Men Dress as Women in 'God's Own Country'

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Kollam, INDIA (Mar. 25, 2005): Kerala is called God's own country

and this natural paradise has something unique in terms of culture

and traditions.

 

Kottankulangara Chamayavillanku is a unique festival, which is held

at the Kottankulangara temple in Chavara, near Kollam, where

hundreds of sturdy men dress up as comely females.

 

This is an offering to the goddess Bhagavathy, the deity of the

temple. In this unique ritual called 'Chamaya Vilakku' (make-up

lamp), the 'damsels' come to the temple at night in a long

procession with lighted lamps in their hands. The ritual occurs

during March - April each year.

 

"I am coming from Ernakulam. I offer this as my pray to the diety.

For the last three years I am coming here. I will do so in the

coming years also", S Renjith, a devotee.

 

"This year the festival begins on March 9 and will end today (March

25). Around 4000 people were participated in the Chamayavilakku. The

myth is a group of boys herding cows and during their play, they

used to act as shy girls and offer flowers and a coconut dish called

kottan to a stone. One of the boys had a divine reception from the

Devi and subsequently a temple without an outer wall was constructed

and the ritual of men dressed as women offering prayers to the Devi

started", said R Sreekumar, Secretary, Kottankulangara Devi Temple.

 

People from all over the world come here to offer their prayers and

seek the blessings of Devi. They carry the traditional lamp called

chamayavilakku and wait for the procession of the Devi to come and

see them. The lamp is a peculiarity of this temple and is seen here

only.

 

The lamp is mounted on a long wooden rod and has a height up to the

waist. There are five lights, which are lighted on the same lamp,

and the lamp is lighted from a main lamp in the temple. Men dress up

as women here to fulfill their vows and to thank the Devi for the

favours they have received due to Devi's blessings.

 

Some people ask for promotions, some ask for a good job, some ask

for a long awaited child, and some to get married to their lover.

There are also many groups who come from minor temples around the

place. Men of all ages, from the smallest infant to very old people

come here dressed as females to fulfill their desires for Devi's

blessings.

 

Men who come here dress in all sorts of costumes but the favorite is

the saree and also the traditional kerala settu mundu. Younger

people also don modern dresses such as skirts and jeans. Some men

can even be seen dressed in dance costume.

 

Due to Internet and various websites, this festival has come to be

known to all cross dressers and is commonly known as the CD Festival

of Kollam.

 

Kollam, also known as Quilon, is located 72 kms from

Thiruvananthapuram, and is the centre of the country's cashew

trading and processing industry. Once of the oldest ports on the

Malabar coast, Kollam was once the port of international spice

trade. Kollam came into prominence in the 9th century AD. As cited

by some historians, the Malayalam era - called the Kollam era - was

established by Marthanda Varma, the ruler of Kollam in 825 AD. This

beautiful land is gifted with Kerala's very representative features -

sea, lakes, plains, mountains, rivers, streams, backwaters, forest,

vast green fields and tropical crop of every variety both food crop

and cash crop. (ANI)

 

SOURCE: New Kerala

URL: http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?

action=fullnews&id=90334