New York-based Guyanese Hindus observed the annual festival of Kartik Snaan or Teerat by fasting and performing special pooja on the morning of the full moon last week. The festival is observed with almost the same customs, rituals and practices (where feasible) as in Guyana and or in Trinidad. Kartik or Teerat is an observance that marks the culmination of a series of sacred purificatory rites, all directing human towards the goal of “moksha” or liberation of the soul. It also happens to be the last Hindu festival before year end. Teerat is celebrated on the last day in the month of Kartik in the Hindu calendar and is normally celebrated with a bath in the ocean or river.  The month normally falls in November in the western calendar and the day usually coincides with the full moon.
In New York, many Hindus visited the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in Queens to perform special Ganga puja and made offerings. Ever since Hindu Indian indentured labourers came to the West Indies, Teerat has been observed with puja conducted on any shoreline. Guyanese and Trinis continue that practice in N.Y and Florida. At the oceanfront, they prayed and chanted special mantras, sang bhajans, and made offerings as part of Kartik celebrations.  They burned incense and other paraphernalia.  The offerings included rice, perfume, fruits, mohanbhog and clothes.  They also offered food.
In Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad, the Kartik observance is carried out at all sea fronts. As a youngster growing up in Port Mourant, I remember many people going at the back of the racecourse at the ocean to take a dip and offer prayers.  It was a day of fun activities with rubber tunes to float on the water. Students took the day off from school as is also the custom in Trinidad. I spent several Teerats in Trinidad where it is a massive festival on the beaches.  Manzanilla Beach is usually overflowing with celebrants who would participate in sporting activities after pooja. It becomes a picnic with unlimited food and prasad. In Guyana, devotees normally shared the puri, lapsey and mohanbhog with others who came for a bath as is also the custom in Trinidad. In N.Y., not many Hindus make offerings at the shore front because of the freezing cold water. Also, students are not allowed a day off as in Trinidad or Guyana. Where feasible, Hindus bathe in a mixture of Ganges water and made offerings at home. In India, they bathe in the Ganges. In N.Y, some pour Ganges water in a bucket of water and took a bath. As in Guyana, puja involves the purification of the ground and the environment and offerings to the Goddess, and culminates with aartee.  At the end of the puja, all of the offerings were placed on a piece of cloth and released into water, preferably the ocean. The significance of the ritual is that the devotee is feeding back to the earth everything that comes from the earth.
The phrase teerat comes from “Kartik” and it literally means “to have a bath in the river or the sea”. But it is not possible to take a bath in the ocean during the cold, wintry season. So people settle for an alternative of praying at home. The holy river “Ganges” or the deity “Ganga Mai” is the main deity worshipped at the Teerat festival.  It is believed that the Goddess of water, Ganga Mai, came unto the earth on the day and so Hindus seek her blessings by performing special prayers devoted to her and taking a dip in the sea believing that the Ganges water is mixed with the rest of the bodies of water and as such by taking a dip at any ocean, their soul become cleansed. Kartik is a time to cleanse oneself and to ensure that something is given back to the goddess of the sea. Hinduism is the only religion that makes offerings back to nature. The observance of Kartik is important, especially at a time when the sea seems to be reclaiming land and storms are destroying homes. In the Teerat puja, the Mother of the Sea is asked to protect her children. This is the common message behind the celebration among Hindus in Guyana, NY and elsewhere.