Madurai :
A village near Andipatti in Theni district recently celebrated a bizarre festival where the brother-in-laws or cousins in a family thrashed each other with brooms to overcome their differences and bring harmony.
This ritual is held as part of the festival of the 100-year-old Muthalamman temple in Maravapatti near Andipatti. Every year, the brother-in-laws, usually the married men in the family and their brothers take part in this ritual.
According to Muthuraj, an elderly man in the village, the ritual is being practiced for more than a century now to solve disputes. “Disputes are common in almost every family. When a girl married and sent to her in-laws hose, there are instances where the brothers of the girl and her husband refrain from talking to each other over small disputes. This broom ceremony helps to solve such issues,” he said.
On the day of the festival, the brother-in-laws beat each other with the brooms and finally end up hugging each other. It was interesting to watch the men dressed in their worst attire being hit by others. They were rolled on the wet ground and the crowd gathered was laughing to their fullest. Large crowds from the neighbouring villages too gathered witness the event.
Periyathai, a villager, said, “If the bridegrooms are villages, which doesn’t follow such ceremonies, we inform them well in advance before the marriage as it is believed that participating in the festival also enhances family ties. There have also been instances where the mothers of the bridegrooms have called off the wedding arrangements because they believe their sons are above the rest,” she said.
On Tuesday, the men gathered in the village armed with brooms, many had even bought new ones as they did not want to offend their opponents, and started hitting each other with it.
The women in this village do not get very upset when some dispute arises because they know it would be solved in the next festival.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / May 02nd, 2014