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File Kerala
men dress up as women to offer prayers in Kottankulangara temple
by KS Ashik Kollam
(Kerala): In a bizarre festival in Kerala, men dress up as women and carry
lamps to offer prayers at the temple. Popularly known as 'Kottankulangara Chamayavillakku',
the festival is held at the Kottankulangara temple in Chavara, near Kollam. The
men pay their obeisance to the Goddess Bhagavathy, the deity of the temple. The
19-day long festival occurs during March-April each year. The last two days of
the festival witness hundreds of men wearing sarees, churidars and skirts with
heavy make-up. Fulfilling the festival tradition, they carry a lamp having five
lights mounted on a long wooden rod. The men come to the revered temple to seek
blessings and express gratitude to the goddess for the favours received. "This
is the first time that I have come here... I was facing some problems -job problems,
study problems, but I got the opportunity now. I am very comfortable here, it's
very nice. My friends are also very happy. The atmosphere is very inspiring...this
is beyond our imagination," said a jubilant Trisha, a participant in the local
festivities. There are many stories about the origin of the festival but the most
popular version says that a group of boys, who used to herd cows, would playfully
dress up as girls and offer flowers and a coconut dish called 'kottan' to a stone.
On a fateful day, Goddess Bhagavathy appeared before one of the boys. Subsequently,
a temple came up and the ritual of men dressing up as women to offer prayers to
the goddess got under way. According to the local residents, the stone, regarded
as the temple deity has been growing in size over the years. -Mar
26, 2009
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