Reinforcing the famed communal harmony in Erumeli, the famous Chandanakkudam festival was conducted at the temple town with religious fervour and gaiety on Saturday.

Reinforcing the famed communal harmony in Erumeli, the famous Chandanakkudam festival was conducted at the temple town with religious fervour and gaiety on Saturday.

The festival, which commenced with Malisa procession from the Nainar Mosque in the afternoon, is being conducted as a prelude to the ritualistic Pettathullal in Erumeli. Being known as the symbols of the Hindu-Muslim communal harmony, Chandanakkudam festival was conducted under the aegis of Mahalla Muslim Jama-ath on Saturday.

Erumeli Petta Thullal

Erumeli Petta Thullal is a ritual dance performed by devotees as part of their pilgrimage to Sabarimala. Erumeli is small village situated 56km from Kottayam. At the Petta junction of Erumeli, there is a Sastha temple (Kochambalam) and mosque (Vavarambalam) facing each other. Pilgrims on their way to Sabarimala, gather here in groups to participate in Petta thullal. It is a frenzied dance with chanting of Ayyappa mantras and hymns, accompanied by loud music created by traditional instruments. Prior to Petta Thullal, the pilgrims smear colour on their faces and bodies and dress like forest-dwellers.

Also known as Petta Kettu, Petta Thullal starts from the kochambalam and the dancers proceed to the Mosque, in the name of Vavar, who was a close friend of Ayyappan, to pay their homage. They are ceremonially received there and goes around the mosque. A representative of Vavar Swamy will then accompany the group to the big temple (Valiambalam) which is about a kilometre away. Petta Thullal comes to an end after going around the the big temple. The devotees wash their bodies in the small river nearby and go to Sabarimala.

Petta Thullal takes place almost everyday from the 1st of the malayalam month of Vrichikam (around November) till a couple of days prior to the Sabarimala temple closing on January.