Mattu Pongal 2027

About Mattu Pongal

Mattu Pongal is the third day of the Pongal festival, the second day of the Tamil month of Thai. Mattu means cattle, and on this day farming families honour the cows and bulls that plough the fields, carry the harvest home and give milk. For most families the reason is simple and close to the heart: the harvest belongs to the cattle too, and they are thanked as members of the household.

The day is kept across Tamil Nadu, and in Andhra Pradesh a similar day for cattle, called Kanuma, follows Sankranti. In parts of Tamil Nadu, the traditional bull-taming sport Jallikattu is held around these days and draws large crowds in the villages. In the same days, many families keep Kanu Pidi, when sisters place coloured rice on leaves for the birds and pray for the well-being of their brothers.

In the morning the cattle are taken to a pond or washed at home, and their horns are scrubbed, painted in bright colours and sometimes capped with metal. They are dressed with garlands of flowers, bells and beads, and turmeric and kumkum are put on their foreheads. The family offers them pongal, bananas, sugarcane and jaggery, and does an aarti for them. In the evening the decorated cattle are often taken around the village, and in many homes they are given the day off from all work.

Kaanum Pongal, the fourth and last day, is about people: kaanum means to see or to visit. Families visit relatives, younger people take the blessings of elders, and many go out to beaches, river banks and parks with food packed from home. A practical note: all four days of Pongal follow the solar calendar, counted from the Sun's entry into Makara, and the customs for the cattle vary widely from village to village and family to family.