festivals and rituals
What is the Navaratri Golu (Bommai Kolu) tradition and how does it connect to temple worship at home?
What the tradition holds
During Navaratri, families set up a series of odd-numbered steps, usually three, five, seven, or nine, covered with cloth. On these steps they arrange figurines called bommai in Tamil, meaning dolls or images. Deities sit at the top, and other figures, animals, scenes from everyday life, and mythological stories fill the lower steps. The goddess, in her many forms, is seen as the central presence. The tradition holds that she is not just represented by the figurines but actually invited to dwell in the home for those nine nights. Prayers, lamps, flowers, and offerings are made each day. Women and girls visit each other's displays, exchange gifts of betel leaves, coconut, and kumkum, and sing devotional songs together.
The home as a temple
In temple worship, the deity is invited into the image through a ritual called consecration, and then treated as a living presence, bathed, fed, and honoured. The Golu follows the same idea at home. The stepped platform mirrors the tiered structure seen in temple towers and ritual spaces. Inviting the goddess into the domestic space, caring for her daily, and then bidding her farewell at the end of Navaratri follows the same rhythm as temple festivals. The tradition sees no sharp line between the sacred space of a temple and a home that has been prepared with devotion.
Where it is practiced and how it varies
The Golu tradition is strongest in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, and among communities from these regions living around the world. The name changes by place. Tamil families say Bommai Kolu or simply Kolu. In Karnataka it is often called Bombe Habba. In Andhra Pradesh the display is called Bommala Koluvu. The types of figurines, the exact steps in the ritual, and the social customs around visiting differ from family to family and region to region. Some families have figurines passed down over many generations. Others add new ones each year. There is no single fixed rule about what must be displayed.
How it lives today
For many families in the diaspora, setting up the Golu is one of the strongest connections to home. The figurines travel with families across countries. Children grow up arranging the steps and receiving guests. The social side, visiting neighbours, singing together, exchanging small gifts, keeps the tradition alive as a community event as much as a religious one. Some families set up a small display even when space is limited. The tradition has also grown online, with families sharing their arrangements and finding new figurines across the world.