Devotees going to Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district to participate in the Dasara festival at Mutharamman Temple.
| Photo Credit: N. Rajesh
R. Sivabharath and T. Chairmadurai, dressed up as Anjaneya, are in a trance, dancing to the beats of naiyandimelam at Nadunalumoolaikinaru near Tiruchendur. Even as they dance, they make monkey-like gestures, baring their teeth.
The priest in the local temple, where they have assembled, throws two coconuts. They tear the nut with their teeth before breaking the kernel and drinking the water. The coconuts are followed by bunches of bananas, which they eat as if they are monkeys.
“I am doing it to fulfil my vow to Goddess Mutharamman in Kulasekarapattinam. I was in abject poverty. It was then I took a vow to dress up as Anjaneya. Now my condition is better, as I earn regular wages as a butcher,” says Mr Chairmadurai.
Mr Sivabharath has joined the troupe of devotees proceeding to Kulasekarapattinam to fulfil his vow. “My family was in dire straits. I have been visiting Kulasekarapattinam, popularly known as Kulasai, for the last four years. I am much better now,” he says.
Faith drives thousands of devotees to dress up as various deities, epic characters, beggars, policemen, doctors, nurses, and other living characters during the Navarathiri celebrations, known as Dasara. Make-up artists from Chennai are brought in for the purpose.
S. Murugan of Vellamadam near Nazareth says he has been visiting the temple for more than two decades after being afflicted with a small tumour in the neck. “It disappeared. But I continue to visit the temple,” he adds.
Dasara in Kulasekarapattinam is purely a folk festival, and hundreds of naiyandimelam, chanda melam, and thappu players, and record dance groups converge on Kulasekarapattinam, accompanying devotees.
“I have been performing for the last five years,” says Rasu, a naiyandimelam player from Palani. His presence clearly illustrates the demand for folk artistes far beyond the four southern districts during Dasara.
It is festival season. Every village in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, and Kanniyakumari districts has a group exclusively for organising the event. Villagers living elsewhere make it a point to return to their native places to participate in the festivities.
“I work in Chennai, but I will be at Nadunalumoolaikinaru for seven days. I am going to dress up as a woman because the temple oracle, while in a trance, asked me to do it,” says V. Madhavaraj. Around 100 devotees from Mathavankurichi, though currently living in Chennai, say they make it a point to visit here every year.
Even though Goddess Mutharamman, a folk deity worshipped in almost all villages in the southern districts, is central to the temple in Kulasekarapattinam, the Goddess has attained a status on a par with Vedic deities. She is worshipped as an aspect of Parvati and appears beside Lord Siva, known here as Gnanamurtheeswarar. All roads in the southern districts leading to Kulasekarapattinam are illuminated with colourful lights for many miles.
Dasara here is around 70 years old. The temple was privately owned before being taken over by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. It has fully adapted to the process of Sanskritisation while retaining its core folk elements.
Published – September 30, 2025 08:14 pm IST
