Haryāli Tīj
Tīj is a monsoon celebration and living tradition that rejoices in the bounty of nature with social activity, rituals, and customs. Teej symbolizes the harmony of clouds and rain, greenery and birds, sand and desert. It is celebrated l on the third and fourth days of the month of Śravaṇ (July-August). It is called the green or Haryāli Tīj because of the abundance of greenery during this time. For women in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of northern India, Tīj means dancing, singing, telling stories, swinging, wearing new clothes, and cooking festive food.
Tīj is a day when women worship Goddess Pārvati. It was on this day that her austerities were rewarded and she was reunited with her husband, Śiva. Whoever invokes her on this day is said to be blessed with whatever one desires. Married women worship the Goddess for long and happy married lives, and the well-being of their children. The women adorn themselves in their finest jewelry and clothing and gather together to sing and dance in front of a temple or in an open area. They paint their hands and feet in delicate designs of henna, worship Pārvati, sing songs in her praise and amuse themselves on swings.
They also maintain a strict fast for the entire day, beginning a series of austere rites culminating in puji (worship) and ritual bathing on Rṣi Pañcami two days later. Devotion to the Goddess and self-decoration of women are the two dominant themes of the festival. On this occasion parents send gifts to their married daughters, which is called sindhara, from the Sanskrit word śṛngār. “
Swinging on this occasion has special meaning for women and girls. According to folklore the gods and goddesses come to earth to swing during the Teej festival. One song says:
On the branch of the magnolia tree I have put a swing,
Its rope is of silk, I have put a swing,
On the branch of the magnolia tree I have put a swing,
Its plank is of sandal wood, I have put a swing,
To swing on my swing, the Sun and Moon have come,
They have brought their queens to swing on my swing,
While swinging they stopped and said, we like red bangles.
Their mothers will buy them red bangles, I have put a swing.
To swing on my swing, Birmadasji [Brahman] has come.
He has brought his queens to swing on my swing.
While swinging they stopped and said, we like red bangles.
Their mothers will buy them red bangles, I have put a swing.
To swing on my swing, Isardasji [Siva] has come.
He has brought his queens to swing on my swing.
While swinging they stopped and said, we like red bangles.
Their mothers will buy them red bangles, I have put a swing.
Another popular theme of the songs sung on Tīj songs is a woman’s wish to meet her husband who has gone out of town to earn a living. In such songs a woman calls her husband to be with her, to enjoy the rainy season and the festival of Tīj. Here is an example:
O my King: When you know [the date of] Teej, come back home,
O my sweetheart: leave your service.
Bring a mehmand for my forehead and earrings for my ears, come back home.
Bring a neckband for my neck and bangles for my hands, come back home….
In a Tīj song sung by the women of Nepal, women pledge their devotion to Kṛṣṇa.
Sixteen hundred gopinis (cowherds or lovers) of Kṛṣṇa all had gone
For a bath in the Jamuna River.
They put their saris on the river bank.
When they bathed and came out of the water, They were surprised.
Their clothes were not there.
Sitting in the kadam tree, playing the pipe on his lips,
Kṛṣṇa had hidden the saris.
When the sixteen hundred gopinis looked above,
They saw the same clever Kṛṣṇa.
“ O conniving Kṛṣṇa, you give us our saris,
What have you done?”
“Put your hands together [Do the namaste].
Then I will give the saris to you. [If not, I won’t].”
“Oh, conniving Kṛṣṇa, give us our saris, We will make you a husband.”
All sixteen hundred gopinis heeded Kṛṣṇa’s words, And he gave the saris to them.
References:
Bhatnagar, Manju. “The Monsoon Festival Teej in Rajasthan.” Asian Folklore Studies 47, no. 1 (1988): 63–72. https://doi.org/10.2307/1178252.
Skinner, Debra, Dorothy Holland, and G. B. Adhikari. “The Songs of Tij: A Genre of Critical Commentary for Women in Nepal.” Asian Folklore Studies 53, no. 2 (1994): 259–305. https://doi.org/10.2307/1178647.
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