Yellu Amavasya Festival is one of the major regional festivals in Karnataka. Yellu Amavasya Festival is organised by the farming community of Karnataka.
Occasion of Yellu Amavasya Festival
Yellu Amavasya Festival is one of the biggest festivals in Karnataka. Yellu Amavasya Festival is celebrated on amavasya or new moon day in the month of December and it marks the end of the Kharif season.
Celebration of Yellu Amavasya Festival
The people of Karnataka celebrate Yellu Amavasya Festival with great devotion to the Earth, for good harvest in the particular year and pray for same in the coming year.
Performances of Yellu Amavasya Festival
The people of Karnataka perform the Yellu Amavasya puja in their homes then move to Maruto temple in the morning and whole family visit their respective fields along with local but delicious cuisines for further festivity of the day. Few people also worship cattle at their homes on this day.
Preparations of Yellu Amavasya Festival
There are many preparations that are made for Yellu Amavasya Festival, thorough cleaning of houses is done and houses are decorated. The new clothes are brought for Yellu Amavasya Festival. There are many special dishes are prepared which are taken to the fields as part of festive celebrations. Some of the important dishes prepared using pulses and green leaves are `Yellu Holige` (a type of sweet pancake), `jolada kadabu`, `hindi pallya`, `kucchhe kara`, `muddhy pallya`, `sajji rotti`, `shenga hindi`, `pundi pallya`, bajje, pundi, chikki, palak, menthe, rajgiri, bartha, jowar kadabu and sajje kadabu.
Festivals of Yellu Amavasya Festival
The people get dressed up in their best festive attires on the day of Yellu Amavasya Festival and move together with friends and relatives to their fields along with the special dishes prepared for Yellu Amavasya Festival.
Riuals in Yellu Amavasya Festival
There are some rituals in Yellu Amavasya Festival that are practiced in the fields like farmers select and pick up five smooth stones from their fields and worship them. Then the small quantity of food brought from home is offered to mother earth by throwing it in all directions of the field followed by the loud voice of "Hovilgol", "Surambagigol", in order to offer the food to the Gods. This is called `Charga Chellodu`.
Spraying of Sesame and Jaggery
There are some people who also practice spraying of sesame and jaggery all around the fields. It is considered that the sesame and jaggery are food for the worms in the farmland. After practicing all the rituals whole family and friends feast together in the field.
Get Together in Yellu Amavasya Festival
The people residing in cities of Karnataka move to their parental villages for the festivals or move to near by gardens or public parks with the food and have food together with their family and friends. Yellu Amavasya or Ellu Amavasi is the main festival observed by people indulged in farming in the state of Karnataka. Yellu means sesame and Amavas means new moon day so the festival is observed in the month of December or January on the new moon day of Margashirsh month. Yellu Amavasya Festival is famous to mark gratitude towards the earth for good crops.