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Hindus plant holika in preparation for Phagwah
Hindus across Guyana and the world on Saturday evening planted the holika, in preparation for the festive celebration of Phagwah, some 40 days away. The planting of Holika is done roughly about 40 days from the Hindu celebration of Phagwah.This, co-incidentally, is also the day of Saraswati Jayanti or the birth of the Hindu Goddess, Saraswati Mata.
Priest-in-Charge of the Cumberland Mandir, Pandit Deodat Persaud, said that the tree being planted is one reperesentative of the evil Queen Holika, who is the sister of the evil King, Hirnakashyipu. Persaud noted that 40 days from now, Prahalad will be destroying that same tree (in the burning), an act that is symbolic of destruction of evil and triumph of good over evil. “It’s quite an important occasion for Hindus,” he stated.
Preparing to plant the Holika
The approach of Spring or Harvest time, according to the priest, is a joyful time, “and we pray for the village, that the lands continue to be fertile.” Also coinciding with the celebration of the planting of the Holika, he said, is Swarswattie Jayantie, where pujas and other relevant prayers are made to the Goddess of learning, Swarswattie.
A custom, too, is that youngsters and other persons would place their reading material at the altar of the Goddess to receive blessings.
During the ritual of planting the Holika, oblations are paid to Mother Earth through the performance of extensive puja. A similar ritual is performed to Lord Ganesh, “so that the village itself and the temples, they can also be successful and their families would be happy and there would be no impediments”.
Other Goddesses, too, are worshipped on that special night, he added. The hawaan ceremony purifies the environment, giving oblations to the various Gods. The castor oil plant is then planted at a selected outdoor location, while various mantras are chanted. That specific plant is used since the castor oil tree can thrive under very difficult circumstances. “ We are using it to represent Holika, and the mere fact that it can thrive under harsh conditions—what it says is that bad ways can become rooted in us and become difficult to remove—and it requires a very dedicated person to remove it, so we undergo 40 days of extensive preparations to remove it all.”
It is burned the night before Phagwah is celebrated. The next 40 days, he stated, are very celebratory since even the type of songs that would be sung in the various mandirs will denote celebration in this season. “It’s the same way of giving God praise, but quite different in the rhythmic mood.”
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