Mullivaykkal Kanji – Kanci

Kanji was the only food that was available in the “No Fire Zone”, the land strip that was declared by the Sri Lankan government, in Mullivaykkal in May 2009. Under the medical, food and economic restrictions, boiled rice with rice water and maybe a pinch of salt was the only lifeline for starving people of all ages. Kanji is a type of rice porridge. Kanji (கஞ்சி – kañci) is a Tamil word meaning “rice-water, water poured of rice, starch.” (T. Burrow, 1984). Congee is an English word derived from the Tamil word kanji (கஞ்சி – kañci).

The kanji was the only hope for the people who were trapped in the “No Fire Zone” surrounded by artillery shelling and aerial bombing from all sides, while the worldwide media shut its eyes and mouth, and International humanitarian organisations abandoned the Tamil people in Mullivaykkal. After May 2009, the food culture of kanji has become the symbolic food for the survival of the Mullivaykkal Tamil Genocide. Today, the Tamil people living in the homeland and around the world prepare and share kanji during the Mullivaykkal week (முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் வாரம்) in the name of “Mullivaikkal Kanji” (முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் கஞ்சி).

“Boil 5 cups of water,
Add 200 grams of red rice to it,
Add in salt as desired,
And just add hope.” (congeeofhope.org)

Remember the victims and console the survivors.
Mullivaykkal week 12th-18th May.

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Reference

Congee of hope. (2021). Congee கஞ்சி just add hope. Retrieved from https://www.congeeofhope.org/
T. Burrow, M. B. E. (1894). A Dravidian Etymological Dictionary (2 ed.). Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/DravidianEtymologicalDictionary_201811

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