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As one of the most important and widely celebrated festivals in India, Diwali rituals and traditions hold great significance in our rich heritage and culture. Deeply rooted in the ancient scriptures as a festival that has been celebrated for centuries, festive traditions associated with Diwali are passed down from one generation to the next, preserving the country's rich cultural heritage. Besides being a time when families come together to celebrate, exchange gifts and share meals, communities around the country have their own unique traditions that are performed as part of fostering a sense of unison. Largely associated with prosperity and said to be a time of giving back, while also being grateful, the festival is where diversities are celebrated. In the vein of these festivities, here are six lesser-known and intriguing food traditions to know about, from around the country.
Annakoot
Image Credits: Vrindavan Today
Typically observed as the fourth day of Diwali, annakoot puja or Govardhan puja is a popular tradition that takes place in Vrindavan. With its origins in the mythological story of how the Govardhan hill upheld against the forces of nature (read: torrential rain), and as a way of paying reverence to nature and the earth, a smaller rendition of the hill is created using 56 food items – also known as the chhappan bhog. This includes an array of sweet and savoury rice preparations, fried foods like puris and pakoras and numerable sweets arranged in the shape of a mountain.
Buddhi Diwali
The three-day festivities that take place in Himachal Pradesh celebrate nature in their own intriguing way. While age-old traditions involved sacrificing the head of an animal at a temple and using the meat for cooking, the ritual was done away with. This made provisions for the villagers to cook up a feast that comprised of Pahadi delicacies like siddu, gahat ka shorba, chana madra and mooda – a special delicacy made with grains of wheat and bhaang.
Balipadyami
Image Credits: Britannica
Taking a leaf out of the mythological annihilation of Narakasura, by Lord Krishna, the farming community of Karnataka make offerings of food around paddy fields – as a way of paying respect to the earth’s bounty. The outer perimeter of paddy fields are lined with cooked food, while no farming takes place on this day. Farming tools like the plough are worshipped in honour of Vishwakarma – the chief architect of heaven, as per Hindu mythology. Similarly, along the coastline of Karnataka, the day commemorates Lord Krishna's victory over King Bali; however, a naivedyam is offered to the demon king as a way of quenching his hunger.
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Dyari
A Sindhi tradition of performing Diwali puja in the north-western states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat – Dyari involves filling a bowl with raw milk and dropping in precious coins of silver and gold in them. During the course of the holy prayer ritual, sweets like laee – a sugar-based brittle and sev barfi are dropped into the same bowl. On completion of the rituals, family members touch their head in reverence to the outer surface of the bowl, while praying for peace and prosperity. This ritual is repeated for three consecutive days, until the day of Laxmi Pujan, once the holy lamps have been lit and offered.
Diyari
Image Credits: Krishi Jagran
In the Bastar region of Chhatisgarh, tribal communities conduct a marriage ceremony between their crops and a deity of Lord Narayana, followed by harvesting and stockpiling food grain for the future. Known to be a unique tradition that takes place on the day of Diwali, this three-day long festival also honours livestock owners within the tribe with alcohol. In addition to this, flower offerings and dancing are modes used to celebrate a good harvest season, with prayers offered for the next crop cycle.
Maavilakku
In the auspicious month of Karthik, lamps made with kozhukattai maavu – a dough made of rice flour and jaggery, are shaped by hand to make a dent in the centre, in which oil is poured to light a wick – also called agal vilakku. These lamps are lit until the day of Karthigai deepam – a festival of lighting lamps on a full moon evening. This Tamil tradition is also similar to the ritual of making edible lamps in the states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, and also witnesses lamps made with millet-based doughs like ragi or foxtail millet.
