Panchayath/ Municipality/ Palluruthy Block Panchayat Corporation

LOCATION District

Nearest Town/ Palluruthy Junction– 200 m Landmark/ Junction

Nearest Bus statio Palluruthy Nada Bus Stop - 220 m

Nearest Railway Ernakulam South Railway Station – 7.2 Km statio ACCESSIBILITY

Nearest Airport Cochin International Airport – 43 Km

Azhakiyakavu Devi Temple Palluruthy - Rd, Valummel – 682005 CONTACT Phone :+91-484-2232162

DATES FREQUENCY DURATION

TIME April – May Annual 22 Days ABOUT THE FESTIVAL (Legend/History/Myth)

Chandhattam is celeberated at the Azhakiyakavu devi temple Palluruthy. The presiding deity of the temple is Bhadrakali, legend has said that the divine form of Bhadrakali was created by Lord Shiva to end the atrocities of the demon Darika. Darika was a demon who received a boon from Brahma which granted that he would never be defeated by any man living in any of the fourteen worlds of Hindu mythology. This made Darika immensely powerful and arrogant. Armed with this boon, Darika went on to conquer the world defeating even Indra, the king of the gods. As his atrocities became intolerable, the sage Narada requested Shiva to contain Darika. Shiva agreed, circumventing Brahma's boon by declaring that Darika would be killed by the goddess Kali, she being a woman and one not born among the humans.

Local Approximately 60000 RELEVANCE- NO. OF PEOPLE (Local / National / International) PARTICIPATED EVENTS/PROGRAMS DESCRIPTION (How festival is celebrated)

There's no rehearsal or preparation involved in playing Kali. The performance is a natural progression from Lord Shiva, Narada, demons Danavan and Darikan to Kali. A complete Mudiyettu performance requires a total of 16 persons— Mudiyettu including percussionists, Kalamezhuthu artists, Elephants parade vocalists.There are also evident regional differences in the attire and performance styles of Mudiyettu. Thus, in the Koratty style, Kali exhibits a bare torso, covered only by a breast-shaped plank while in the Keezhillam and the Pazhoor styles, she wears a full upper body dress. Kudamattam Ceremony, the elephants parade with percussion music, a world famous temple festival in . The elephants are decorated with gold plated Caparisons (Nettipattam), Bells (Mani), and Necklaces. People mounted on the elephants hold Tinselled Silk Parasols (Muttukuda) up high, swaying White Tufts (Venchamaram) and Peacock Feather Fans (Alavattam) to the rhythm of the Panchari Melam (Panchari).