Men Dress up as Women to offer Prayers in Kerala Temple to get blessed with Job & Wealth

The Chamayavilakku festival is a unique festival celebrated at Kottankulangara Sree Devi Temple in Kerala's Kollam district. The reason as to why it is unique is, here men dress up in the traditional Women's dress and they also wear jewelry and offer prayers.

Due to pandemic, the festival was not celebrated last 2 years, and after a gap of 2 years, this is the 1st time in 2 years this festival was celebrated with public participation.

Even though, the number of participants this year, were very less when compared to pre-covid times, hundreds of men, across the varied age groups have attended the festival dressed up as women.

As per the temple authorities in pre-Covid times the number of participants was as high as three to four thousand.

Men tend to dress up in half saris, Kasavu saris as well as churidhars and they also tend to wear good amount of jewelry, usually gold. Often family members help them to wear saree, jewelry and makeup, sometimes even they hire makeup artists to help them get ready at the temple premises.

The Men tend to carry a Chamayavilakku( (lamp lit up with 5 wicks) during the procession and they offers prayers.

They believe that, by offering prayers dressing up as women, they would bring them blessings in the form of jobs, wealth etc.

The Presiding deity of the temple is Goddess Durga, who is also known as Vanadurga.

History

As per the local folklore, once few cowherds' boys tried to break open a coconut by hitting it on a stone they found in the woods. But they were shocked, when they saw, blood drops dripping from the stone.

These boys became very scared and they informed the villagers about their experience. Later, the locals consulted the astrologers who stated that, stone posses' supernatural powers of vanadurga and that pooja should begin immediately after constructing the temple.

So, they built a temple, where the stone was found using the poles, leaves and tender leaves of coconut palm.

Since those days, only young girls were allowed to prepare flower garlands and light lamps in small and familiar places of worship the cow herders began to dress as women and girls to offer prayers in the temple.

This is how, this tradition of both, men and young boys dress up as women and girls to offer prayers and seek blessings.

These days, Chamayavilakku is also festival of trans persons as numerous community members turn up for it.