It is known to almost everyone that many rituals such as Bhoota Kola, Thambila, and annual festivals are held in Tulunad. But these are not conducted throughout the year, they start in the month of Jarde and pause on the tenth day of the month of Besha. Pattanaje ritual is practiced in Tulunadu & some parts of Malenadu and Coorg districts of Karnataka. The tenth day of this Besha month is celebrated as Pattanaje. In most of the years, the tenth day of Besha month falls on 24th May, sometimes it falls on 25th May. The agricultural work of Tulunad begins with this Pattanaje which falls on the 24th or 25th of May in the month of Besha(Vrishabha). From this day, the field will be ploughed and the field will be planted on the 18th day. Next, for 6 months till November, only agriculture will be given priority in Tulunad.
According to the proverb Pattanaje g patt pani barsa (about ten drops of rainfall on the day of Pattanaje), the Tulu people believe that at least about ten drops of rain should fall on Pattanaje. The rain on that day indicates the abundance of the next crop. The rain and wind which usually come on the tenth day of the second solar month (i.e., on Pattanāje) is called Pattanajeta Malaka in Tulu language.
Several religious rituals are performed on Pattanaje. Let’s know about Pattanaje in detail in this article.
Etymology of the word Pattanaje: There are several arguments about the origin of the word Pattanaje. Some argue that the two words Pattane + Aaje can be Pattanaje, where Aaje means step, hence it is called the tenth step. Pattane Aaje could mean tenth day because Pattanaj is celebrated on the tenth day of the month of Besha. A question may arise as to how the word ‘Aaje‘ has come to mean day. Aache means day in Kodava language and Aase means day in Beary language. Some speculate that Aaje used in Tulu may be a cognate of the Beary and Kodava words Aache and Aase. Cognate of a word means having the same linguistic derivation as another. It may be known that Tulu uses the word Angaare for Tuesday. Angare here may mean Aare of Angaraka (Tuesday). Aare may also mean days like Aaje, Aache and Aase. So the word Aaje/Aare may mean day. We are not clear about this. The information we have given in this article about the word Pattanaje is not final, each researcher/writer may have a different type of derivation. Further research is needed on this.
Celebration of Pattanaje:
In the past, there were six months of rainy season and six months of summer in Tulunad. There was no festival & Bhuta worshipping due to the incessant rain, wind and lightning during the rainy season. So our elders had decided to end all kinds of ritual festivals at Pattanaje. After that no one dares to take part in the ritualistic celebrations as the farmers are busy with farming. Similarly, it is impossible to conduct any festival in the heavy rainy season, hence this deadline of Pattanaje has arrived. It is thought that this deadline and belief may have originated because it was difficult to conduct the festival during the rainy season. So Pattanaje has great importance in Tulunad. In earlier times, those who had access to abundant water used to plant tender/young paddy plant (Nēji) on Bisu festival, as the work of planting became easier when the rains started after Pattanaje.
Agel offering is performed on Pattanaje in the afternoon or evening where there is a stone or shrine of Guliga or Bhairava. Guliga is believed to protect humans from diseases. Bhairava protects cattle from various diseases. On Pattanaje, the shrine and stones of Bhūta are purified and Agel offering performed. In some places there is a tradition of offering Agel in front of stones enshrined in forests.
On Pattanaje day, Agel offering is performed to the Bhūtas, which is called “Bhūtog Karippuna ” in Tulu language. At night Agel offers to the souls of the departed elders called “karitt’d pōinakuḷeg karippuna“. On the day of Pattanaje, the Tulu people offer Agel services to the Bhutas and close the doors of the shrine. On the day of Sankranti, the door of the shrine is opened to light the lamp. In some regions of Tulunad, Kola is offered for Bhūtas from ten to eleventh day of Bēśa month. This is called Pattanaje’da Nemotsava.
On the day of Pattanaje, Tambila is offered to the family deities. Tambila is a ritual followed in Shrines and Stones of Bhuta wherein puffed rice, tender coconut and Banana fruits are offered. Tambila is usually performed during daylight hours. Married women of the family must attend this event. They should bring a young hen that has not yet laid eggs and a kilo of rice, spices and pepper. The elder person of the family performs all the rituals and prays to the family deity that the womens do not suffer and keep everyone happy.
All religious rituals will be suspended for six months after Pattanaje. If any kind of kola of village and family deities is conducted, it should be completed before Pattanaje, it is believed that after Pattanaje the Bhūtas will travel towards the ghat.
Temples also have special rituals and Bali on Pattanaje. Bali means going clockwise around the sanctuary of the temple by holding the idol or mask on the head and offering flowers, leaves, rice etc to the stones set for the purpose. Annual festival, special festivals and festivals held in temples come to an end on this Pattanaje. On this occasion, no special festivals are held in the temples here, only daily puja are continued. After six months, religious festivals like Anka, Ayana, Nema will resume after Tudar Parba(Diwali) starts with Deepotsava.
As per the Tulu proverb Ermāḷ Jappu Khaṇḍēvu, festivals in Tulunad begin with the annual festival held at Ermāḷ and end with the annual festival held at Khaṇḍēvu. In earlier days there was a practice of going to the forest near the village and hunting on Pattanaje day. The intention behind this was to control wild animals before the start of cultivation before the onset of the rainy season. Because of the hunting, there was a huge meat feast that day. After Pattanaje when the first rainfall starts, one can witness frogs, Narte fishes rising up, and also muguḍu and moḍeñji fish coming up from the streams. At that time, the head of Moḍeñji fish is pierced using a large sickle. By doing this, fishes were to be collected for the purpose of cooking.
Gejje bicchapuna (Unwrapping Jingling bells): Gejje means jingle bells in Tulu. This jingling bell anklet is used by Yakshagana artists. There are hundreds of Yakshagana Melas that are held in temples throughout Tulunad and also in the Malenāḍu. After Pattanaje, performing Yakshagana is stopped everywhere, this is called Gejje Bicchapuna. On the last day of the Yakshagana performance, they play games and offer prayers and finish the Yakshagana. On the occasion of Tudar Parba (Diwali), which comes again, the artistes of the temple Melas perform dances in front of the deity and start the Yakshagana (Aaṭa) Seva.