Diwali

The habits from Diwali

Divali means literally: line of Diya’s. Diya’s are made of baked bowls from clay, with a pit in it, filled with oil. At this party are the Diya’s everywhere in and around the house placed. They are placed in lines on windowsills and balcony railings. The richer you are, the more Diya’s you have.

They light them and then they invite Lakshmi to visit their house and to bless the people, Lakshmi is the goddess of happiness, prosperity and wealth. In the hope that their happiness still has to come, they put the lights on their doorstep, even if they have just a few Diya´s. Before the festival begins, they keep a big cleanup. When the dusk comes, someone from the elder female relatives performs a short ceremony in front of the house. In the prayer she approaches the goddess, she praises her qualities and she invites the goddess to come. She has a copper plate in front of herself, and on the plate are shown five Diya´s.

After she lighted the five Diya’s, she holds her hands above the heat from the Diya´s, and then she brings her hands to her forehead. The other people follow her lead. The remaining Diya´s will be lit now. Meanwhile the mistress chases the poverty away. She hits with a stick a wan, a wicker basket. Then she makes a tour through the whole house while she yells: “Lakshmi come in, poverty disappear!” When she finished, she walks into the yard at the place where the garbage is dumped. She throws the stick and the wan in the garbage, and she yells: “Stay here!”
If the family has daughters, the oldest daughter takes the copper plate with the five Diya’s and she enters the house with the Diya’s to place them in the five main rooms. They place the other Diya’s around the house.
The women make Amavas ka kajal now, that’s a black fluid that they smear on their eyes. It’s made of oil which they rub on an iron plate, after it’s warmed by a Diya, the oil turns into soot. The soot is called kajal, the kajal will ensure that they turn away of the ‘evil eye’ the rest of the year.

At the end of the festival they eat a very delicious and vegetarian meal, and de rest of the evening is spent with dice.