Yellu Amavasya Festival

Yellu Amavasya is one of the major festivals in Karnataka specially celebrated through out north Karnataka by the farming community of the region. The festival is believed to be the biggest religious occasion. The festival is celebrated on amavasya or new moon day in the month of December and it marks the end of the Kharif season.

Celebrations

People celebrate the festival with great devotion to thank mother Earth for good harvest in the particular year and pray for same in the coming year. People perform the 'Yellu Amavasya' pooja in their homes then move to maruto temple in the morning and whole family visit their respective fields along with special cuisines for further festivity of the day. Few people also worship cattle at their homes on this day.

Many preparations are made for the festivals, thorough cleaning of houses is done and houses are decorated. New clothes are brought for the festival. 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.

Festivity at farms

People get dressed up in their best festive attires on the D day and move together with friends and relatives to their fields along with the special dishes prepared for the festival.

Some rituals 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'.

Some people also practice spraying of sesame and jaggery all around the fields. It is considered 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.

People residing in cities 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.

Time for Celebration

Yellu Amavasya or Ellu Amavasi is the major 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. The festival is celebrated to mark gratitude towards the mother Earth for good crops.