Sarpabali - Vettakkaran-Pattu (Thengayerum Pattu)

- Festivasl Day 1 :- *Sarpabali* ******************************** In earlier days the common man of this land who believed in the existence of the soul in all the animate and inanimate things around him worshipped all the elements and phenomena of nature It is as part of this reverence that the people of Kerala conserved kavu within the neighborhood of their homes. Rituals that originated as part of this kavu tradition reflect the folk ingenuity of Kerala. Sarpa kavu (sacred serpent grove) near traditional homes that developed as part of this kavu tradition though small in size is also of great floral wealth. Snakes are animals that fascinate many people while frightening others. Good or bad, most people have strong feelings about snakes, but few people remain neutral snakes represent divinity, eternity, materiality, life and death, and time as well as timelessness. It symbolizes the three processes of creation, namely creation, preservation, and destruction. It is difficult to track down or find out when and how Naga Aradhana began in Kerala. Mythology through Keralolpathi, a history of Kerala points to the period when Brahmins settled in Kerala after the lord Parasurama According to ancient writings, Nagas’ dissatisfaction will lead to skin diseases, incurable diseases, late marriages, prompt abortions, late pregnancies, eye diseases, births or defective children and conflicts between members of the family. family The ritual symbolically represents the close association between nature and human beings.Sarpabali is performed to appease, drawing the Kalam is a very important item in Sarpabali. It is drawn on a platform made of puṭṭumaṇṇu (small heaps of earth thrown up by earthworms and termites), the platform being demarcated by four pieces of areca nut wood. The platform is covered with silk and tender coconut leaves are hung all around it. The Kalam is drawn with rice powder and other colored powders. Ashta Nagas and to fend off evil effects of Sarpa dosha (the curse of a snake). As part of Sarpabali, a colorful sketch of Padma (Lotus) is drawn on the ground of the temple. In the middle portion, there is Ashtadala (eight petals) and its outward triangle represents nature and Man. The upward and downward triangles of Ashtadala indicate the close association between nature (Prakriti) and man (Purusha). The extreme outer part of the sketch has Sarpakettu. This again is in a lotus shape. The Padma(lotus) for the Sarpabali can be seen only from that point. The priest offers prayers and sacrifices (Bali) to please naga through various mantras and chants near this sketch for the people having Naga dosha. The people who witness this holy performance will redeem themselves from the anger of Nagas. For this offering, the first two Swasthika Padmas are drawn on the ground. One for Nagaraja and the second for Nagayakshi, parallel to each other. Representing them are two Thandulas, placed in front, and poojas are given with the assistance of Panchavadhya (traditional musical ensemble). In the midst of the pooja two Soochanilas are spread on it followed by the placing of Cherukuttu pala, Thanniplavila, and Areca nut "Pookula" on it. After an hour’s pooja, the whole ceremony ends with Tharpana, Pushpanjali, and Deeparadhana. The pooja offers Noorum Paalum through Thelichukuda ritual to each snake deity separately. The "Noorum Paalum" includes ingredients like tender coconut, fresh milk of cow, rose water, turmeric, and the seeds of tender coconut (Pookula). The juice of these ingredients together is called Noorum Paalum. ********************************************************* Festivasl Day 2:- Vettekkaran Pattu / Thengayerum pattu/ =========================================== a) Version-1 Story & Customs ------------------------------- Mythology:- In Mahabharatha, Arjuna, the mid- Pandava, wanted to get the most valuable weapon (arrow), 'Pasupathastram', from Lord Shiva. He started doing "thapass" (meditation concentrating on Shiva) for this purpose until Shiva appeared in person before him. Finally,Shiva decided to appear. But Shiva wanted to test Arjuna's sincerity and worthiness to possess such a powerful weapon. So, Shiva and Parvathy appear in front of Arjuna, attired as forest-dwelling hunters. After testing Arjuna to their satisfaction the weapon was presented with certain conditions. The story has it that a son was born to Lord Shiva and Parvathy while they were in this forest people's attire. This son is called Vettakkoru Makan (A son for hunting). Another version is that Lord Shiva himself (in the hunter's attire) is Vettekkaran. That form is referred to as 'Kirathan' (Kiratha Moorthy). Vettekkaran organized the tribal people and formed a group of soldiers to fight these enemies. These volunteer soldiers were known as Elagirivilli Chekavar. They, under the leadership of Vettekkaran, hunted and killed animals throughout the forest area, covering almost all areas in Wynad, Kurumbanad, etc. He met the Kings and other chieftains of the area and held discussions for solving the menace. Balussery was chosen by him as his headquarters and operated from there, providing protection to the people. As per the traditional songs, Vettekkaran traveled up to a place called Thrikkalangode, near Manjeri of the present Malappuram district of Kerala and took bath in a pond called Kuttankulam and worshiped the Goddess of the nearby temple Valliyankavu. After completing these routine worship he and his team hunted animals in the neighboring forests. The innocent and ignorant tribal and others who lived in the borders of forests viewed the actions of Vettekkaran with reverence and considered him as a hero. Even after his death they used to remember him and wished for his presence, whenever they were in trouble. Several types of offerings were given to this hero for getting solace in their daily life. When time passed, the hero got the status of a God and the worship became ritualistic. Rituals:- ####### The rituals of the offerings to Vettekkaran are generally conducted by a particular community belonging to Hindus in Kerala, called Kurupu community. They have a collection of old songs in Malayalam, depicting the history of Vettekkaran, which are sung during the rituals. In these songs, Vettekkaran is a great warrior who lived in the forest area called 'Nambumala kotta' near Gudallur (presently in the border of Kerala and Karnataka States). Being in the middle of the forest, the dwellers there were afraid of wild animals and robbers. Vettekkaran organized the tribal people and formed a group of soldiers to fight these enemies. These volunteer soldiers were known as 'Elagirivilli chekavar'. They, under the leadership of Vettekkaran, hunted and killed animals throughout the forest area covering places like Wynad, Kurumbanad, etc. He met the Kings and other chief personalities of the area and held discussions. He chose Balussery as his headquarters and operated from there, providing protection to the people. The old songs further describe that Vettekkaran traveled up to Thrikkalangode, near Manjeri, took bath in a pond called 'Kuttankulam' before worshiping the Goddess of Valliyankavu, and hunted animals in the neighboring forests. Vettekkaran, who is simultaneously considered as a hero of historical importance and as a personality of divine halo, is installed and worshiped both at Balussery and Thrikkalangode. Several people, around the State of Kerala, worship Vettekkaran as their family Deity. Major offering to this Deity is the 'Kalam Pattu' (Members of Kurupu community draw a large sketch of Vettekkaran using five colors made out of natural materials and conduct rituals singing the history of Vettekkaran). The Kalam Pattu is accompanied by the breaking of coconuts. On special occasions breaking twelve thousand coconuts are offered as part of this 'Pattu'. On a slightly elevated stage (or in a leveled platform), a rectangular area will be marked with pillars of about six feet height, fixed at the four corners. These pillars will be joined each other with long wooden rods on all four sides, such that a rectangular shape is formed above the platform. Length-wise three pieces of long clothes will be spread above this as roofing, the central piece will be black in color whereas the other two will be white ones. The laying of the central piece is done ceremoniously after a small 'pooja' (worshiping the God) and asking the permission of the person offering this Vettekkaran Pattu. This is done in the morning, on the day the function is held. Before noon another small pooja (called Ucha pooja) will be there for the Deity. These poojas will be held by a priest while the members of the Kurupu community render songs praising the Deity. (The song will be supported by background music using 'Nanduni', a local string instrument generally used only for these type of rituals). Occasional drum beating also will be there, in between devotional song rendering. Afternoon, the decoration and drawing the colorful sketch of Vettekkaran (called 'Kalam Varakkal' or 'kalamital'), inside the rectangle, begin (see photo). Five different colored powders are used for making the diagram. The colors used are black, white, yellow, green, and red. Rice powder is taken as white, burned rice husk for black, turmeric powder for yellow, powdered green leaf for green, and the mixture of turmeric and calcium chloride for red. The diagram drawn will be very beautiful and consist of all features of a true hunter. Tender coconut leaves will hang around the rectangular structure, supplemented with flower garlands. At the topside (near the head of the diagram), on a stool, an idol of the Deity garlanded with flowers will be placed (see photo). A small sword also is kept together with this. The worshiping by the priest starts by the sunset, after the opening 'Keli' (a combined rhythmic presentation using different types of drums, cymbals, a type of flute, a blowing horn, etc.). In the beginning, worship is done outside the house, a little away from the site, which is called 'Mullakkal Pattu'. After that, the sword is handed over to the 'Oracle' ( Komaram/Velicchappatu'), the symbolic representation of the Deity, by the priest. Then with detailed 'Melam' (a systematic and rhythmic rendering of all drums and other instruments), the Deity and the Oracle are taken to the site where the diagram is drawn and arranged for poojas (worshiping). The priest sits at the bottom (near the feet of the Deity – see photo) for conducting the ritual worshiping. This worship takes a long time, with supporting devotional songs by the Kurups and occasional drum beating. Once the priest's worship is over the oracle appears and does a sort of dancing around the diagram. This dance form is called "'Eedum koorum chavittal'. In this dance, the oracle takes different steps according to the drum beating and the devotional songs. Again, the priest does certain worshiping. After this, the devotional songs by the Kurups continue, with one among them doing a special worshiping, called 'Kalam Poli'. After this, the Oracle appears again and starts dancing according to the devotional songs. Drum beating also will be there in between the songs. This time the Oracle enters into the diagram for dancing. Further, he sits on a stool and moves the stool, pushing with legs, inside the diagram of the Deity (called the 'Peetam Nirakkal'- see photo). Because of this, naturally, the diagram gets destroyed almost. After this, the Oracle comes out and starts breaking the coconut (see photo). Generally, a thousand or more coconuts will be there, as an offering, for throwing. But in special cases, the offerings will be twelve thousand coconuts. The Oracle has to throw and break all these nuts sitting in the same position and without break. This may last for three hours (depending on the experience and health of the person, the time may be less or more). Rhythmic drum beating, with cymbals accompanied, will be there as background music. The oracle generally sits on some coconuts taken from the windrow of twelve thousand nuts kept behind him. The story behind this coconut breaking is that the deity's thirst after hunting is remedied by giving coconut water. Another version is that it is for removing the anger of the deity. After the breaking of coconuts, the Oracle comes back to the place of worship and perform a little more dancing, and distributes small bundles of betels to the person who has offered this Vettekkaran Pattu and also to others. After the dance, the oracle sits on the stool, while the Kurups start singing devotional songs. After finishing this the oracle completely removes the diagram using the tender coconut leaves available there. The powder mix collected from the floor will be offered to all present as 'Prasadam' (remnants of offerings to the deity). This powder is pasted by the devotees on their forehead. Some use this as a medicine for certain diseases. This type of Vettekkaran Pattu is being held in selected temples as well as in houses, with Vettekkaran as their family deity, mainly in Kozhikkode, MalappuramPalakkad and Thrissur districts (In southern districts of Kerala also occasional offerings of this type are reported). To make the function more colorful and attractive, additional items such as Thayampaka (a special rhythmic drum beating accompanied with cymbals), Pancha Vadyam (another combination of five different percussion and blowing instruments), etc. Earlier members of a particular family called 'Karor Panikkar' were having the right to become the Oracle in Vettekkaran Pattu. Later when this family became extinct certain Nambudiri (Kerala Brahmins) families took up this role. Now, a couple of Nambudiri families are attending to these rituals.