Hindu ceremony banned

[TamilNet, Sunday, 27 December 1998, 15:09 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) has banned the early morning Pooja for the Thiruvembaavai ceremony at the Pillaiyar temple in Vaakarai, 56 kilometers north of Batticaloa on the coast said residents of the area.

Thiruvembaavai is a Hindu religious ceremony that is observed by devotees in the early hours of the morning, before the crack of dawn, by singing special devotional hymns while walking in procession through the village.

The ceremony is observed by Hindus in the month of January in South India, Sri Lanka and other parts of the world where they live.

The SLA at Vaakarai however, has stipulated to the temple trustee board that the Thiruvembaavai Pooja can only be held after 6 a.m. and the singing of hymns through the village before dawn and using loudspeakers at the temple will not be permitted.

A plea by the Vaakarai Pillaiyar temple trustee board for the temporary relaxation of curfew rules for the observation of Thiruvembaavai has been turned down by the SLA.

Thiruvembaavai cannot be observed this year as a consequence of the SLA's stand on the matter said a member of the trustee board.