Tales of Temple Festivals (Unique temple festivals of Kodagu)

 

(This article was published in the Spectrum, Deccan Herald on 20th April, 2023)

There are many annual village temple festivals happening in Kodagu in the months of March, April, and May. The temple idols, called thadamb, are carried by a priest on the head and taken in processions. Therays where performers wear colourful red costumes, imitate deities or ancestors, dance in trances and advise devotees, are organised in the temples and some of the ancestral homes of some clans. 

The main festivals are the Bhagwathi Namme, and the Boad Namme, happening in honour of village deities, among others. Two important temple festivals got over in the second week of April this year. One was at the Puthu Bhagwathy temple in Birunani village. The other was at Pannangalatamme in Yavakapadi village. 

During the Puthu Bhagwathy festival, the people of Birunanni make vows to the goddess in order to fulfil their wishes, often for the good health of their children. Parents who have made such vows get their children cross-dressed and have a ceremony done for them. Boys will be dressed as brides and girls as grooms. They will have a single muhurta ceremony done, a wedding done without a partner. 

Boys are dressed as brides in Kodava saris and girls as grooms in kupya-chele (Kodava male attire) at the Puthu Bhagwathy temple. Photo courtesy: Nellira Ananya

Legend has it that once five sibling gods – two brothers and three sisters – came to South Kodagu from Kerala. The eldest brother Mattlappa settled in Mathur near Ponnampet. The eldest sister Puttilamme devi, also called Putha Bhagwathy, settled in Birunani. The younger brother Ogerelappa settled in the forests of Ogerelappa. The youngest sisters, twins, settled in Rudraguppe near the Kammaratappa temple and hill. They were known as Rudraguppelamme or Jodi Bhagwathy. 

Members of the Kembatti, Kodava, Airi, Kudiya, Kaniya and other communities participate in the Pannagalatamme festival. They bring bolle kall (toddy) umbrellas and other articles to the festival. During this festival, a few members of the Kembatti community wear red or white kuppyas (native coats) and perform thirale, i.e. go into trance. 

The thadamb of Pannangalatamme. Photo courtesy: Anjaparavanda Sharan

Long ago, seven sibling gods - six brothers and one sister - lived in Kerala. The eldest brother settled in Tali Parambu and built a famous temple there. He sent his younger siblings eastward towards Kodagu to establish temples. Today, three of these other temples are in Kodagu while the other three are in Kannur and Wayanad. 

Among the seven it is four - three brothers and one sisters - who came into Kodagu. When they were hungry in Kakkabe, the brothers asked the sister to cook rice for them. Igguthappa, the eldest among them, provided the rice grains. The sister agreed to cook the rice without a fire if the brothers would eat it without salt. Salt was added to plain rice for taste, since there was no other curry or dish to accompany the rice. 

The farm they were camping in belonged to the Pardanda joint family in Kunjila. The sister milked a cow belonging to the family which was grazing there. She used the milk to cook the rice. The rice was placed in a clay pot and buried in the hot sand beside a stream. 

There were banana trees growing on the farm. The siblings cut a few leaves to use as plates. Ummavva of the Pardanda family saw this and scolded them. The sibling gods then cursed the family that no bananas would thereafter grow on their farm. Muthanna the head of the Pardanda family then came and sought their forgiveness. But the curse took effect. However, the Pardanda were made the deva thakka (hereditary temple managers) of the Igguthappa temple which was built in the nearby Padi hamlet. 

After lunch, the siblings chewed betel leaves. They spat out the betel onto their palms to see whose was reddest. After that, in a sleight of hand, the brothers flung the betel behind their heads. The younger sister who was beside them saw this from an angle where they seemed to put the betel back into their mouths. Trying to imitate them, she put the betel back into her mouth. The brothers found this disgusting. They decreed that this act caused her to lose her caste. This way, she became the goddess of the Dalits and the low castes in Kodagu. 

Upon the advice of Igguthappa, she took the form of a crane and flew down to the nearby hamlet of Pannangala. There she found a labourer working on a farm belonging to the Karthanda family. She took possession of the labourer and he then danced in a trance. A temple was built for her in that hamlet and she became known as Pannangalatamme, the mother at Pannangala. 

Another brother settled in Palur and became known as Palurappa. The last brother settled in Thirunelli across the Kodagu border in Wayanad and is called as Pemmaiah. 

While the main temple of Pannangalatamme is in Pannangala, there are two other Pannangalatamme temples in Kedamallur and Armeri villages of Kodagu. 

Pannangalatamme temple devotees in trance wearing red and white kupyas (regional coats) and holding weapons, in front of the temple deity. A devotee holds the thadamb. Two long parasols are leaning against the wall in the background. Photo Courtesy: Sachin Uthappa Ketolira

The 35 naads of Kodagu

 Historically Kodagu comprised 35 small naads. These were grouped into three bigger naads: Elnaad Surlabi, Mendele naad and Kiggat naad. 

Roughly, the naads to the north of the river Kaveri (and approximately south of Patti River) was considered to be Mendele naad and the naads to the south of the Kaveri was called Kiggat naad. 

The Patti River is also called Hatti hole. It almost formed the border between Elnaad Surlabi and Mendele naad. It flows between Madapura and Suntikoppa and joined the Harangi river and dam reservoir. The Harangi in turn joins the Kaveri. 

Surlabinaad was called Elnaad Surlabi because it consisted of seven small naads. Mendele naad consisted of 14 naads and Kiggat naad consisted of 14 naads. All these total up to 35 small naads. 

However, now Kiggat naad is a smaller place and consists of only seven naads. The remaining seven naads were joined to Mendele naad. The Lingayat Rajas of the Haleri dynasty who ruled from around 1600 to 1834 reorganised the original naads completely. 

The seven naads or hoblis of Elnaad Surlabi were Kodali, Bilhada, Nidhata, Yedavanaad, Surlabi gadi naad, Ramaswami Kanive and Nanjarayapatna. This roughly formed the Nanjarayapatna or Somwarpet Taluk. The main towns in this region are Somwarpet, Kushalanagara, Madapura, Kodlipet and Shanivarsanthe. 

The original fourteen naads of Mendele were Madikeri-Haleri naad, Ulugulimudigeri naad, Horuru-Nurokkal naad, Kagodl naad, Kuyyankeri naad, Beng naad, Hudikeri Kantha Moo naad (comprising three naads, simply called Moonaad or Murnad), Thaavu naad and Padi naal naad (comprising four naads and simply called Naal naad or Nalknad). The main towns in this region were Madikeri, Bhagamandala, Suntikoppa, Murnad, Napoklu and Kakkabe. This region roughly formed the Madikeri and Padinalknad taluks during the British Raj. 

The original fourteen naads of Kiggat were Thavalageri Moo naad (a set of three naads), Anjikeri naad, Mare naad, Pattgatt naad, Bottiyat naad, Ammathi naad, Ede Naal naad (a combination of four naads), Bepp naad and Kadiyat naad. Today, the seven naads of Kadiyat naad, Bepp naad, Ede naal naad (four naads) and Ammathi naad are part of Mendele naad. Thavalageri Moo naad (the three naads), Anjikeri naad, Mare naad, Pattgatt naad, and Bottiyat naad, remain in Kiggat naad. 

The seven naads which were moved from Kiggat naad to Mendele naad, is a transitional region between Kiggat naad and Mendele naad where both subcultures mix. Therana wedding ceremony and Boad name festival is celebrated in these seven naads and the seven naads of Kiggat naad but not elsewhere. 

During Boad festival, the villagers will wear different disguises and go from house to house before finally reaching the temple. Kadanga-Maroor  in Kadiyat naad, Chembebelloor, Maggula, Kukloor and  Arji in Ede naal naad, Kavadi and Bilugunda in Ammathi naad, Kunda and Hebbale in Bottiyat naad, Kottageri in Pattgattnaad and Hudikeri in Anjikerinaad are some of the villages where Boad festival is held. 

The therana wedding ceremony is where the person to marry has their palms and feet marked with therana (henna) by their relatives. This ceremony is held during the oorkuduvo, a day before the main wedding. The therana wedding ceremony is observed in Ede naal naad (in Maggula and other places), Ammathi naad and Kiggat naad but not in Kadiyat naad. 

Mendele dialect of Kodava thakk used to be spoken in Mendele naad and Kiggat dialect of Kodava thakk in Kiggat naad. 

Baithurappa was the chief god of Ede naal naad, Ammathi naad, Bepp naad and Kiggat naad. Igguthappa was the chief god of Padi naalnaad. Palurappa was the chief god of Kuyyankeri naad. Payyavurappa was the chief god of Kadiyat naad. 

In the past, Baithur (Vayathur), Payyavur and Thirunelli temple places were in Kodagu. Now they are in Kerala. Just like how Igguthappa is the main god to Naalnaad, Baithurappa is the main god in Kiggatnaad. Since time immemorial, every year, or after a certain number of years, each family in Kiggatnad would send their representatives to the Baithurappa Namme (which happens in January). They would carry the ayudha (weapons), such as the kadthale (sacred zig-zag blade sword), kaththi (sword), thurekol (cane) of their guru karona (ancestors), but not the gejje thand, to Baithurappa temple. Every thiralekaara who is possessed by a god, other than Maari, goes there. The person possessed by Baithurappa takes the weapon, blesses it and gives it to the respective representative. In the night there will be anuvaada or a spiritual discussion.