Kottankulangara Chamayavilakku;Thaindian News

Men Dress Up As Women And Offer Prayers

It's called getting in touch with your "softer side." From Thaindian News March 26,
2008 By K.Ashik Kottankulangara (Kerala), Mar 25 (ANI): Thousands of men
dressed up as women offered prayers at a temple in a unique ritual.Men wearing
various costumes, including saree, skirt,lehenga and the traditional Kerala settu
mundu (another form of drape), went to the Kottankulangara temple in Chavara in a
procession with lighted lamps in their hands.Fulfilling the festival tradition, they
carry a lamp having five lights mounted on a long wooden rod. The lights in the lamp
are used to light other lamps. Men come to the revered temple to fulfill their vows
and to thank the Goddess for the favours received. I am taking part in this festival to
wash away my sins. This is the first time that I am participating in this festival, said
Abhijith, a participant. This has reinforced my belief that the Goddess is powerful
and that she showers her blessings on us. Earlier also, I had come and it proved
fruitful. I am sure, it will help me again, said Reghu, a businessman. There are many
stories about the origin of the festival but the most popular version says a group of
boys who used to herd cows would playfully dress up as girls and offer flowers and a

coconut dish called kottan to a stone. The story goes that the goddess appeared
before one of the boys. Subsequently, a temple came up and the ritual of men
dressing up as women in a bridal outfit to offer prayers to the goddess got under way.
This stone has now come to be regarded as the temple deity, and some say the stone
has been growing in size over the years. Thousands of men, irrespective of their
religious faith, dressed up as women during "Chamayavilakku" or, a costume ritual at
the Kottankulangara Devi Temple in Chavara near Kollam in Kerala.
This festival is purely divine in nature. Five-year-old boy to senior citizen, without any age
restrictions, used to participate in the festival as a part of a ritual to the Goddess for
fulfillment of their wishes. On an average 5000 to 6000 guys used to participate every year.
Participants should be dressed in decent female clothing and hold a lamp called
Chamayavilakku with them (available for rent at the temple premises). Those do not have
lamp come with sexy dresses (even wearing sleeveless blouse) will not be allowed to
participate in the festival.
Fem dressed males, in local language called as, Vilakkukal (lamps) assemble first at the
temple premises to ignite the lamp with them by the temple priest, then moving towards the
pathway (small road) through which the deity is taken on procession. They will be taking
position on either side of the pathway, about one km stretch. Once the procession is over
they will move to the temple to put off the light in their lamps in the place provided in the
temple premises. While they hold the lamp they are treated as escort of the Goddess and
will be respected by the local public, who are having belief / faith.
At this time of an unprecedented ecological crisis like global warming, this temple
that celebrates a deity that symbolises communion with Nature, highlights the need
for humanity to live in harmony with Earth.
Nowadays the festival is well-organised. The cross-dressing men are registered at the
temple and make-up, clothes, wigs and jewellery are available for rent. Anyway, some
people arrange for make-up and clothing on their own to make sure that their female
avatars are created according to their own tastes and preferences rather than the
ready-made options offered by the make-up kiosks. Cross-dressers holding the lamps
start assembling in the temple compound from 9 pm to get their lamps ignited from
the main lamp on the pillar of lamps. They line the road down the Goddess glides in a

procession.
The final procession takes place around 4 am around dawn. The ritual concludes
when the lamps are put out at the temple premises after the procession. Apart from
regular male devotees, recently the ritual has been catching the attention of gays and
transvestites too.
Mostly traditional costumes like saree, Keralite settu mundu and churidar are
preferred for cross-dressing. The youth use skirts too and a few even try jeans. Some
men even don dance costume. However, revealing dress is not allowed. The male
damsels seek the Goddess blessings for fulfilling their wishes like success in exams,
getting jobs and promotions, finding a soulmate and having a child. There are those
who do the ritual for spiritual advancement also, for the prupose of subduing their
ego and balancing the feminine and masculine aspects in their psyche. Even those
who come for their mundane desires have to set aside their male ego while
masquerading as women. In that sense, the cross-dressing ritual could create more
awareness about the importance of gender equality in at least some of the men who
peform it.
This year the lamp procession is scheduled for March 24th and 25th.The crossdressing festival is definitely worth watching due to the liberal ethos it presents and
its uniqueness. Those who come by train can get down at Kollam Railway station.
The nearest airport is in Thiruvananthapuram (71 km from Kollam). Accommodation
at affordable rates is available at Kollam. Bus services from Kollam city and the
Karunagapally town near Chavara make travel easier. But it is best to travel by car
from Kollam to Chavara so that you can do sightseeing on the route at your own pace.
The temple is situated in a village called kottankulangara, which is about 14 kms from
Kollam and 10 kms from Karunagappally, another nearby town in the Trivandrum Salem
National Highway (NH-47). Kollam and Karunagappally, both are suitable for comfortable
stay. Since Kollam is the district headquarters availability of accommodation is more.
Rooms are available from Rs.200/ to Rs.2500/- depending upon the facilities.
Bus services are available from Kollam and Karunagappally throughout the night to reach
the temple. If you get dressed at your place of stay at Kollam / Karunagappally and going to
the temple by bus, you have to face the public traveling in the bus, for which you should be

prepared for.
At the temple site many make-up kiosks are available, providing make up. They also give
wig for rent. However dresses are not available for rent, which take note. Since the make-up
parlors will be busy with clients, make up will not be that good to your expectations. There
are many shops selling bangles, ear ornaments and other fem accessories but will be of
cheap varieties only.
As the large number of females also use to come to attend the festival.Those come up with
their spouse do makeup work themselves for their husbands. Rita and Aniket participant
from Mumbai said,We`ve made lots of preparations for this festival,We`ve got his ears and
nose pierced in mumbai a month ago so that he can wear jewellery. I`ve applied mehendi
on his both hands and legs and made him up and he is now looking stunningly beautiful.
S.Krishnan Iyer participant from Chennai said`we came here previous year for our six
month old son who has got hole in his heart, I`ve prayed if the goddess heals my son than
i`ll daily worship and offer prayer to her in the morning as a women.And now he is all fine.
Participants should get a ticket of Rs.5/- from the temple authorities to enter the temple.
Kollam Junction is a substantially big railway station in the main line connecting
Ernakulam to Trivandrum / Kanya kumari. Since Trivandrum, capital of kerala, is directly
connected with all the Metros by train, anybody coming from any part of India doesnt have
difficulty in reaching Kollam. Advance reservations are most important, as passenger traffic
in this route is very high. Those who are coming down to participate the festival can get
down at Kollam as all the trains, including super fast trains stop there. Nearest airport is
Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), which is about 74 kms from Kollam.
The festival falls on March 24 and 25th this year. Though it is only starting of summer,
temperature will be around 34 to 37 degrees, which you should be able to manage.
Dos
- To and fro journey tickets are to be booked in advance.
- Arrive at the place of stay on the previous evening to get decent accommodation.
- Arrange your own conveyance if you wish to go to the temple site dressed from room
- Go to the temple early to get lamp before the stocks get exhausted.
Donts

- Avoid going outside the temple between 11 pm to 2 am without proper escorts.

- Walking alone outside the temple premises is not advisable.
- Avoid drinks and food items from temple site as they are polluted.
- Face the comments from admirers with a smile and dont react.
Advice to first time participants:
First day visit the temple site in male dress; enjoy the festivities as admirer seeing and
understanding happenings thereat. You can see how makeup parlors are working, the rate
they charge etc. Dont miss a walk through the crowds outside the temple at the peak time;
say 11 pm to 2 am. Second day you can dress and participate in the festival and enjoy your
feminity.
I was a small child when I first witnessed the strange procession of men dressed up
as women carrying lamps at night seeking blessings from the Goddess of
Kottankulangara Bhagavathy temple. I couldnt believe that those women were
actually men in disguise! The make-up was stunning. I still remember telling my
mother, Amma, they look prettier than even women! Mother laughed.
Though I was born in the sleepy Keralite village of Chavara that nestles between the
Arabian sea and the Ashtamudi lake, my parents had relocated to Kollam city, about
14 kilometres away. I was born on the culminating date of this unusual temple
festival. So the memory of the village and the lamp procession even now fills me with
undiluted nostalgia.
I have visited the village many times over the years. However, a visit during the
annual temple festival in March is special because not only the villagers and the
devotees but also many foreign tourists come to watch the procession, converge at
Chavara.
Driving down National Highway 47 in the afternoon, Gods Own Country showed me
an interesting mix of urban and country landscapes. Once you leave the city centre,
on both sides of the road, hordes of tall coconut palms interspersed with other trees
give you the feeling of travelling through a forest. You realise that you are amidst a
modern civilisation only when you see the vehicles on the road and the houses that
appear to be peeking out of the green cover as you pass by.
Neendakara bridge marks the border of Kollam municipal corporation and the
beginning of the rural areas. After the bridge, the highway runs very close to the sea.
Neendakara is a famous fishing harbour in South Kerala. As the car approaches the
bridge, the smell of the sea envelopes me. I park the car on the roadside and walk
along the bridges footpath. On one side, there is the expanse of the Arabian Sea. On
the other side, the backwaters of Ashtamudi, the eight-headed lake!

Ashtamudi lake is a part of the National Waterway that stretches up to Alappuzha.

This lake route is a favourite of foreign and domestic tourists who grab the
opportunity to travel by house-boats. The very sight of the lake made me recall a
cherished memory. I had been on that scenic lake once in a boat. It felt like a waking
dream with the cool breeze and the gentle swaying of the boat. It was like natures
own cradle. Waking up from the past, I watch the waters from the sea and the lake
mingling near the Neendakara bridge. Fishing boats crisscross the waters.
Then there is the Chavara bridge to cross. It is a short bridge compared to the long
Neendakara bridge. I get down there too to see the gleaming Chavara canal. The
temple of the Goddess Vana Durga (Forest Goddess) of Chavara, who likes to see
men in female attire, beckons me. It is barely half a kilometre from the Chavara
bridge. The urban-rural overlapping peculiar to Kerala is visible here also. The busy
National Highway borders the temple, while on the other side, lush trees loom large
near the temple pond. I have never cross-dressed as a woman at this temple. But this
intriguing festival never ceases to fascinate me. In the whole world, it happens only
in Chavara, Goddess Own Country.
The cross-dressing ritual is known as chamaya vilakku (make-up lamp) and takes
place during the last two days of the 11 days temple festival. The lamp is a specialty of
this temple and it is seen only here. It is mounted on a waist-high wooden rod and
five flames are lighted on one lamp. Males ranging from small boys and youth to
senior citizens carry the lamps. Around 1500 males participate every year.
There is a legend behind the festivals origin. Some cowherd boys accidentally hit a
black shapeless stone while dehusking a coconut and the stone began to bleed. This
odd development was revealed to be the presence of Goddess Vana Durga. Vana
Durga represents Nature, the Earth Goddess. A temple with a roofless sanctum
sanctorum where the sacred stone receives sunlight and rain was constructed. The
boys dressed as women for praying to the Goddess. According to another version of
the story, a few cowherd boys during their play cross-dressed as girls and offered
flowers and kottan (remains of coconut after its milk is extracted) to a stone. Then