Agnicayana is probably the oldest surviving ritual of human civilization, which offers extraordinary insight into Vedic culture of about 1500 B.C. The chanting and recitation is unique and distinct from modern day Vedic recitations. It provides a unique opportunity for the study of oral tradition and transmission of sacred scriptures in India. The 12- day ritual was performed by Namboodiri Brahmins of Kerala in 1975. This practice has been long extinct in the rest of the country, but the practice of this ancient tradition is quietly followed in the state of Kerala and never witnessed by outsiders. The ceremonies require the participation of seventeen priests, preceded by several months of preparation and rehearsals.
This ritual is a system of a complex structure of space-time co-ordinates, systematic and methodical ritual practice and the order and style of recitation and spoken text. The verses of Samaveda are to be sung in specifically indicated melodies using the seven svaras or notes. The Vedic rituals are primarily dedicated to Agni (fire God) and Soma. The offerings is clarified butter (ghee) poured into sacrificial fires installed on altars, and special libations made of juice extracted from the stacks of the soma plant. The Ceremonies were accompanied by recitations from the Rgveda and chants from the Samaveda. The celebrations required the execution of multifarious activities distributed among priests from different Vedas, who officiated on behalf and for the benefit of a ritual patron, the Yajamana. The altar in the shape of a bird is piled from 10,800 bricks. The ritual must also include goat sacrifice, but this was substituted by using an effigy of the goat. The ritual has been best translated from the Vedic Yajnavalkya section of the Satapatha Brahmana, stating that the Agnicayana rite is for a Yajamana (the patron of sacrifice) to instill an immortal body on himself in the rebuilding of the "unstrung" body of the god Prajapati.
Agnicayana is an optional rite, and a Namboohiri is eligible to perform only if he has already performed the Agnistoma. The Agnistoma can only be performed if his ancestors have performed it before him. In addition he should belong to the family which is entitled to do Yaagam. The season for performing Agni is spring. The Soma rituals are never performed near cremation grounds, in temples, or on temple grounds. This recorded sacrifice was done in a paddy field in Panjal, Kerala.
During the last hundred years, the Agnicayana has been performed seventeen times. The last performance had been in 1956 before the 1975 Agnicayana, and there have been two more Nambudiri performances; the 1990 Agnicayana at Kundoor, and the 2006 Agnicayana at Sukapuram, Kerala.
The film is produced by the University of California at Berkeley under the direction of Frits Staal, a Sanskrit and Vedic scholar and Robert Gardner, an ethnographic filmmaker of Harvard University, and the funding were provided by Government of India and several institutions. The two Vedic Scholars primarily responsible for the performance were Brahmasree Muttathukattu Mammunnu Itti Ravi (Master of Jaiminiya Samaveda) and Brahmasree Cherumukku Vaidikan Vallabhan Somayajipad (Master of the rituals of Rgveda and Yajurveda).
It is truly a great experience to watch this outstanding film of 58 minutes with short interviews with Vedic scholars and anthropologists who were attending the rituals from various educational institutions from around the world.
This ritual is a system of a complex structure of space-time co-ordinates, systematic and methodical ritual practice and the order and style of recitation and spoken text. The verses of Samaveda are to be sung in specifically indicated melodies using the seven svaras or notes. The Vedic rituals are primarily dedicated to Agni (fire God) and Soma. The offerings is clarified butter (ghee) poured into sacrificial fires installed on altars, and special libations made of juice extracted from the stacks of the soma plant. The Ceremonies were accompanied by recitations from the Rgveda and chants from the Samaveda. The celebrations required the execution of multifarious activities distributed among priests from different Vedas, who officiated on behalf and for the benefit of a ritual patron, the Yajamana. The altar in the shape of a bird is piled from 10,800 bricks. The ritual must also include goat sacrifice, but this was substituted by using an effigy of the goat. The ritual has been best translated from the Vedic Yajnavalkya section of the Satapatha Brahmana, stating that the Agnicayana rite is for a Yajamana (the patron of sacrifice) to instill an immortal body on himself in the rebuilding of the "unstrung" body of the god Prajapati.
Agnicayana is an optional rite, and a Namboohiri is eligible to perform only if he has already performed the Agnistoma. The Agnistoma can only be performed if his ancestors have performed it before him. In addition he should belong to the family which is entitled to do Yaagam. The season for performing Agni is spring. The Soma rituals are never performed near cremation grounds, in temples, or on temple grounds. This recorded sacrifice was done in a paddy field in Panjal, Kerala.
During the last hundred years, the Agnicayana has been performed seventeen times. The last performance had been in 1956 before the 1975 Agnicayana, and there have been two more Nambudiri performances; the 1990 Agnicayana at Kundoor, and the 2006 Agnicayana at Sukapuram, Kerala.
The film is produced by the University of California at Berkeley under the direction of Frits Staal, a Sanskrit and Vedic scholar and Robert Gardner, an ethnographic filmmaker of Harvard University, and the funding were provided by Government of India and several institutions. The two Vedic Scholars primarily responsible for the performance were Brahmasree Muttathukattu Mammunnu Itti Ravi (Master of Jaiminiya Samaveda) and Brahmasree Cherumukku Vaidikan Vallabhan Somayajipad (Master of the rituals of Rgveda and Yajurveda).
It is truly a great experience to watch this outstanding film of 58 minutes with short interviews with Vedic scholars and anthropologists who were attending the rituals from various educational institutions from around the world.
Reference: Altar of Fire – DVD
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