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| Sri Muthappan temple and Thayyam dancers, N.Kerala mykeralatravel.com/ |
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| Muthappan temple, North Kerala. indiatravelblog.com |
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| Muthappan temple Kanur dist. Kerala. mykeralatravel.com |
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| Muthappan Thyyam, Kerala. .dsource.in/ |
In the South Western state of Kerala, a temple dedicated to Lord Muthappan, a form of both Gods Shiva and Vishnu stands apart. It is famous for liquor as offering and divine counselling is part of Puja protocol.. Here, the Brahminical satvik worship tradition is not followed He is a folk god revered by the people. mykeralatravel.com/
Located on the scenic banks of Valapattanam River at Parassinikadavu about 20 km from Kannur corporation, the temple boasts of one of the lowest rates in the country for puja - prayer starting from just 25 paise to Rs.13.25 for ."thiruvappana" while for marriage it is Rs 5.25 and rice feeding for kids is fixed at a mere 75 paise. Locally, he is called as "Parassini Muthappan Madapura" . He is an incarnation of Gods Shiva and Vishnu, two of the trinity gods in the Hindu pantheon. Unlike other Hindu temples yet another feature is the mode of worship which is a ritual enactment of both characters of Muthappan, by way of a traditional colorful and impressive dance known as Muthappan Theyyam.
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| Muthappan in kannur blessing a baby, Pinrest.com |
What is special about this temple that makes it stand apart? The offerings to god include liquor local brew toddy, grilled dry fish and meat and fish, besides the devotees can 'interact' with the God here. They can pour out their pent-up grievances and long, unfulfilled wishes in a free-wheeling manner. A dedicated person assumes divinity and acts as a representative of Lord Muthappan, The theyyam responds with convincing solution to the devotees who take them seriously as sacred. as god.'s divine dispensation. Invariably, such interaction of people on the temples premises with a representative of god will loosen their mental agony and nagging anxiety and offer them solace and hope. Such a divine counselling, equal to listening to a shrink by lying on the couch, is rare among the Hindu temples.
Above image: Kuri Kodukkal’ (in Tamil Kuri solluthal) A rep. of god Muthappan in dance regalia is giving advice and blessings to his devotees...........After counselling, the theyyam parts with the liquor and elderly male devotees take it as "nectar" . As for other offerings, they are given to dogs, considered the Lord's pet animal. This strange temple is marked as a popular dharmastala" of north Kerala, providing free food and accommodation to devotees. Almost daily on an average, nearly 2,000 devotees visit the shrine and more during festivities.
A fact worthy of mention is regardless of caste, creed and religion temple rituals and worship, are done by people from backward Thiyya community while the Muthappan theyyams are enacted by scheduled Vannan community. .Thiruvappana (Lord Vishnu) and Vellatom (Lord Shiva), it is beloved, fought for the cause of low caste God's life is portrayed through a traditional dance known as Muthappan Theyyam. This is the reason why the performers of Thayyam are from other communities.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3360201.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
