“Turn am gyal, turn am before am bu’n,” Ajie (grandmother from the father’s side) would nag continuously as the intense heat from the clay fireside made sweat trickle down the backs of the young girls.
Hindu women spent a large portion of the Dipavali festival in the kitchen. The cooking began on the second day of the festival, called Narak Chaturdasi which is when Hindus share sweets to medical practitioners and persons in related professions. Prayers are also offered for the knowledge and success of this group.
On Narak Chaturdasi, the eve of Dipavali when the mud diyas were made, the women make a special sweet dish called kheer to distribute. Kheer is the East Indian version of rice pudding. The white rice is soaked overnight and then boiled with sugar, milk and cloves.
‘Aunty Betya’, 75, arranged her wrinkly face into a smile that displayed one yellowish tooth. “Bettay [child] if I tell you just after independence I de done get seven pickanee [children],” she said.
They were a poor rice farming family from Corentyne who tried to keep alive the traditions passed on by their older generation. Money would be saved for months to buy new clothes and extra provisions so that Dipavali could be celebrated with style.
“Meh big daughter dem and me would get up early and bathe and pray before we start cook at the fireside,” Aunty Betya explained to Stabroek News.
Sweet dishes would be prepared first since a portion of these were used to make offerings to the Goddess Laxmi. Besides kheer, the women would prepare pera (fudge), lapsie (pudding made of sugar, flour and milk), rote (a sort of sweet roti), puri (a very thin roti fried in oil) and mahamboga (locally called parsad or mohanbog).
“At Diwali time I used to cook dhall puri and potato and channa curry, that was everybody favourite,” Aunty Betya said. “…look now ah days how dem young people lucky. Dem ah get everything ready done,” the old woman said in wonderment.
With some sadness, Aunty Betya explained that very few clay firesides are left in the country. The firesides used to be rectangular with circular openings on top where the pots were placed and an arch in the front where the wood or coconut shell ‘fuel’ was set.
During the cooking, the eldest female in the kitchen would tell stories taken from the religious texts of the Hindus. A popular story that mothers tell their daughters is the story of Savitri and Satyavan. The story illustrates how a dedicated wife can snatch her husband from the clutches of death.
This telling of stories, sharing of experiences and passing on of tradition harboured in the kitchen kept alive not only Indian culture but encouraged open and free communication between mother and daughter.
Alas, “Thinking men began to think, to dream… And the wheel began to turn” (Rajkumari Singh: March, 1970).
The wheels of time have turned many times since; the fireside is barely alive and with it went old customs.
In the modern Hindu kitchen women still slave over a hot stove and they still talk (sometimes too much) while they’re at it. New things have also bubbled up in the kitchen; rice or flour is coloured to make Rangolis. Like Aunty Betya said: “Ol’ cow dead and new one born.”
Rangolis and Diyas:
A breathtaking
combination
Thousands of flickering flames give the illusion of stars being strewn along the floor and in their lighted paths are beautiful, intricate designs to be appreciated and admired.
Rangolis are designs created on the floor by either painting, or artfully arranging the coloured grains of rice or coloured flour. These designs have become quite popular in Guyana during the past decade.
After the Rangolis are created, diyas are artfully arranged on the design so that it may be visible when darkness finally came. The marrying of light and colour results in a sight that continuously attracts the eyes and stirs memories in the way that only art can; it reminds the heart of where its strings are buried.
Motifs generally created are lotuses, fish, birds and snakes which reflect the unity of man and beast. Most of the Rangoli designs are circular exuding a sense of the endlessness of time. Celestial symbols such as the sun, moon and other zodiac signs are also common themes for Rangoli. Layered with symbolism is the lotus denoting Goddess Lakshmi, the unfolding of life, the heart or the wheel. The lotus is perhaps the most widely used of the endless Rangoli designs.
The first diya is lit at 6 pm and placed at the altar. It is traditional for families to offer prayers together before the evening’s fun begins. After the first diya has been lit it is now safe to begin laying diyas in rows, clusters or uniformed shapes.
Many families walk through their respective communities and venture into others to observe the handy work of their neighbours. In addition to the diyas, Guyanese Hindus also adorn their houses with fairy lights.
Throughout the night there are loud cracks of fireworks at intervals and beautiful colours spill forth into the sky. Teenagers and adults attach steel wool to the end of a long wire; the tip of the wool is ignited and swiftly spun above the head pitching glowing amber flecks into the darkness.
The smell of Indian sweets attacks the nose; the laughter heard all around reminds everyone of the true meaning of the festival and displays the rich culture of one of our nation’s peoples and we know it’s truly a Guyanese festival when the entire village; regardless of age or race, chases you screaming: “That damn steel wool bun meh foot!”