The Holifestival in India
The Holifestival, also known as the festival of colours, is a religious Hindu festival which is celebrated annually at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna, which is in the later part of February or March.
In 2011, Holi was on March 20 and in 2012, Holi was on March 8. It celebrates the beginning of a new spring season and commemorates good harvests and the fertile land. (http://www.holifestival.org/history-of-holi.html)
The festival already existed several centuries B.C. In fact a stone incription belonging to 300 BC was found in the province of Vindhya in India on which a ritual called Holikotsav is mentioned on it while N.K. Bose relates that spring festivals including bonfires have probably existed in villages in many parts in India for nearly two thousand years. (Robert Jackson, Holi in North India and in an English city: Some adaptions and anomalies, Journal of etnic and migrations studies, 1976)
The lenght of the festival varies, but in most parts in India it goes on for at least two or three days. In these days there are all sorts of festivities, including the lighting of the bonfire, the spraying of coloured powder and the offering of coconuts, grain etc. A part of these coconuts and grain are roasted on the fire and eaten as holy food. Sometimes, erotic dancing supports the festival's association with fertility and spring. An important remark is that customs and rituals practised at the Holi festival vary considerably from place to place. (Robert Jackson, Holi in North India and in an English city: Some adaptions and anomalies, Journal of etnic and migrations studies, 1976) Originally the Holi festival was only celebrated by Hindu's, but due to the scattering of Hinduism, mainly as a consequence of emigration of Indians, it is celebrated in many other countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.
The story behind the Holi festival is the legend of Prahalad and Holika. Holika was a female demon, and the sister of Hiranyakashyap, the demon king. Hiranyakashyap considered himself ruler of the Universe and higher than all the gods. Prahalad was the king's son. His father hated him because Prahalad was a faithful devotee of the god Vishnu whereas he was not. One day the king asked him "Who is the greatest, your God or I?" "God is," said the son, "you are only a king." The king was furious and decided to murder his son. But the king's attempts at murder didn't work too well. Prahalad survived all attempts. So the king asked his sister, Holika, to kill the boy. Holika seized Prahalad and sat in the middle of a fire with the boy on her lap. Holika had been given a magic power by the gods that made her immune to fire, so she thought this was a pretty good plan, and Prahalad would burn to death while she remained cool. Because Holika was using her gift to do something evil, her power vanished and she was burned to ashes.
Prahalad stayed true to his God, Vishnu, and sat praying in the lap of his demon aunt. Vishnu protected him, and Prahalad survived.
Shortly afterwards, Vishnu killed King Hiranyakashyap and Prahad ruled as a wise king in his father's place.(http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/holi_1.shtml)
Moral of the story is that good overcomes evil and those who attack the faithful will never succeed. It is remarkable that the story is almost identical in most parts of India since it is not written down in any common read text and it therefore seems to be an orally preserved story passed on from generation to generation.
The intention of the festival in its present form is to be the place where all feelings of hate, greed and jealousy disappear. Ignorance is blown away together with the ashes from the fire and wisdom triumphs everywhere, in order that only the humane values endure.
Everyone who wants to join is allowed to join the celebration and participate in the festival of colour. Holi lowers the strictness of social norms, which includes gaps between age, gender, status, and caste. Together, the rich and poor, women and men, enjoy each other’s presence. http://www.hinduwijzer.nl/Feestdagen/de-betekenis-van-holi-binnen-het-hindoee.html
The most important symbols that are used during the Holi festival are the bonfire and Gulal (the coloured powder). The bonfire represents the fire from the legend which killed Holika and did not killed Prahalad. In some regions the direction of which the bonfire burns is an indication of the land which is especially fertile upcoming season. The playful throwing of natural coloured powders has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other medicinal herbs. It is believed to protect against fever and cold. (Robert Jackson, Holi in North India and in an English city: Some adaptions and
anomalies, Journal of etnic and migrations studies, 1976)
Nowadays the religious background of the festival is not so relevant anymore. The festival has changed to a festival for also non-Hindi. Although the imprtance is still known, it is more about coming together, have fun and be nice to each other and is especially celebrated by young people. By some it is seen as the festival which is nearest in spirit to Valentines Day. Older people visit each other and exchange gifts but in most cases do not join the powder throwing and bonfires. Same as Valentines Day in our society, the Holi festival is commercialized. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/holi_1.shtml
Here below is a small movie from the Holifestival to get a look at how Holi is celebrated nowadays, filmed by an Indian teenager.
In 2011, Holi was on March 20 and in 2012, Holi was on March 8. It celebrates the beginning of a new spring season and commemorates good harvests and the fertile land. (http://www.holifestival.org/history-of-holi.html)
The festival already existed several centuries B.C. In fact a stone incription belonging to 300 BC was found in the province of Vindhya in India on which a ritual called Holikotsav is mentioned on it while N.K. Bose relates that spring festivals including bonfires have probably existed in villages in many parts in India for nearly two thousand years. (Robert Jackson, Holi in North India and in an English city: Some adaptions and anomalies, Journal of etnic and migrations studies, 1976)
The lenght of the festival varies, but in most parts in India it goes on for at least two or three days. In these days there are all sorts of festivities, including the lighting of the bonfire, the spraying of coloured powder and the offering of coconuts, grain etc. A part of these coconuts and grain are roasted on the fire and eaten as holy food. Sometimes, erotic dancing supports the festival's association with fertility and spring. An important remark is that customs and rituals practised at the Holi festival vary considerably from place to place. (Robert Jackson, Holi in North India and in an English city: Some adaptions and anomalies, Journal of etnic and migrations studies, 1976) Originally the Holi festival was only celebrated by Hindu's, but due to the scattering of Hinduism, mainly as a consequence of emigration of Indians, it is celebrated in many other countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.
The story behind the Holi festival is the legend of Prahalad and Holika. Holika was a female demon, and the sister of Hiranyakashyap, the demon king. Hiranyakashyap considered himself ruler of the Universe and higher than all the gods. Prahalad was the king's son. His father hated him because Prahalad was a faithful devotee of the god Vishnu whereas he was not. One day the king asked him "Who is the greatest, your God or I?" "God is," said the son, "you are only a king." The king was furious and decided to murder his son. But the king's attempts at murder didn't work too well. Prahalad survived all attempts. So the king asked his sister, Holika, to kill the boy. Holika seized Prahalad and sat in the middle of a fire with the boy on her lap. Holika had been given a magic power by the gods that made her immune to fire, so she thought this was a pretty good plan, and Prahalad would burn to death while she remained cool. Because Holika was using her gift to do something evil, her power vanished and she was burned to ashes.
Prahalad stayed true to his God, Vishnu, and sat praying in the lap of his demon aunt. Vishnu protected him, and Prahalad survived.
Shortly afterwards, Vishnu killed King Hiranyakashyap and Prahad ruled as a wise king in his father's place.(http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/holi_1.shtml)
Moral of the story is that good overcomes evil and those who attack the faithful will never succeed. It is remarkable that the story is almost identical in most parts of India since it is not written down in any common read text and it therefore seems to be an orally preserved story passed on from generation to generation.
The intention of the festival in its present form is to be the place where all feelings of hate, greed and jealousy disappear. Ignorance is blown away together with the ashes from the fire and wisdom triumphs everywhere, in order that only the humane values endure.
Everyone who wants to join is allowed to join the celebration and participate in the festival of colour. Holi lowers the strictness of social norms, which includes gaps between age, gender, status, and caste. Together, the rich and poor, women and men, enjoy each other’s presence. http://www.hinduwijzer.nl/Feestdagen/de-betekenis-van-holi-binnen-het-hindoee.html
The most important symbols that are used during the Holi festival are the bonfire and Gulal (the coloured powder). The bonfire represents the fire from the legend which killed Holika and did not killed Prahalad. In some regions the direction of which the bonfire burns is an indication of the land which is especially fertile upcoming season. The playful throwing of natural coloured powders has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other medicinal herbs. It is believed to protect against fever and cold. (Robert Jackson, Holi in North India and in an English city: Some adaptions and
anomalies, Journal of etnic and migrations studies, 1976)
Nowadays the religious background of the festival is not so relevant anymore. The festival has changed to a festival for also non-Hindi. Although the imprtance is still known, it is more about coming together, have fun and be nice to each other and is especially celebrated by young people. By some it is seen as the festival which is nearest in spirit to Valentines Day. Older people visit each other and exchange gifts but in most cases do not join the powder throwing and bonfires. Same as Valentines Day in our society, the Holi festival is commercialized. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/holi_1.shtml
Here below is a small movie from the Holifestival to get a look at how Holi is celebrated nowadays, filmed by an Indian teenager.
It seems that the festival is about preserving heritage, fostering social cohesion, releasing tensions of daily life and motivate the feeling of pride and loyalty. The Holi festival can be considered as a ritual because it stimulates to express emotions and subverts the status quo. Participants of a festival often feel a strong connection to each other while the festival takes place. They form a temporal community, a so called communitas. A communitas emerges in a ritual during the anti-structure period. In this period spontaneous
sociability, love for each other, a sense of solidarity and equality and heightened emotional or spiritual experience. An important characteristic from a communitas is that it eliminates outward signs of rank and division, to focus on the common experience of being human rather than a persons's status and socially ascribed role. This is part of model from Victor Turner about structure and
anti-structure and can be applied on the Holifestival. Before the festival everything is normal and people are living their daily lives, this is the so called pre-liminal phase. Then the liminal phase begins. In this phase the transistion into another realm of being is going on with the lighting of the bonfire and throwing Gulal at each other. A simplification of the social relations take place during this anti-structure period. Different norms and values and role reversal are important characteristics of this phase. This just lasts for the festival, afterwards almost everything goes back to the usual, the post-liminal phase. What stays is the memory or changes in personality, but everything else returns to the normal structure.
The Holi festival is a festival that is reinforcing values and behavior such as unity and honesty through repetition, it is considered as a tradition. The legends of the festival help the people to follow a good conduct in their lives and believe in the
virtue of being truthful. During the festival the differences between rich and poor are neglected. The exchange of gifts when friends and relatives are being visited help revitalising relationships. These gifts can be considered generalised
reciprocity( Marcel Mauss, The Gift, 1925). In fact it is not about the gift, it's the social relationship being built that counts.
sociability, love for each other, a sense of solidarity and equality and heightened emotional or spiritual experience. An important characteristic from a communitas is that it eliminates outward signs of rank and division, to focus on the common experience of being human rather than a persons's status and socially ascribed role. This is part of model from Victor Turner about structure and
anti-structure and can be applied on the Holifestival. Before the festival everything is normal and people are living their daily lives, this is the so called pre-liminal phase. Then the liminal phase begins. In this phase the transistion into another realm of being is going on with the lighting of the bonfire and throwing Gulal at each other. A simplification of the social relations take place during this anti-structure period. Different norms and values and role reversal are important characteristics of this phase. This just lasts for the festival, afterwards almost everything goes back to the usual, the post-liminal phase. What stays is the memory or changes in personality, but everything else returns to the normal structure.
The Holi festival is a festival that is reinforcing values and behavior such as unity and honesty through repetition, it is considered as a tradition. The legends of the festival help the people to follow a good conduct in their lives and believe in the
virtue of being truthful. During the festival the differences between rich and poor are neglected. The exchange of gifts when friends and relatives are being visited help revitalising relationships. These gifts can be considered generalised
reciprocity( Marcel Mauss, The Gift, 1925). In fact it is not about the gift, it's the social relationship being built that counts.