Kidai Pongal
Updated: Oct 2, 2025
At the stroke of midnight, a bunch of us in a tempo van took a right turn into the fields from the highway of Maravamangalam, Sivagangai. We were surrounded by horny shrubs as we ventured deepen into pitch dark fields. We were carrying Karuppu Kavuni rice, jaggery, utensils and 4 goats towards a goat ‘kidai’.
Pastoral communities set up ‘kidai’ i.e. hosting their livestock in agricultural lands during non-agricultural summer season. There used to be great level of inter-connectedness and mutual sharing between the farmers and the pastoralist especially in dry land farming areas. The process of setting up kidai in farm land enriches the fertility of the soil.
As we reached the ‘kidai’, the core team from Tamil Nadu Federation of Pastoral People’s Sangam (TNPPF) started making arrangements for cooking Pongal. As the Pongal was being prepared more people joined us, preparations for other rituals were getting ready and discussions around pastoralism filled the post mid-night breeze. Once the Pongal was ready, various rituals took place and the goats were cut for the next days’ lunch.
Kidai Pongal is a festival of pastoral communities celebrated while migrating from the land in which they set up the ‘kidai’ before the beginning of agricultural season starting in July-August. It is a form of thanks giving to the land which hosted them and also as a prayer for safety during their migration to various pasture lands. TNPPF is planning to revive this cultural connect with nature and livelihood in their process of organising and supporting pastorals communities from across Tamil Nadu.
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