Union Minister L Murugan Dances At Hethai Amman Festival In Tamil Nadu

Union Minister L Murugan performed traditional dance with people of Badagas community on the occasion of Hethai Amman Festival in Ooty. People of the Badagas community from different parts of Ooty accompanied Union Minister L Murugan to pay homage to their traditional goddess, Hethai. They were wearing their traditional white attire to celebrate this festival.

Traditional Goddess Hethai Amman Festival organized:

• On this occasion the entire community fasted and made offerings to Goddess Hethai Amman.
• The men performed a ceremonial dance with Union Minister Murugan to the tune of traditional songs. Everyone cooperated in a group on a particular move. This created a sense of unity that binds their culture together.
• Every year, thousands of people from the Badagas community in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu participate in the biggest festival, Hethai Amman.
• On this occasion, they pay their respect to Goddess Hethai Amma. Regarding Goddess Hethai Amman, local people believe she protects and favours them yearly.
• This festival is held on the first Monday after the full moon in the Tamil month of Margazhi.

Hethai Badaga:

• Hethai is the Badaga deity, an all-powerful goddess whose history has been transmitted through ballads and folklore.
• The festival involves a procession with a sacred stick placed in the Hagottu.
• The people of the Badagas community believe that the Badagas are their ancestors from whom they originated. Hethai means grandmother and her words of wisdom and advice are retained today.

About Badagas Community:

• It is the largest indigenous social group in the Nilgiris. The Badagas are a cultural and linguistic group residing in the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu, India. The Badagas live in about 400 Hattis villages throughout the district. The Badagas speak a language called Badaga.
• The name Badaga comes from the Old Kannada badagana, meaning 'north'. According to Badaga's oral tradition, their ancestors were considered Vokkaligas. These Muslims had migrated from the plains of Mysore to escape persecution.
• American anthropologist Paul Hawkings has researched the Badagas for nearly six decades. According to Paul Hawkings, "The (Badaga) tribe, despite its brief history, is as indigenous to the Nilgiris as the British are to Britain."

About Union Minister L Murugan:

• Loganathan Murugan is an Indian politician and lawyer. Murugan currently serves as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• L Murugan was made the Minister of State on 7th July 2021. Before this, he was the state president of the Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
• Before this, L Murugan had also served as the Vice Chairman of the National Backward Classes Commission.