in (Tamil) Margazhi month, that is the 9th day after eight days of ‘Kolu’. This year [2015] the main Hethai Habba   will be celebrated on 28 Dec 2015.

Hethe Habba does not fall on a particular day of a calendar month every year [ like X-Mas is always on the 25th December] & it is usually celebrated in December or January.

Every year, from various hattis the male members in their traditional dress [white turban – MANDARE, MUNDU & Badagaru SEELE along with the family DHADI (stick)- see the photo] proceed to Hethai Gudi (mane) in Beragani/Pedduva on the preceeding FRIDAY by foot. Every house in the hatti has to pay five HANA (25paise coin) in a ceremonial function called HANA KATTODU in the village  SUTHUKALLU – a triangular stone under a Bikke mora/ Olive tree that is worshipped – see the photos below). This money (coins) – KANNIKE – tied in a white cloth will be handed over to the Hethai temple at Beragani/Pedduva.

The villagers will give a warm and respectful send off to those proceeding to Hethai Mane (- they would have followed a very strict code of conduct like not eating non vegetarian food or consuming alcohol). As they (including many young boys) proceed away from the village, women spread white sheets (mundus) on the path and all those (men, women & children) not proceeding will prostrate ( adda bubbadu ) and they will be blessed ( harachodu ). The unique (BadagaATHIKKODU ) ” Ye Ha Ho ” will be loudly uttered.

As you listen to this ‘  Ye Ha Ho ‘ you can feel goose pimples rising, eyes welling up with tears and the heart filled with thoughts of the ALL POWERFUL HETHAI with both happiness and awe.

These men will return back to their Villages on the next monday – THE HETHAI HABBA DAY – to a grand and ceremonial welcome after attending to various rituals / ceremonies at Beragani & Gasu gui. Usually there will be ‘ Anna Dhana ‘

Every BADAGA (male & female) must visit Hethai Mane gudi (temple) either at Beragani or Pedduva at least once to experience and get the blessings of HETHAI during this fantastic festival called Hethi Habba.

The visit can be on any day during the ‘kolu’ period that is from 21-12-2015 to 28-12-2015 this year though the grand ‘finale’ is on the 28th Dec,2015 when lakhs of Badagas in their whites will throng these holy places with cars and other vehicles parked for a few kms on the all available roads. There will be many more thousands of non Badaga devotees celebrating the same in their hattis also.

EVERYONE WILL BE SERVED FOOD ( HITTU ).

This is the only day the deity – HETHAI – will be shown to the public for a few seconds

In the olden days the diary products where stored here. It has the churing stick or the MATTHU which is attached to a pole firmly buried to the ground. This was used for churning milk and only the men had the rights to enter this place. The diary products were stored in THATTAE (mud pots) inside the HAGOTTU. Since Hagottu is treated as sacred, it is smeared with cowdung every Mondays with water gathered from springs (HUTTU NEERU) only.

The HETTHAI DHADHI is kept in the HAGOTTU inside a bamboo that has been bored along its length so that the DHADHI can fit in. The DHADHI is taken out once a year and cleaned with salt & tamarind and then taken to the HETHAI MANE during the festival and kept back in its place as soon as the festival is over. Any outside materials that are taken into the HAGOTTU are ’purified’ by applying camphor vapour (KAPPARANA AATHODHU)).

Here, mention must be made about HONE used for milking of buffaloes (nowadays vessels or buckets are used). This container/sort of vessel is a broad hollow bamboo mearuing about 2 feet in length with the lower end closed. Ladies during their periods are not allowed into the room that holds the HAGOTTU. Ladies also, usually, do not eat inside the OGAMANAE where the HAGOTTU is present’.

In olden days, every household had a Hethai Dhadi of its own. Prof.Paul Hockings mentions that HAGOTU is the milk churning place, adjoining kitchen, inside the house – a place of worship, into which the women are not allowed to enter. But Dodda Mane in a hatti must have a Hogotu and if it is absent, the front portion of the kitchen is still considered sacred and for men only. Also called OGASU by Lingayat and Haruva Badagas.

There is a DHODDARU SHULOKA [Badaga proverb] which says,

’sappode sare, hagotu dura’ meaning

‘The milk vessel is nearby, but the churning place is far off’

The villagers give a warm and respectful send off to those proceeding to Hethai Mane (- they would have followed a very strict code of conduct like not eating non vegetarian food or consuming alcohol). As they (including many young boys) proceed away from the village, women spread white sheets (mundus) on the path and all those (men, women & children) not proceeding will prostrate ( adda bubbadu ) and they will be blessed ( harachodu ) by those ‘hethai kararu’. The unique Badaga ATHIKKODU – ” Ye Ha Ho ” will be loudly uttered.

As you listen to this ‘ Ye Ha Ho ‘ you can feel goose pimples rising, eyes welling up with tears and the heart filled with thoughts of the ALL POWERFUL HETHAI with both happiness and awe.

They will attend to many ceremonies & functions at Hethai Mane – Beraganni /Pedduva/Gasu Gui .

These men will return back to their Villages on the next monday – THE HETHAI HABBA DAY – to a grand and ceremonial welcome. Usually there will be ‘ Anna Dhana ‘ at their villages.

Every Badaga must visit HETHAI GUDI (temple) either at Beragani or Pedduva at least once to have an unique experience and get the blessings of HETHAI during this fantastic festival called Hethi Habba.

The visit can be on any day during the ‘kolu’ period when lakhs of Badagas in their whites, throng these holy places and their cars and other vehicles would have been parked for a few kms on the all available roads. There are many more thousands of non Badaga devotees also.

EVERYONE WILL BE SERVED FOOD ( HITTU ).

This is the only day the deity – HETHAI – will be shown to the public for a few seconds.

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R. Ramachandran of Kekkatti gives an interesting tit bit : ‘The Hethai Dhadi, considered very sacred, is always kept in the sacred corner called HAGOTTU, which is situated in the OGA MANE [inner room where the kitchen is located] adjoining EDA MANE.

Dear Sri JP

Seem to have covered a major part of the processes of the Hethai Habba. To add to this library on Hethai I am presenting a few lines on HAGOOTU. I hail from Ketti Kekkatty and one rare site in a badaga house is the presence of HAGOOTTU . This is basically a pooja room as we call it these days, but this is the only place a HETHAI DHADI is kept in a house other than the temples. And I am proud to say that we have a HAGOOTU in my house with the HETHAI DHADI.

Hagottu is situated in the OGAMANAE which is the sacred corner of any Badaga house. In the olden days the diary products where stored here. It has the churing stick or the MATTHU which is attached to the pole firmly burried. This was used for churning milk and only the men had the rights to enter this place. The diary products were stored in THATTAE ( mud pots) inside the HAGOTTU. Since this is treaded as the sacred place this is smeared with cowdung every week on Mondays with water gathered from the springs only. The HETTHAI DHADHI is kept in the HAGOTTU inside a bamboo which is bored along its height so that the DHADHI fits in. The DHADHI is taken out once a year and cleaned with salt and tamarind and then taken to the HETHAI MANAE during the festival and kept back in its place as soon as the festival is over.

Any outside materials that are taken into the HAGOTTU are made pure by applying camphor vapour (kappurana aathothu). Here wish to mention the HONAE the container during milking of buffaloes (nowadays vessels or buckets are used). This is a broad bamboo mearuing about 2 to 3 feet hollow inside except the lower end. Ladies during their periods are not allowed into the house that holds the HAGOTTU. Ladies also do not eat inside the OGAMANAE which the HAGOTTU is present.

R.Ramachandran

Kekkatty.

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I have added a few photos taken at Pedduva Hatti quite some years back from my archive. The photos of Hubbathalai Hethai Gudi ‘Suthu Kallu’ and the present ‘Head Pujari’ of Pedduva were taken in December, 2006) when Hetha Mane people were invited to Hubbathalai Village prior to Hethai Habba as is the tradition. 

On Hethai Habba day at Pedduva

The following snaps were taken at Hubbathalai Village on 15 Dec 2006

Ex – Head Pujari Krishna Gowder

The tempo is slowly built up. One or two persons from the Hethe Mane start playing the Bugiri after invocation – Hetheya Koruchuvodhu.

As I am writing this I am getting goose pimples – the hair rising in the back of the neck (மெய் சிலிர்க்கிறது) for the occasion is so solemn and the atmosphere is thick with anticipation. The bugiri may look very simple but the musical notes played on that by the experts can make any one forget this world and transport to another world. The music is ‘OH ennu Hethai, Odee Baali’ or as Dr.Ram has mentioned.

The Poojari or the ‘chosen one ‘ with his uncut long hair and without the shirt starts swaying to the music in standing position and obviously in a trance.

When the time comes, he gushes forth a scream and the music stops. Now he is truly POSSESSED by HETHAY and starts saying ‘vaakku’ – predictions. It may be general to the hatti or specific to a person or family. He chooses him/her/them by throwing an ’embai – lime’. The person so chosen, kneels before th PUJARI and addresses him as HETHAY.

Once HE[THEY] finishes, at a signal the music starts again and the process continues.

Incidentally, in ‘devvadodhu’ – the Pujari or the other Chosen ones speak while in trance in BADAGA only till midnight. If it continues after that the ‘predictions’ are given in what sounds like Halaya Kannada.

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The booklet ” Sri Hethaiammal sarithiram ( History of Sri Hethai Ammal) ” written by Mr. N.N. Pokka (Bogga ?) Madha Gowder, is indeed one of the rare books written on ‘Hethai ‘, the revered deity of Badagas of the Nilgiri Hills in Southern India, some seventy/eighty odd years ago.

Given in its original form in Tamil in these pages

Wherever possible, I have tried to give the translation in English

A lot of friends, the latest being MEERA GOPAL, have been asking me to send them the ‘Complete History of HETHAI AMMA’. 

You can read and download the same from here

 The download size is about 3.8MB. Please remember that you should have installed one of the (free) pdf readers like FOXIT, PDF -XChange Viewer, Adobe Reader on your system to open and read the downloaded file !

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Hethe Amma, the purest one, in your blessings lie our well being !

Madekke mannoondha aaleyu, adhu thirigi mannoo aagha

[Even though a pot has been made out of clay, it cannot become clay again]

Thuppa benne endha aaleyu, adhu thirigi benne aagha

[Clarified butter (nei in Tamil), though made out of butter, cannot become butter again]

Jenu hoo endha aaleyu, adhu thirigi hoo aagha,

[Honey, that comes from flowers, cannot become flowers again]

Holladha vakka Hethe Mane ga hodha maele, thirigi holladhavakka aagharu

[After going to Hethai Temple, ‘bad’ people cannot remain bad]

[from silver jubilee souvenir 1993, BWA-Madras]

May HETHAI Amma bless us !

Creative Alliance for Nilgiris

I can, you can , we all can

Dharmalingam Venugopal

December 11 is International Mountain Day.

This year the theme is Promoting mountain products.

Globalization offers opportunities for mountain producers to market their high quality mountain products, such as coffee, tea, tourism and handicrafts at the national, regional and international levels. Though mountain products cannot compete with the prices and volumes of lowland production, they  can concentrate on high value, high quality products to boost local economies.

Nilgiri products

This is the formula for success for Nilgiri products, particularly tea- high value and high quality. But to do that one has promote the Nilgiri brand in a big way-  road shows, advertisements, buyer-seller meet etc

‘Blue Mountains come to Chennai’ or ‘Chennaiyil Neela Malai’

Dec 11 is an excellent opportunity to have the event in Chennai. December is the month Chennai attracts the best of people / customers from all over India and abroad.

Venue

A shopping mall would be the best place. Spencers Shopping Mall on Mount Road has the best location and comparatively less expensive.

Duration

The event can be for two days. Dec 11 (Friday) and Dec 12 (Saturday).

Products that can be promoted

Mainly tea, confectionaries (varkies), chocolates, vegetables, tourism, eco-tours, organic products etc.

Promotional activities

Free distribution of sample Nilgiri teas (both liquid and packets), demonstration, lectures etc on how Nilgiri teas are different and unique and their high value to higher income consumers. The same goes for other products.

Side attractions

Nilgiri songs and dance, product exhibitions, celebrity endorsements ( including our own young star in cinema and TV), prizes, free trip to Nilgilris etc.

Roping in Non-resident Nilgirians

There are thousands of Nilgirians, especially youth in Chennai, nearby places and abroad. A call can be given that each one should help sell a minimum of 10 kgs of Nilgiris teas during the two days by way gifting to friends and others. Social media can be used to reach out to maximum Non-resident Nilgirians.

Organising team

All creative and constructive Nilgirians can pool their creativity, marketing skill and resources to make the even a grand success. Capable Nilgirians can seek sponsorship and other support for the event.

If the response is good, the Creative Alliance for Nilgiris will take the initiative.

If the event becomes a success, as it should, it can be repeated in Bangalore and other places.

What’s the first step?

Please read this and reply at  the earliest how you can help in this. Equally important, share this mail with as many Nilgirians as possible.

This is only a skeleton of an idea. Your views and suggestions are welcome to make it full-fledged.

An excellent idea. Along with Tea, other much sought after products like Eucalyptus Oil can be included. Deepak Bhojraj’s creative and eco friendly products like note Pads, coasters, bookmarks  etc are other items that may be promoted – Wg Cdr JP

He could be distinguished from other Badaga elders from the different and unique way he wore his headgear – Mandarey. It was more like how a Punjabi Sikh would wear his turban.

He was deeply and completely associated with Hethe Temple and Heth Habba. It is well known that he would go to every Badaga Village BY FOOT to inform the hatti about the HETHE HABBA day once the same was decided at the formal meeting every year.

His knowledge on and about Badaga was very deep.

He was very proficient in Arabic language and many muslims desiring to go on Haj would seek his help to learn the basic.

He had accepted my invitation and visited my place exactly eight years back on 16-11-2007.

He had explained the meaning of Karu harachodhu apart from many topics we had discussed about BADAGA.

Kebetta Madha Gowder was a humble but great man. In his own way, he had contributed to upkeep the Badaga Traditions.

He passed away on 17-11-2015. May his soul Rest In Peace.

We reached the 400,000 views mark at 14:22 hrs on 13 Nov 2015

Thank you from the bottom of my heart….

Wg Cdr JP [Coonoor]

bjaypee@gmail.com

Nearing 400,000 hits…

Here’s a question that was posed to the Dalai Lama:

“What thing about humanity surprises you the most?”

His answer is :

“MAN – Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he doesn’t enjoy the present,

And as a result he doesn’t live in the present or the future. And he lives as if he’s never going to die and then he dies having never really lived”.
___________

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next to best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing“

RICHNESS is not Earning More, Spending More Or Saving More, but….”RICHNESS IS WHEN YOU NEED NO MORE”

Let us be FAIR to the fair sex

As I sit down to ponder over the ‘burning issues’ that are bothering the Badaga Community, three issues pop up as very important. The FIRST one is the inequality with which we seem to be treating our women today. Though, this malaise is affecting all the communities in our country, I am concerned that the Badagas who treated their women folk with so much respect and love in the olden days, are slowly but surely pushing them into the second class citizens category.

In earlier days, the girls were married off at a much younger age [Kannu Huttadha Henga – beautifully brought out in the song mundhutti mandey hindhuga illey’from Berada Bellie Ballad’ but with the firm understanding that they [the girls] could seek divorce at any time if there was matrimonial disharmony and that they would be accepted back into the society without any blame and reservation. Getting married again was no big issue. She always, had the backing of her parents and her brothers as ‘guru mane’ gave unflinching support in all respects mainly financial. This was probably the main reason that the girl children were not given any share in the property.

Being brought up in an atmosphere where complaining and cribbing were not considered as routine, the Badaga women accepted life as it came and were always ready to sacrifice their own comforts. But then, the Badaga men, at least a majority of them, were, also, simple and hard working. Then came the curse of ‘drinking’. And with that, the problems and troubles of Badaga woman increased many folds and took a dramatic turn for the worse. The men folk took full advantage of the vulnerable nature of the women who had the additional burden of bringing up the children. Here, it must be mentioned that a Badaga girl was expected to be pregnant within a few months of marriage and invariably, there was a child to ‘celebrate’ the first wedding anniversary. Followed, of course, with many more children. “Mane thumba Makka” – House full of children – was part of the ‘blessing – Harakkay’.

This put the women in a very disadvantageous position. With many children, divorce was not an easy choice. Thus, they accepted suffering without complaints.

H.N.Sivan with his daughters

Education has changed the fundamental thinking of girls.  It has given them the courage to standup and be counted apart from the opportunities of economic independence by taking up jobs. Now we see a large number of Badaga women as teachers in schools and colleges. Many can be found in the government offices also. A few are making their marks in the IT field in multinational companies all over the world. Those who are, sort of forced to remain at home, have taken up MT – medical transcription. They are becoming aware of ‘online opportunities’ of working from home. Since most of the girls are educated in English medium schools, they are a more confident and assertive. Of course, this has brought out the unfortunate incidences of ‘marrying outsiders’.

Though still faced with the compulsion of early marriage, many girls have accepted ‘two children per family’ norm as the best option. But still, there was and is discrimination when it came to giving them share of property. The present law of the land is clear. Girls should get EQUAL share of the property. Needless to add, this has also brought the ‘unavoidable’ stress and tension.

Great Badaga leader Hubbathalai Ari Gowda‘s foresight in insisting on girl child education and equal share of property, that were personally ensured by him in his family nearly sixty five years ago, is appreciated by all.

The Badaga thinking, mainly mandated and manipulated by men, has found the clumsy excuse of not giving equal share of the property to the girl children by quoting outdated traditions. This is the problem.

I am convinced that one of the most important and burning issues facing us today is GIVING EQUAL SHARE TO THE GIRLS AS THE BOYS. I am firmly of the view that we have to resolve that we will give equal share to the girls if we have to save our community and country from falling into disgrace.

Let us take that resolution, HERE and NOW.

An email received from IPPF

Dear Wing Commander Look at the difference you’ve made! Your support has helped us show world leaders how important it is to let women and girls decide what happens to their body, who they live with, the size of their family and their future. We took your message, along with messages from 400,000 people in an incredible 151 other countries, to tell governments at the UNITED NATIONS negotiations over the last few months in New York, to put women and girls at the heart of their new Sustainable Development agenda. They listened. 193 countries agreed the next set of development goals, and they have committed to making sure that every girl and woman can live free from discrimination and have access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights within one generation. If they are implemented these new goals will change hundreds of millions of lives. But if we want this new agenda to change lives – and save lives – it must become a reality on the ground. We will now be following how all governments implement this agenda in their country and to ensuring that there is adequate funding for sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.” We will be in touch in the coming months on this, but for now we wanted simply wanted to say a big thank you and to let you know the success you have contributed to. . If you to see more about what we’re doing please visit our website: www.ippf.org/UNGA2015. Thank you!

From Tewodros Melesse, IPPF Director General

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NDC Director for UN Summit

The United Nations Summit for adoption of Post-2015 development agenda  is being held on September 25-27, 2015 at New York alongside the 70 session of the General Assembly. The Summit will approve a new agenda which will supersede the Millennium Development Goals as the common global agenda for the next fifteen years till 2030.

More than 150 world leaders including Prime Minister Mody are expected to attend the Summit to formally adopt an ambitious new sustainable development agenda. This momentous agenda will serve as the launch pad for action by the international community and by national governments to promote shared prosperity and well-being for all over the next 15 years.

Representatives of Non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations from across the world will also be participating in the Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda.

Dharmalingam Venugopal, Honorary Director of Nilgiri Documentation Centre will be one of the  few NGO representatives to participate from India. He had earlier participated in the   United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio di Janeiro in 2012.

“As a member of the Mountain Partnership, which is a UN affiliated NGO, we have been campaigning for the  specific inclusion of mountain priorities in the Summit agenda. The draft report of the Summit tiltled, ‘Transforming Our World for People and Planet’  has accepted the inclusion in paras 6.6, 15.1 and 15.4  which will be approved at the end of the Summit’, said Mr. Venugopal.

Mr. Venugopal who is on a one month visit to the US said he will meet with Nilgiriologists in America and visit various libraries to seek copies of Nilgiri material available with them for the documentation centre.

Wishing Venugopal, a Badaga from Kannerimukku Village, all the very best. – Wg Cdr JP

A brother’s anguish at Bose’s death

Sarat Chandra Bose, the illustrious elder brother of Netaji was under house arrest in Coonoor in the Nilgiris when the latter died in an air crash in August 1945. Sarat Bose had been under arrest since December 1941 in various places for joining hands with Subhas Boses. It was from the newspapers that he came to know the devastating news of the death of his brother. The anguished entry in his prison diary on the fateful day read, ‘Divine Mother, how many sacrifices have we to offer at your altar! Terrible Mother, your blows are too hard to bear! Your last blow was the heaviest and cruelest of all.”

The two brothers, though temperamentally different, had a special bond.

The diary continued, ‘Four or five nights back I dreamt that Subhas had come to see me. He was standing on the verandah of this bungalow and appeared to have become very tall in stature. I jumped up to see his face. Almost immediately thereafter, he disappeared. I did not attach any meaning to the dream then’ But now’.

In a letter he wrote to his niece the same day, Sarat Bose lamented, ‘How shall I console you all , how shall I console myself’.

The district administration should consider erecting a plaque at the  Coonoor-Kotagiri road, near Sim’s Park, where he was imprisoned in a bungalow, mentioning Sarat Chandra Bose’s association with Coonoor at an eventful time in Indian history.

Dharmalingam Venugopal

[Nilgiri Documentation Centre,Kotagiri, 9444365360]