tribalartindia

Holi – Not Just the Festival of Colors

Updated: Mar 17

Holi is a popular ancient Hindu festival, also known as the "Festival of Love", the "Festival of Colors''

and the "Festival of Spring” celebrated on Falgun Poorunima (Full moon in the Hindu calendar

month of Falgun) which fenerally fall in the month of March of Gregorian calendar . The festivities

officially usher in spring, with Holi celebrated as a festival of love. The festival celebrates the

triumph of good over evil, as it celebrates the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha Narayana over

Hiranyakashipu. It also signifies eternal and divine love of Radha Krishna. The festivities officially

usher in spring, with Holi celebrated as a festival of love. It originated and is predominantly

celebrated in the Indian subcontinent but has also spread to other regions of Asia and parts of the

Western world through the Indian diaspora.

This festival is celebrated over a period of 2 days. The first day is Choti Holi where in evening Holika

Dahan (burning of Demon Holika) takes place and the following day is Holi which is played with

colors and flowers

Holi in Pihwai Art

This color playing Holi is known with different names in different states of India and also has very

unique local flavors and traditions in this festival. Apart from Holi, this festival is known with various

local & regional names such as Dhulandi ( Haryana), Phagwah (Bihar), Ukul Manjal Kuli (kerala),

Yaosang (Manipur), Kahila Holi ( Uttarakhand) , Shigmo (Goa), Jajiri (Telangana) , Hola Mohalla

(Punjab), Dola (West Bengal).

Traditions & Cultural significance.

The Holi festival has a cultural significance and is the festive day to end oneself of past errors, to end conflicts by meeting Bhil painting others, a day to forget and forgive. People pay or forgive debts, as well as deal anew with those in their lives. Holi also marks the start of spring, an occasion for people to enjoy the changing seasons and make new friends.

Although the festival of Holi is best known today for its party atmosphere, it also has ancient Origin

& a religious significance. Holi is referenced in the Vedas, Puranas, and even in stone inscription

from 300 BC found at Ramgarh. There are also representations of the celebration is sculptures and

murals on old temple walls in different part of India. For example, a temple at Hampi has a 16th

century panel depicting a prince and princess about to be drenched in colored water. This is just one

of several examples of royalty taking part in Holi celebrations during the medieval period. Various

traditional painting of India have clear depiction of Holi festival in their art work since its inception.

Religious History

There is a legend to explain why Holi is celebrated as a festival of triumph of good over evil in the

honor of Hindu god Vishnu and his devotee Prahalad. King Hiranyakashipu father of Prahalad,

according to a legend found in chapter 7 of Bhagavata Purana, was the king of demonic Asuras, and

had earned a boon that gave him five special powers. As per that he could not be killed by human or

animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor at night, neither by astra (projectile

weapons) nor by any shastra (handheld weapons), and neither on land nor in water or air. With this

Hiranyakashipu grew arrogant, thought he was God, and demanded that everyone worship only him.

Hiranyakashipu's own son, Prahalad, however, disagreed. He was and remained devoted to Vishnu.

This infuriated Hiranyakashipu. He subjected Prahalad to cruel punishments, none of which affected

the boy or his resolve to do what he thought was right. Finally, Holika, Prahalad's evil aunt, tricked

him into sitting on a pyre with her. Holika was wearing a cloak that made her immune to injury from

fire, while Prahlada was not. As the fire roared, the cloak flew from Holika and encased Prahalad,

who survived while Holika burned. Seeing this Hiranyakashipu himself charged towards Prahalad to

kill him.

That time Lord Vishnu, appeared as an Narsimha Avtar to restore Dharma. This Narsimha avtar is

special one which is half human and half lion (which is neither a human nor an animal), at dusk

(when it was neither day nor night), took Hiranyakashipu at a doorstep (which was neither indoors

nor outdoors), placed him on his lap (which was neither land, water nor air), and then eviscerated

and killed the king with his lion claws (which were neither a handheld weapon nor a launched

weapon).The Holika bonfire and Holi signifies the celebration of the symbolic victory of good over

evil, of Prahalad over Hiranyakashipu, and of the fire that burned Holika. It is believed that Holika

was created to ward off all sorts of fear. Hence Holika, although a Demoness, is worshipped along

with Prahlada before Holika Dahan

`Holi in Madhubani Art

The color of play in this festival has a popular legend behind it. It is said that the naughty and

mischievous Lord Krishna started the trend of playing colors. Radha was a fair skin girl whereas

Krishna has darker skin tones. He applied color on her beloved Radha to make her like him. The

trend soon gained popularity among the masses. No wonder, there is no match to the Holi of

Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana – the places associated with the birth and childhood of Radha and

Krishna.

The Celebration

Holika Dahan – It is believed that all sorts of fear can be conquered by doing Holika Puja on Holi.

Holika Puja bestows power, prosperity and wealth. Days before the festival people start gathering

wood and uple ( Cow dung cakes) and other combustible materials for the bonfire in parks,

community centres, near temples and other open spaces. The place where Holika is kept is rinsed

with cow dung and the holy water of river. A wooden pole is kept in the center and surrounded with

beads or garlands of toys made of cow dung which are popularly known as Gulari, Bharbholiye or

Badkula. Holika pile is decorated with shields, swords, sun, moon, stars and other toys made of cow

dung. Idols of Holika and Prahlada usually made of cow dung are placed on the top of the heap.

During Holika Dahan, the idol of Prahlada is taken out. Also, four beads of cow dung are kept safe

before the bonfire. One is kept safe in the name of ancestors, second in the name of God Hanuman,

third in name of Goddess Sheetala and fourth in the name of the family. On top of the pyre is an

effigy to signify Holika who tricked Prahalad into the fire. On the eve of Holi, typically at or after

sunset, the pyre is lit, signifying Holika Dahan. The ritual symbolizes the victory of good over evil.

People sing and dance around the fire. People also

Holi Of Colors – Great excitement can be seen in people on the next day when it is actually the time

for the play of colors. People get all the time to get crazy and wacky. Bright colors of gulal and abeer

fill the air and people take turns in pouring color water over each other. Children take special delight

in spraying colors on one another with their Pichkaris (Water Guns) and throwing water balloons at

passers by. Women and senior citizens form groups called tolis and move in colonies – applying

colors and exchanging greetings, Songs, dance on the rhythm of dholak and mouthwatering Holi

delicacies such as Gujhiya & Jalebi, Fafda & Gathiya are the other highlights of the day. Thandai &

Ecstasy of Bhang is also associated with Holi. There is also a very popular tradition of consuming

Thandai & intoxicating bhang on this day.

Amanta & Purnimanta System

The Hindu calendar either follows amanta system or purnimanta system to identify the end of a lunar month. On the amanta calendar, one month ends and the next begins with amavasya tithi( New Moon). Telugu calendar Tribal Art & Gujarati calendar are examples of amanta calendar. Purnimanta system reckons month ends and next month begins with Poornima Tihit(Full moon). The traditional Hindu calendar popular in north India is a purnimanta calendar.

Samvatsara

Samvat or Samvatsara ( meaning a “year” in Sanskrit) is a term that is used to refer to a year in various Hindu calendars. As we are ushering in the Indian New year today, let’s know more details about Samvatsara.

The “Saptrishi Samvat”, is the oldest calendar in the world and is still followed by the Kashmiri people in India. The most commonly known samvats are Vikram Samvat, named after Great King Vikramaditya and Shaka samvat named after Satavahana dynesty’s King Shalivahan. In modern India Saka Samvat is adopted as the official national Calendar India.

The Gregorian calendar year 2022 corresponds to year 5098 of the Saptarishi Samvat, year 2079 of Vikram Samvat , and year 1943 of Shaka Samvat.

Hindu new year falls on shukla paksha(Full Moon), pradipada tithi (First day) of Chaitra month and is also called Chaitra Shukladi. 2022 Hindu new year falls on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Vikram samvat 2079 starts on this day.

Bhil painting

Tribal Art

Canvas painting

Hello World!