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Union Minister L Murugan performed traditional dance with people of the Badagas community on the occasion of the Hethai Amman Festival in Ooty.
Many people of the Badagas community from various parts of the district clad in their traditional white dresses in Ooty to celebrate this traditional festival with Union Minister L Murugan to pay obeisance to their presiding deity, the ancestress Goddess Hethai. The entire community fasted and made offerings to Goddess Hetthai Amman. Men performed a ceremonial dance with Union Minister Murugan to the tunes of traditional songs. Everybody collaborated on a special move in a circle, creating a sense of strength that binds their culture together. Every year, thousands of people from the Badagas community in the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu take part in the biggest festival, Hethai Amman. On this occasion, they pay their respects to Goddess Hethai Amma, whom they believe is their protector and benefactor every year. The festival takes place on the first Monday after the full moon in the Tamil month of Margazhi. Hethai is the Badaga deity, an all-powerful goddess whose history has been passed down through ballads and folklore. The festival includes a procession with a sacred stick that is kept in Hagottu. The people from the Badagas community believe the Badaga is their ancestor, from whom they have sprung. Hethai means grandmother, and her words of wisdom and advice are upheld even today. The Badagas community is the largest indigenous social group in the Nilgiris. (ANI)
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