The kodungallur Bharani in the state of kerala
is the annual festival of the kali temple at kodungallur. To an outsider, this festival may seem weird or even freaky.. for the celebration here, represents chaos unleashed...In a state of lawlessness, the free spirit dances in to trance... armed with swords and chilambu, the free spirits let out all that they have suppressed within themselves for the past one year...With Kali, they sing obscene sex songs.. they talk dirty, they drink liquor..Anger finds ways to express itself...In trance,they wound themselves...their heads bleed..and with the blood, they cleanse themselves and the world of its superficial civilised mask. It is a celebration of death,decay and regeneration of life...Within Kali's protective presence, they unleash themselves.
This festival is one of the biggest in Kerala, people from all parts of the state come to be a part of this unique festival.As the town grew, so did the temple and the festival, in sheer number of devotees coming there.
This is the festival of the lower caste.In light of the earlier post, I think its only natural that the true inhabitants of the land remembers and still pray to the same god who protected them eons before the lords of the land established power and supremacy.
For the society that tamed Kali , who was too wild for the civilised man, the festivals that celebrated her and all that she stands for, came to be an embarrassment.
It had to be dealt with.Such festivals, especially ones that were too popular, had to be censored.Yes! Censored- a word of the civilised man. and Thats what happened to the Kodugallur Bharani too..
The celebration is censored today. No more obscenity..no more dirty talk..no more trance.All that is hidden is hidden for a cause. Their secrets die with the devotees.
Lives of suppressed emotions, anger,desires, fears and a new sense of alienation. A sense of being uprooted...for this soil hold the remains of their ancestors..who danced with the kali for years...their blood has replenished this temple ground for years...and here, now, their right is taken away from them.
They are seen as filth, untouchables, to be beaten if they do not abide by the law and order of the state.Recent years, Police men outnumber the number of devotees who come for the festival.New bhagavati devotional songs are played.There is a ban against singing 'foul sex songs' and the devotees are beaten if they dare to sing a sex song or go in to a trance.
for a detailed report,
http://www.hrsolidarity.net/mainfile.php/2002vol12no06/2251/
This temple was half an hour from my house in kerala.I grew up listening to horror stories about the festival.I dont remember going to the Kali temple even once. Not surprising , for i belonged to the higher caste and i am a girl.These two factors makes it impossible for the likes of me to be even seen within the limits of kodungallur during the festival.It was a mystery nobody talked about in the house hold... no one would tell me why it is dangerous to go to the temple during the festival..bad things happen there..bad people come there...No ! U cannot go see it !! Good Girls never go there during the festival !
I have not yet gone to a bharani at kodungallur, but now i know... I know, its a celebration..a true celebration where one is filled with so much happiness, so much energy that one can break away from the chains that bind and suffocate... It is a celebration of memories, passed from generation to generation..through songs and stories.... through faith and passion...
It is the true celebration of being the memory, of being life and death ,of being one with the power that runs the cosmos, of being one with Kali....
PS- I am sure sexual harassment is a common thing during the festival.Even a crowded bus is an apt playground for twisted souls who torture unsuspecting travellers.So one can only imagine the degree of sexual harassment happening in a festival like this ! but what i am wondering now, is -who would be doing it more, the police or the devotees ?
This is the festival of the lower caste.In light of the earlier post, I think its only natural that the true inhabitants of the land remembers and still pray to the same god who protected them eons before the lords of the land established power and supremacy.
For the society that tamed Kali , who was too wild for the civilised man, the festivals that celebrated her and all that she stands for, came to be an embarrassment.
It had to be dealt with.Such festivals, especially ones that were too popular, had to be censored.Yes! Censored- a word of the civilised man. and Thats what happened to the Kodugallur Bharani too..
The celebration is censored today. No more obscenity..no more dirty talk..no more trance.All that is hidden is hidden for a cause. Their secrets die with the devotees.
Lives of suppressed emotions, anger,desires, fears and a new sense of alienation. A sense of being uprooted...for this soil hold the remains of their ancestors..who danced with the kali for years...their blood has replenished this temple ground for years...and here, now, their right is taken away from them.
They are seen as filth, untouchables, to be beaten if they do not abide by the law and order of the state.Recent years, Police men outnumber the number of devotees who come for the festival.New bhagavati devotional songs are played.There is a ban against singing 'foul sex songs' and the devotees are beaten if they dare to sing a sex song or go in to a trance.
for a detailed report,
http://www.hrsolidarity.net/mainfile.php/2002vol12no06/2251/
This temple was half an hour from my house in kerala.I grew up listening to horror stories about the festival.I dont remember going to the Kali temple even once. Not surprising , for i belonged to the higher caste and i am a girl.These two factors makes it impossible for the likes of me to be even seen within the limits of kodungallur during the festival.It was a mystery nobody talked about in the house hold... no one would tell me why it is dangerous to go to the temple during the festival..bad things happen there..bad people come there...No ! U cannot go see it !! Good Girls never go there during the festival !
I have not yet gone to a bharani at kodungallur, but now i know... I know, its a celebration..a true celebration where one is filled with so much happiness, so much energy that one can break away from the chains that bind and suffocate... It is a celebration of memories, passed from generation to generation..through songs and stories.... through faith and passion...
It is the true celebration of being the memory, of being life and death ,of being one with the power that runs the cosmos, of being one with Kali....
PS- I am sure sexual harassment is a common thing during the festival.Even a crowded bus is an apt playground for twisted souls who torture unsuspecting travellers.So one can only imagine the degree of sexual harassment happening in a festival like this ! but what i am wondering now, is -who would be doing it more, the police or the devotees ?
2 comments:
Hey laks... good to see ur blog. Feels like hearing you speak...
Hi... i'm a kodungallur native and i'm really happy to read your blog about my home town. Keep writing... I'll be always following you
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