Becoming a Tiger
in Banana Leaves.

The detail I could not forget was that dry banana leaves stood in for tiger fur. In Kurampala, children wore handmade tiger masks and leaves as they visited village homes for Pulikali during Onam. Children playing hunters followed with toy guns.

Large performances sometimes paint the entire body, but this village used familiar leaves and handmade masks. A leaf tiger appears at the door, followed by a tiny hunter: even if you know the custom, you might flinch before laughing. I would listen first for the sound the leaves made with every step. The children’s footsteps must have become part of the festival music.

Four days before the festival, residents of Trzcianka began decorating their village. The annual contest will choose the prettiest and most amusing harvest decorations, judged by representatives of villages across the Kuślin municipality. Competitors and judges probably know one another rather well.

The day begins with a 2 p.m. procession, followed by harvest rites, local children and bands, rural women’s groups and harvest crowns. Yet I would also like to see the unfinished preparations: someone placing a decoration outside, stepping back, and deciding it still lacks something; another person glancing sideways at a neighbour’s entry. The festival becomes a quiet roadside competition before it even opens.

When 25 groups gather for one festival, a town’s needs become wonderfully specific. Marcos Paz’s fourth solidarity festival takes place in the station square on August 29. The Japanese association brings its usual plants, a hospital support group sells snacks and torta frita, and one NGO raises money to repair the kiln used in its work.

Groups working on disability inclusion, Rotary and a “Talented Grandparents Club” also attend, alongside music and a raffle. Plants, fried pastry and a kiln in need of repair reveal more of local life than one grand slogan could. I would circle every stall, then see which group’s practical errand I still remembered at the end.