Puttari

Puttari means new rice and is the rice harvest festival (also called huttari in adjacent Kannada-speaking country). This takes place in late November or early December. Celebrations and preparations for this festival start a week in advance. On the Puttari day, the family assembles in the ayn mane (the common family house) which is decorated with flowers and green mango and banana leaves. Then the eldest member of the family hands a sickle to the head of the family, and one of the women leads a procession to the paddy fields, with a lit lamp in her hands. The path leading to the field is decorated. A gunshot is fired to mark the beginning of the harvest, with chanting of “Poli Poli Deva” (prosperity) by all the people present there. Then the symbolic harvesting of the crop begins. The rice is cut and stacked and tied in odd numbers and is then carried home, to be offered to the gods there. The younger people then burst firecrackers and revel, symbolizing prosperity. Groups of youngsters then visit the neighboring houses and show off their dancing skills, and are given monetary gifts. A week later, this money is pooled and a community dinner of the entire village is celebrated. All the family members gather for this meal. Dinner normally consists of meat dishes such as pork and fish curry. Alcoholic beverages are also served at such feasts.