On the tenth and eleventh of the Malayalam month of Meenam (mid-March to mid-April), hundreds of males dressed as girls throng the Kottankulangara Sri Bhagavathy Temple in Kollam for its annual pageant, Chamayavilakku. As per custom, in the course of the two-day celebration, males line up from the temple gate for the ceremonial Ezhunnallathu (procession) round 2 a.m., holding lamps with 5 wicks to hunt the blessings of the presiding deity, goddess Durga.
This gender-bending pageant is a flamboyant show of sartorial creativity. Males deck up in girls’s garments, full with jewelry and equipment. Yearly, a number of studios and inexperienced rooms mushroom close to the temple to assist male devotees remodel into girls.
On each days of the pageant, the identical rituals are adopted. This custom goes again to the temple’s legend, in response to which when some cowherds tried to smash a coconut with a stone and it started to bleed. Astrologers found that the stone held Vanadurga’s divine pressure, they usually instructed the native individuals to erect a shrine round it. On the time, women carried out pujas within the temple. The cowherds subsequently dressed as women to carry out the temple’s preliminary pujas. Boys beneath the age of 10 additionally costume up as women for Kakkavilakku, part of the Chamayavilakku pageant, however held in the course of the day.
Over time, Chamayavilakku has acquired a particular significance for the transgender neighborhood in Kerala, which attends the pageant in massive numbers.
Photograph:
Thulasi Kakkat
Sacred flame: A boy with a ceremonial lamp on the Kottankulangara Bhagavathy Temple in Kollam, Kerala, on March 24.
Photograph:
Thulasi Kakkat
Preparing: Relations assist a boy dress earlier than going to supply prayers on the temple.
Photograph:
Thulasi Kakkat
Gracious look: Males attired in sarees and decked in jewelry take part within the rituals and procession.
Photograph:
Thulasi Kakkat
Closing touches: Boys get to put on lipstick and rouge for the ceremony.
Photograph:
Thulasi Kakkat
Devotional fervour: The standard five-wick lamp is a crucial a part of the pageant.
Photograph:
Thulasi Kakkat
Floral adornment: Other than jewelry, strands of flowers are additionally a part of the finery worn by the male devotees.
Photograph:
Thulasi Kakkat
Peace and poise: It’s believed that the female contact propitiates the Goddess Bhagavathy and brings her blessings to all.
Photograph:
Thulasi Kakkat
Lighter moments: The pageant procession is older than any satisfaction march.
Photograph:
Thulasi Kakkat
Affected person prayer: Many households come collectively to mark the sacred event.
