Scenes from the Petta Thullal ritual held at Erumely on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: VISHNU PRATHAP
Petta Thullal, the ritualistic dance marking the last leg of the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage season, was held with traditional gaiety at Erumely on Saturday.
The teams of Ayyappa devotees from Ambalappuzha and Alangad staged the ceremonial mass dance as thousands thronged the streets of the temple town to witness the unique celebration of communal harmony. The Ambalappuzha group, led by Samooha Periyon N. Gopalakrishna Pillai, was the first to begin the dance by 12 noon after citing the Brahminy kite in the sky.
The group, accompanied by three tuskers, danced down the streets of Erumely and was accorded a reception at the Nainar mosque by the Erumely Mahallu Muslim Jama-at. After circumambulating the mosque, the group proceeded to the Sree Dharma Sastha temple,Erumely.
The Alangad group, led by Samooha Periyon A.K. Vijayakumar, began the dance by around 3.30 p.m. and was received in front of the Sree Dharma Sastha temple.
In view of the heightened pilgrim activity over the past two days, an additional batch of 300 police personnel has been deployed on duty for security and traffic regulation in Erumely town.
The festivities at Erumely began on Friday evening with the staging of the Chandanakkudam festival at the Nainar mosque.
Meanwhile, the customary procession carrying the Thiruvabharanam (sacred jewellery of the presiding deity at Sabarimala) will set off to the Sabarimala Sannidhanam from Pandalam on Sunday.
The three boxes containing the Thiruvabharanam will reach Sharamkuthy by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The boxes will be received by the Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan and Travancore Devaswom Board president N. Prashanth by 6.15 p.m. at the Sannidhanam.
Published – January 11, 2025 08:31 pm IST