Day Five: Jaffna food and festivities
This morning Jan and I wandered around the streets in a different direction and discovered the University quarter of Jaffna. We saw several campuses of the University of Jaffna and right next door was The University of Sri Lanka, and then the equivalent of our TAFE we think. Very spacious grounds for all of them and probably convenient with them all being close together.
Then it was another entertaining breakfast where yet again we confused the restaurant staff with our weird choices - it's a long story to be shared in a later post!
We travelled along some dirt roads through some small villages before reaching a Toddy 'farm'.
This 'farmer ' or toddy tapper regularly climbs to the top of coconut or palmyra palms to milk the palm flower stem for sap. They then chop the flower and attach pots/bags to collect the sap overnight.
The liquid is allowed to ferment naturally and turns into a mildly alcoholic beverage within a few hours.
The skill of the toddy tapper was remarkable as he proceeded to climb the palm using a rope with a tennis ball attached (!) and sole-less leather sandals. No OH&S considerations of course! It was a bit terrifying watching him as he was a long way from the ground.
The sap is extracted from these parts of the palm flower.
By this stage Chandana had arrived and you can see from the expression on his face that, even though he is Sinhalese, he wasn't too sure about it!
And neither were we!
Our next stop was to a farm to admire the produce and select some for our lunch cooking class. Great idea, except that it had poured the night before so we had to steer clear of the mud and puddles.
We traipsed around fields with beans, okra, herbs.....and lots of unidentified plants which Ninthujan described as cattle food!
We ended up in a colourful chilli field with some pickers who were also picking tea. We scraped the mud off our shoes and headed for his family home where he lives with his pregnant wife, sister and parents. (Of course,when we re-entered Australia we had to tick the box that said we had been on a farm. By then we had scrubbed our shoes so they were pristine and the Customs woman barely looked at them!)
Fortunately Ninthuja and Male came to help. I had a few safety pins and they had some too. Jenny had brought her elastic washing line just in case it was needed too! We really needed the appropriate undergarments but there was no way I'm exposing my stomach to the public anywhere!
Walking was a bit constricted for some, but we managed to walk around and admire the temple before being blessed by the swami or poosari.
In our absence a sumptuous meal had been prepared using all of the veggies we'd chosen. We ate from banana leaves using our fingers -just the right hand! - with lots of delicious courses and rice to absorb the juices. It was very messy but we managed to not end up with our clothes covered in spots.
At 5.00pm Sid and Udaya (driver extraordinaire) returned to collect us with temple clothes on, ie clothes which covered our shoulders and ankles. We had no hope of getting into our saris again so wore our usual clothes!
Dispersed around the temple, people sat and quietly read from a tiny book which is all about the gods and the tenets of the Hindu religion apparently.
Ninthujan's sister and mother have just launched a youtube channel for Sri Lankan cooking and they were delightful. The address is youtube.com/@VANNI.VLOG
They greeted us by putting a dot of holy white ash on our foreheads, then a dot of sticky fluid and then a red dot for those who were married. Apparently this is to advertise that you're not available!
We helped chop some veggies and insisted Sid and Udaya did their bit!
Whilst Ninthuja and Male cooked we were going to the local Hindu temple to be blessed.
Casually Ninthujan asked us to put on our saris, which the travel company had given each of us, as if we did it every day! I had to point out that we had no idea how to put them on: they're 5 metres of fabric and it takes considerable skill to fold, wind, arrange and pin them into anything remotely wearable.
Fortunately Ninthuja and Male came to help. I had a few safety pins and they had some too. Jenny had brought her elastic washing line just in case it was needed too! We really needed the appropriate undergarments but there was no way I'm exposing my stomach to the public anywhere!
The result wasn't too bad and we managed to keep them together whilst clambering up into the van to go to the local Hindu temple, so we could be blessed.
Walking was a bit constricted for some, but we managed to walk around and admire the temple before being blessed by the swami or poosari.
The colours were very bright and modern in this temple.
You almost needed your sunglasses on. Every temple is different of course,depending on the wealth of the locals supporting it.
We weren't sure about the purpose of a couple of old wooden animals, but it seems they are platforms on which the statues of the gods are carried in ceremonial processions. This rat had impressive teeth!
The poosari placed more holy ash on our foreheads and then we had to place our hands in the smoke from some candles and splash holy water across the top of our heads. He chanted some blessings in a quiet voice. It was very peaceful.
Then he offered us some food: nutty doughnuts in soft rice dough and some crisp biscuits.
No photos are allowed inside the inner sanctum of any Hindu temples where the poosaris are.
We create quite a stir when we go anywhere as tourists are very scarce.As Kerryn and I got into the van I noticed a woman pointing her camera at us and she indicated she wanted to take a photo so we obliged. Much smiling but no language in common unfortunately.
In our absence a sumptuous meal had been prepared using all of the veggies we'd chosen. We ate from banana leaves using our fingers -just the right hand! - with lots of delicious courses and rice to absorb the juices. It was very messy but we managed to not end up with our clothes covered in spots.
We farewelled the family and returned to the Hotel for a rest and swim. It's very tiring being a tourist!
At 5.00pm Sid and Udaya (driver extraordinaire) returned to collect us with temple clothes on, ie clothes which covered our shoulders and ankles. We had no hope of getting into our saris again so wore our usual clothes!
We knew we were going to the Nallur temple which is one of the largest Hindu temples in Jaffna. We expected to see a few people but were all very surprised when we arrived to find thousands of devotees milling around the outside of the huge ornate temple awaiting the arrival of an important god, Murugan, son of Shiva. The statue of Murugan was seated on a magnificent gold bull carried on the shoulders of dozens of men.
All of the men within temple grounds are required to be bare-chested and many wore ceremonial red and white sarongs. The passion and fervour on many of the men's faces as the deity drew near really emphasised the importance of their religion to them.
The procession included musicians playing loud traditional music on trumpets and drums (rather ear-splitting to our ears but it seemed to excite the devotees!).
Then there were men carrying huge round metal braziers with flames leaping from them. The fire added a spectacular element to the noise and movement. The men carried their fire braziers and circled around the deity at the entrance of the Temple before the procession disappeared inside.
At this point a youtuber came and interviewed Jan, Anne and Jenny and later we discovered that we all appeared for a brief moment. It is a bit long but does give you a better sense of the ceremony than still photos. We appear momentarily at the end!
The address is:
https://youtu.be/8Bv6cypPuhd4?si=5jR_byzGjU8YXZIB
As we entered the temple we were scrutinised by a couple of temple workers, one of whom thought my long pants were not long enough! We know to cover our shoulders and legs, although of course all of the men are bare-chested! Even Sid finds it hard to get an explanation about all of this. (In one Hindu temple we visited, a young man with his wife and child was told to take off his shirt, in no uncertain terms, by one of the young swamis)
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Anyway Sid used his charm and I was allowed in. With no photos of the inside allowed it's hard to describe this very opulent - and obviously very wealthy Temple. It had a huge wide walkway around the outside of the inner sanctum with lots of gold pillars and shiny statues of the many gods. Only swamis/poosaris are allowed into the inner sanctum which seems to consist of some mirrored arches and more gods of every size and shape. Being so affluent meant that here every statue had been well-maintained, and the effect is stunning. The families who were there were dressed in their best, and the little girls sparkled in their brightly-coloured and sequinned dresses.
Dispersed around the temple, people sat and quietly read from a tiny book which is all about the gods and the tenets of the Hindu religion apparently.
We emerged into the night and Sid showed us a special temple building which houses enormous tall chariots which are used for some processions.
We did have a funny experience as we made our way through the throng to get to the van. An older guy in a red sarong chased us down and said "Do you remember me from the train?" . On the train to Jaffna he and Jan had spoken and he recognised us (not surprisingly really as we stand out in a crowd here!). Although born in Sri Lanka he lives in Canada and had come for the 4 days of special ceremonies at this temple. He was very friendly and delighted to see us.
Sid had kindly invited us out for drinks at a Bar so we enjoyed some quiet time together chatting, without the masses, before heading for home.
Another startling day full of surprises!
your weary but fascinated correspondent
Dianne
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