Devotees wash Sufi tombs with Cauvery water
R. Krishnamoorthy (in The Hindu, Oct. 20, 2005)
Devotees of Sufi saint went in a procession from the dargah on Madurai Road in Tiruchi to the Cauvery Water stored in jars, believed to have healing properties, is given as `holy water'
TIRUCHI: Shortly after midnight, descendants and devotees of Sufi saint Hazrath Thable Alam Badhusha Natharvali went in a procession from the dargah on Madurai Road in Tiruchi to the Cauvery, carrying new empty mud pots.
In the wee hours of Wednesday, they took a dip in the river and returned to the dargah with pots full of water, with which they washed the four tombs of Hazrath Nathervali and other Sufi saints there. Without letting the water spill on the floor, they carefully collected the water flowing down the tombs in glass jars. The water stored in the jars, believed to have healing properties, is given as `holy water' in small doses to the people beset with illness.
A highlight of this ritual is that the water in the glass jars, which the devotees adore, retains its freshness throughout the year even when kept at room temperature. The remaining water of the previous year is poured on plants and trees to nourish them. The earthen pots are used to store cereals.
This ritual termed, `Thurbat', undertaken on the eve of the 1008th `Sandanakoodu', dates back to 10 centuries.
Says Syed Ishaq Khalander Hussaini Suharwardy, a Khalifa (descendant): "Devotees of the Sufi saint in Tiruchi have been continuing the practice without any let-up from time immemorial. The reverential river has always been a part and parcel of our traditional practice."
Abundant water this year has facilitated devotees to undertake a full exercise of the ritual.
Friday, October 21, 2005
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Friday, October 21, 2005
Devotees wash Sufi tombs with Cauvery water
Devotees wash Sufi tombs with Cauvery water
R. Krishnamoorthy (in The Hindu, Oct. 20, 2005)
Devotees of Sufi saint went in a procession from the dargah on Madurai Road in Tiruchi to the Cauvery Water stored in jars, believed to have healing properties, is given as `holy water'
TIRUCHI: Shortly after midnight, descendants and devotees of Sufi saint Hazrath Thable Alam Badhusha Natharvali went in a procession from the dargah on Madurai Road in Tiruchi to the Cauvery, carrying new empty mud pots.
In the wee hours of Wednesday, they took a dip in the river and returned to the dargah with pots full of water, with which they washed the four tombs of Hazrath Nathervali and other Sufi saints there. Without letting the water spill on the floor, they carefully collected the water flowing down the tombs in glass jars. The water stored in the jars, believed to have healing properties, is given as `holy water' in small doses to the people beset with illness.
A highlight of this ritual is that the water in the glass jars, which the devotees adore, retains its freshness throughout the year even when kept at room temperature. The remaining water of the previous year is poured on plants and trees to nourish them. The earthen pots are used to store cereals.
This ritual termed, `Thurbat', undertaken on the eve of the 1008th `Sandanakoodu', dates back to 10 centuries.
Says Syed Ishaq Khalander Hussaini Suharwardy, a Khalifa (descendant): "Devotees of the Sufi saint in Tiruchi have been continuing the practice without any let-up from time immemorial. The reverential river has always been a part and parcel of our traditional practice."
Abundant water this year has facilitated devotees to undertake a full exercise of the ritual.
R. Krishnamoorthy (in The Hindu, Oct. 20, 2005)
Devotees of Sufi saint went in a procession from the dargah on Madurai Road in Tiruchi to the Cauvery Water stored in jars, believed to have healing properties, is given as `holy water'
TIRUCHI: Shortly after midnight, descendants and devotees of Sufi saint Hazrath Thable Alam Badhusha Natharvali went in a procession from the dargah on Madurai Road in Tiruchi to the Cauvery, carrying new empty mud pots.
In the wee hours of Wednesday, they took a dip in the river and returned to the dargah with pots full of water, with which they washed the four tombs of Hazrath Nathervali and other Sufi saints there. Without letting the water spill on the floor, they carefully collected the water flowing down the tombs in glass jars. The water stored in the jars, believed to have healing properties, is given as `holy water' in small doses to the people beset with illness.
A highlight of this ritual is that the water in the glass jars, which the devotees adore, retains its freshness throughout the year even when kept at room temperature. The remaining water of the previous year is poured on plants and trees to nourish them. The earthen pots are used to store cereals.
This ritual termed, `Thurbat', undertaken on the eve of the 1008th `Sandanakoodu', dates back to 10 centuries.
Says Syed Ishaq Khalander Hussaini Suharwardy, a Khalifa (descendant): "Devotees of the Sufi saint in Tiruchi have been continuing the practice without any let-up from time immemorial. The reverential river has always been a part and parcel of our traditional practice."
Abundant water this year has facilitated devotees to undertake a full exercise of the ritual.
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