Kavu Theendal performed at Kodungallur Temple

THRISSUR: Thousands of devotees took part in the ‘Kavu Theendal’ ceremony performed at the Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple on Sunday. Clad in red costumes with anklets and sabre in both hands, they smote their foreheads with the brandishing swords with a ritualistic vengeance.The devotees flogged the temple walls and rafters with sticks and lobbed coconuts and turmeric powder over its roof.Anointed with blood and ringing the ritualistic bells, the devotees and oracles, both men and women called ‘Komarams or Velichapads,’ danced around the temple in a trance, proclaiming their communion with the  mother goddess which marked the end of the 10-day long Bharani festival at the temple.“The atmosphere was frantic and I got terrified when they smote their heads with the sabres in their hand. This may be the oldest temple festival in the state, perhaps the only one-of-its-kind in the world,” said Neeraj Gupta, a Delhiite who came here for the first time to participate in the festival.The festival is an assertion of Dalit identity.It is widely believed that the deity accepts all their frustrations and anger and it is a part of the centuries-old custom.That’s why the spilling of blood and hurling abuses are permitted here, said one of the Kshetra Kshema Samiti members.