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KODAGU (COORG) KAVERI FESTIVAL ON OCT 18

By P.T. Bopanna

A day after the Theerthodbhava at Talacauvery, the birthplace of river Cauvery in Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka, goddess Kaveri is worshipped in every home in a simple ritual called Kani Puje.

Kani puje means worshipping mother earth, where Kaveri is represented by a decorated coconut or cucumber, wrapped in a red silk cloth, adorned with a gold or silver ornament, usually the Kodava jewellery called Pathak. Kodavas (Coorgs) worship Kaveri as water and not as an image.

On top of a plate filled with rice, black bangles, betel leaves, areca nut, tiny dosas specially prepared for the occasion and flowers are kept. The families offer prayers and sing songs in praise of goddess Kaveri. After Kani Puje, Kaveri Theertha (holy water) is distributed.

The breakfast usually consists of pumpkin curry and dosas. Since the Kaveri Sankramana is a festival influenced by Brahmins, the dishes are vegetarian, not indigenous to Coorg.

During the British Raj, watching the Kodavas celebrate Kaveri Sankramana, the then Chief Commissioner of Coorg, Hilton Brown wrote in his article ‘The Astonishing Land of Coorg’, “If anyone could be converted to a religion that is all pure faith and worship and no argument at all, I really think it would be here”.