Different types Holi in India: its colours, cannabis and history

Holi: A festival of colours and a celebration of love in India. its not only celebrated among Hindus but has again popularity among non-Hindus folks too. indigenous 

Along with more cultural and tourist exchanges, this Indian festival has gained popularity outside India also. Outside India, it has gained popularity not only in South-East Asia, of which India is a part of but also, it had reached as far as Europe and North America. However, seeing the festival of colour getting blended with the colours of other cultures, make it a pure fun and divine entertainment.

Holi in Berlin Source-InternetHoli in Berlin

The legend behind Holi in India:

The word “Holi” has been derived from the word “Holika”- evil sister of a demon King, Hiranakashyapu. The demon king after getting blessed from one of the Hindu Gods became virtually indestructible and became so authoritarian that he forced the people of his kingdom to worship him as a God. However, Prahalad, the son of the Hiranakashyapu, did not like it and he did not worship him as the God. Instead, Prahalad would keep on worshipping the lord Vishnu, one of the powerful lords in Hindu religion which made the king angry and he decided to kill his son but his every attempt was foiled somehow. So, the king finally decides to burn his son.

The idea behind burning his son was, Holika, the evil sister had earned a fire-proof cloak from lord Brahma and she would wear the cloak by taking Prahalad in her lap when there will be fire. However, there was a wind and the cloak flew away over to Prahalad and Holika was killed. People in India celebrate this legend by burning logs and woods which is called “Holika-dahan” (Incineration of Holika)

Holika dehanHolika-Dehan

 More on Holika-Dehan:

This fire celebration is believed to burn away the evil and what is left behind is the good. In some part of India, Holika-the bonfire is set up by the priest of that village/town and sometimes people predict the next one year by looking at the direction of the rising smoke.

The Holika-dehan is burned early in the morning. In villages, people come out of their houses from different parts of the village in unison shouting Holiaya and finally they join at one of the points in the village where they burn the Holika-Dehan.

Holiaya (The fire wood):

Holiaya plays a major role in Holika-Dahan. Holiaya is made up of mainly two things: 1. Chaffs & straws tied around 2. the hollow stem of a plant. Chaffs and straws are directly brought from the open barn where the cut wheat crop is stored at an open barn beside the open fields. Chaffs and straws represent the freshly cut crops and in another way, this also involves the celebration of harvesting new crops. While the hollow stem plants are mostly regarded as weeds.

So, burning them solves two purposes: removing the weeds and hollow dry stems help in burning the sacred bonfire called Holika-dahan. In some parts of India, before throwing the holaiyas into the fire, people sing together by curcling around the fire and abusing the evil sister of the devil king.

Lookwari (The fireball):

Lookwari are the fireballs tied with iron string or steel string. Specially children play with the fireball.

Lookwari in holi

Lookwari is made by soaking a patch of clothes tied in spherical shape like a ball, inside Kerosene oil for days. Children use this lookwari and run away to the border of the village in the dark fields where they meet the children from the other villages.

Cow-dung cakes:

Cow is regarded as a holy animal in Hindu mythology and its dung is also regarded sacred in some worshipping. Dry cow-dung cakes are also one of the main parts of the sacred bonfire called Holika-dahan.

Cow dung cakesCow dung cakes

Ash from the Holika-Dahan:

The ash left out from the burnt bonfire is also sometimes regarded as sacred and people apply it to forehead as gracious gift from the God.

Kachchi-Holi (Raw Holi):

This kind of holi is mainly celebrated in the rural India. I have rarely seen people celebrating kachchi holi in cities.

People playing in mudKachchi holi in Cities, a college in India

While playing kachchi holi, colours are not used. It would mainly be mud and the burned ash from the holika-dahan which is used to play the kachchi holi. It generally starts in the morning and lasts until noon or even before that. People usually come out with just a pant or dressed in old clothes because others would tear away the upper clothings as a part of fun.

Torn clothing hanging on to tree in HoliTorn clothings hanging onto a tree

During Kachchi holi, mainly the ducts, drains and dusty streets of a village are cleaned. The main purpose in scientific view is cleaning the village. Then people go in a group to the near by river or pond and take bath there in the water. Another scientific explanation is dirt are not again brought back to the ducts or drain after cleaning them so people go away from village after intense cleaning.

Jhumtha (Fun while cleaning):

Youths dress in different get-ups using wet soil, chaffs and straws and they entertain the kids roaming around in every street of the village and cleaning every drain. This allows people to repair relationships with each other and forgive their enemies. The famous quote for Holi is:

“Boora naa Maano Holi hai” (Forget & forgive, it’s Holi)

Holi in full swingForget and forgive quote might get worse sometimes (Think of the driver in the photo)

Pakki Holi:

What you mostly see on the internet is this Holi- full of colours and a lot of people enjoying playing colours with each-other. This holi is just opposite to the Kachchi holi. It begins mostly in the afternoon. The reason of it beginning in afternoon is sun is out by noon; streets are cleaned; people had meals and now its time to play Holi.
Everyone irrespective of the age, caste and money celebrates it together in a common fashion. Anyone and everyone is a fair game, be it a lady or a man, a rich or a poor, a friend or a stranger, a child or an old man.

Dishes of Holi:

Though different part of country make different regional dishes but Gujiya is common throughout the northern part of India. It is sweet in taste and people exchange fruits, nuts and sweets as a present with each-other.

Gujiya in holiGujiya

Clothings in Holi:

People usually prefer to wear white clothings. Men mostly wear Kurta-Pyjama while Old men wear Dhoti-Kurta. Both the wears are traditional Indian attires. Children also wear new clothings. While girls wear new Salwar-Kameez, women wear new Saree, another traditional Indian attire.

Masala in Holi:

Although Masala in India refers mainly to spices but this masala refers to a mixture of dry fruits which people share and eat together. Typically masala is a chopped mixture of dry coconut, date, cashewnuts, raisins etc.

Bhang (Cannabis) in Holi in India:

Bhang is one of the prime elements of Holi in North India. It is mainly mixed with the milk products. Some of the dishes prepared by mixing Bhang with milk products are:

Bhang-sharbat (Bhang drink)/Thandai (coolant):

It is prepared by mixing bhang with cold sweet milk with some fruits like raisins, banana, grapes and mashing them finely in the milk until the colour of the milk turns light green.

Bhang sharbat mixed in milkThandai (Cool Drink)

Mazoom:

Mazoom is prepared by mixing Bhang with milk and thickening the milk by heating it in an open oven.

Fagua (Holi songs):

Holi songs are mostly centred to Eastern part of India, mainly in Uttar pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. These songs are also sometimes called fagua. People start to sing Fagua in evening after the sun sets and People already have had celebrated Holi by playing with colours.

First, these songs are sung at religious places of a village or town like worshipping places of God and goddesses and then people sit at the final place and sing it together almost overnight with Mazoom, masala and Bhang sharbat. These songs are mostly influenced by the Ramayana and life of the god Rama.

The songs are mainly played using two instruments: Dhol or dholak and Kartalas, a circular pair of discs made up of copper or bronze. Women rarely participate in fagua in villages.

This trend of singing has also been carried over to the cities. However, people are seen with dhol during the day while playing holi just for the fun. It never mean any serious song or sitting arrangement to sing fagua.  Even playing drums and celebrating Holi has got places in many famous bollywood movies

Holi in BollywoodHoli scene from a song in a Bollywood movie “Yeh Jawaani hai Diwaani”

To its best, there is famous dialogue from one of the greatest ever Bollywood cult movie Sholay, it’s “Holi Kab hai?”

Lathmar Holi:

As the name suggests Lathmar Holi (Lath-stick, mar-beat) is used around vraj part of India where on this day of festival, women beat men with long sticks while men protect themselves with shield. Men use provocative songs to invite women.

Lathmaar holi where women hit men with sticks and men have to save themselves with shieldLathmar Holi

Matki-phod:

Though this tradition of breaking a high hanging clay pot is mainly the part of Janmashthmi, another festival in India which celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna however, the tradition of breaking hanging clay pots by forming a pyramid by kid is also gaining popularity in cities in India in Holi.

Holi Matki fod

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