Although many religious processions of various deities pass
by our home in Mylapore, the one that creates most intrigue and kindles mortal
fears in us children is Masana Kollai. Literally, it means a raid of the
cremation grounds. It is a festival dedicated to goddess Amman, the
South Indian Tamil name for goddess Parvathi or Kali. Later, I
learned that this festival happens in the month of February/March and dedicated
in particular to one goddess, Angalamman, which is another name for Lord
Shiva’s consort, Parvathi. Deeply etched in my memory are the images,
sounds, and the noisy spectacle of a procession of a huge, blood red faced idol
of the goddess. It is probably 10 feet in diameter and carried by a coterie of
strongmen on an open palanquin. The attending priest, bare-chested, wearing a
red dhoti, hailing from the community that maintains the Amman
temple, will stand in front of the goddess on the palanquin. This palanquin and
the procession, will start from the temple premises and slowly make its way
through the streets, making frequent stops. Families living in nearby homes
will offer fruits, flowers, and coconuts to the goddess and the priest will
give back the offerings along with sacred ash and the red sacred powder called kumkum.
The ultimate destination is the Mylapore crematorium for the kollai or
the raid.
The procession itself is an audiovisual spectacle. A cacophony
of sounds, comprising of a duet or quartet of paramolams (a circular
drum of about 3 feet in diameter, covered with taut cow or goat hide) , the
haunting reverberations of the udukkai (a handheld small drum, in the shape of an
hourglass), thunderous blowing sounds from long and semicircular country
trumpets, along with pleasing tunes from traditional nadaswaram and thavil,
creates an atmosphere of a massive raid. Add to it, a multitude of country
dancers painted like tigers in yellow and black stripes, country martial
artists swinging sticks, and weapons made from deer horns, and a group of women,
dressed in red or yellow saris, with flowing hair performs sami attam, a
dance in a possessed state. You watch this once, and it will leave a lasting
impression for life.
The epitome of all the mela is the gruesome, bloody entrails
of a goat carried in a thatched bamboo tray called the muram. This will
not be visible at street level as the vessel is on top of the palanquin. Hence,
the only way to see it is from the top. As a kid, I am always intrigued and
curious to see this macabre display. However, my mom will never let us children
see this bloody display. I, along with a bunch of neighborhood kids, will
pretend to be at the street level, and then rush upstairs to the open terrace,
jump and hang from the parapet wall, pop our heads out, as we were shorter than
the parapet wall, and excitedly glance at the entrails. It usually has liver, kidneys,
and intestine. Not sure if I remember if it had stomach, but definitely liver,
kidneys and intestine. Sometimes a few black colored, dead, headless chickens
hang from the sides of the palanquin. Story goes that during rituals conducted
at the temple, the priest, in a possessed state, bites off the chicken head and
spits it out!
The entire procession goes to the Mylapore crematorium where
the priest conducts a special ritual for the goddess that mimics the mythology behind
this festival. I heard massive crowds throng to get Her blessings. I never
ventured into the crematorium grounds until probably during college, when I
went to say farewell to a very good fiend.
References:
Amman procession example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urRJUn3vf2o
Silambattam and Tiger dance example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d29gLBFgy7E
Maan kombu fight example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phy1vRli6eY
Saami attam (see from 0.40 onwards) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu3bFv4MJqA
Muram / Winnow : http://www.jopreetskitchen.com/2015/06/indian-kitchen-cookwares-essential-indian-utensils.html
Picture with the goddess Amman (in the middle): https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/tracking-indian-communities/day-of-devotees-arubathumoovar-fest-of-mylapore-village/
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