10.08.2008

Worship of Tools

Today my gardener and driver performed an amazing ceremony in our driveway... the Ayudha Puja, or Worship of Tools. The Ayudha Puja is a worship of whatever implements one may use in one's livelihood. They bless the tools by which they make a living, by cleaning them, and showing respect. Today they blessed our gardening tools, our cars, their motorcycles, their bicycles and ours, and most importantly, our generator.

The preparations and ceremony took about 2 hours. First they decorated all of the tools with turmeric paste and Kumkuma, putting on a small dot with both. They sprinkled flowers on the tools, vehicles, bikes and decorated them with the garlands. Next our gardener put a big banana leaf on the floor and filled it with fruits, sugar cane, nuts, bananas, puffed rice and powdered jaggery. He put our gardening tools near the car and after lighting a coconut and incense, he walked around and performed three blessings on all the instruments.

Sheridan helped decorate her own bike and even helped put the rupees into the watermelon that would subsequently be smashed, along with a coconut, on the street in front of our house. We ended the ceremony by driving over the limes, that were left under all our tires, which signifies removing the evil eye.

Here are some photos that chronicle the ceremony...




Garland hung on the front of my car



Decorating Sheridan's bicycle. Sheridan putting rupees into the watermelon.
Showing us her dirty turmeric'y hands.



Banana leaf filled with offerings. The gardener blessing Matt's car



Blessing my car. Our front gate is adorned too.



Smashing the watermelon.



Driving over the limes and removing the evil eyes.

33 comments:

Kash said...

That is the coolest thing ever. I would be so at peace knowing that my car had a safety ritual performed on it!

Kash said...

That is the coolest thing ever. I would be so at peace knowing that my car had a safety ritual performed on it!

karey m. said...

oy.

i'm kind of having a flashback to oman...

i'm comment-less. in other news, i'm thinking of goa for december jaunt...know anything about it?

Simple Answer said...

Um. I think that is kinda weird actually. But I do love any good reason to decorate and have flowers around. If my car EVER arrives, I would decorate and celebrate it. I guess I'm kinda getting it now...

Mom24 said...

Does it ever occur to you how boring the girls are going to think life in the states is if you ever come here to live permanently? Very interesting. Just think, I'd be happy if my hubby would just use one once in a while. lol.

Pea in a Pod said...

Thanks for sharing those information. Never knew that until now..Nice shots! Mine is posted HERE. Hope you drop by! Happy WW!~

Suzanne said...

I think it's a terrific ceremony showing respect for those things that make our lives easier. I don't think the girls will be bored in the States, we have culture also but it's not apparent until you leave.

- Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

That is so cool. After the trouble my car gave me last week, I am thinking running over some limes might be a good idea. Just in case ;-)

OHmommy said...

My minivan needs to be blessed by that spirit. Perhaps it will stay cleaner... longer.

Great pictures as always and love the sneak peek into your life. ;)

Heidi said...

Oh how interesting. And for goodness sakes, bless the generator!

The Mom Jen said...

That is very cool and such unique and beautiful traditions.

So cute that Sheridan got in on the action.

Glad that evil eye is gone! ;)

Tenakim said...

That is interesting. Still so neat that you all get to see new cultures!

Laural Out Loud said...

I bet your driveway smelled super yummy after the smooshing of the limes!

Unknown said...

So much celebration in your world! I think we could all use a little more celebration.

Unknown said...

OK...so did they tell you ahead of time that they were going to do this or did you just happen to see them putting fruit in your driveway in order to smash & drive over? I just keep thinking how LUCKY your girls are to be experiencing this... (you too of course...) But I know mommy's fun comes with stress as well....

Stephanie Smith said...

I'm going home and doing this. And yes, I am aware that I will be talked about by the neighbors in my Southern California town... I don't care. It's too cool.

Unknown said...

That is so neat!!! It's nice to get the kids involved in learning something new about different cultures!

Kim said...

How interesting.. and fun.. and cool!!!

Joggingincircles.. :)

Diane Mandy said...

And I thought it was something when these two young women came to my door and wanted to write something on my house (apparently some sort of blessing). Your story is much cooler!

Eve Grey said...

Very interesting as always. I couldn't help but think of the wasted fruits! Man, have i become boring!

mary s. said...

This is very cool!

LINDSAY said...

I'd been feeling a little nostalgic for a gritty third-world posting, and now I see this...
God bless.
Call Swan...

Kelly said...

Wow, what an experience you and your family are having...opening your eyes to what other cultures do, etc. Very interesting!

Tara R. said...

What fascinating ceremonies. I wish someone would perform this blessing on my computer at work.

Michelle said...

that is so interesting!

Michelle said...

Kinda makes sense to bless everything. It's just like Christians pray before going to work, or in my case, pray that I don't stab anyone with sharp objects because they made me mad or that I don't get road rage...

leezee52 said...

Wow that is so awesome!

I got through Kippur...ick...now on to Sukkot...I love this holiday because it's fun to eat in the Sukkah.

Lee :)

WheresMyAngels said...

Tomorrow I am buying limes to run over!

Love the story and the photo's. What fun that would of been to watch. lol

Rhea said...

What a cool ceremony and a great idea! I should totally bless the tools I use daily. Plus, it looks like fun to smash watermelons and drive over limes. Very cool!

Thanks for sharing, I love learning about other cultures.

Shannon said...

Huh, that is really interesting!

Cynthia said...

Hmmm...I'm thinking I would have to bless the MAC Powerbook;)

Unknown said...

WOW what an amazing thing to experience and how nice of them to do this for you! Just wow!

Donna said...

I could use some car blessings, seeing as how I'm navigating Beijing roads. Plus, I'm sure my sons would be thrilled to smash some watermelons. Perhaps we will try to transplant this ceremony to China.

Thanks for sharing - what a great story.

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