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Men dress up like women in God's own country

     Kollam (Kerala): Kerala is called God's own country and this natural paradise has something unique in terms of culture and traditions. Kottankulangara Chamayavilakku is a unique festival, which is held at the Kottankulangara temple in Chavara, near Kollam, where hundreds of sturdy men dress up as comely females. This is an offering to the goddess Bhagavathy, the deity of the temple. In this unique ritual called 'Chamaya Vilakku' (make-up lamp), the 'damsels' come to the temple at night in a long procession with lighted lamps in their hands.

   The ritual occurs during March - April each year. "I am coming from Ernakulam. I offer this as my prayer to the diety. For the last three years I am coming here. I will do so in the coming years also", S Renjith, a devotee. "This year the festival began on March 9 and will end today (March 25). Around 4000 people were participated in the Chamayavilakku. The myth is a group of boys herding cows and during their play, they used to act as shy girls and offer flowers and a coconut dish called kottan to a stone. One of the boys had a divine reception from the Devi and subsequently a temple without an outer wall was constructed and the ritual of men dressed as women offering prayers to the Devi started", said R Sreekumar, Secretary, Kottankulangara Devi Temple. People from all over the world come here to offer their prayers and seek the blessings of Devi. They carry the traditional lamp called chamayavilakku and wait for the procession of the Devi to come and see them. The lamp is a peculiarity of this temple and is seen here only. The lamp is mounted on a long wooden rod and has a height up to the waist. There are five lights, which are lighted on the same lamp, and the lamp is lighted from a main lamp in the temple. Men dress up as women here to fulfill their vows and to thank the Devi for the favours they have received due to Devi's blessings. Some people ask for promotions, some ask for a good job, some ask for a long awaited child, and some to get married to their lover. There are also many groups who come from minor temples around the place.

    Men of all ages, from the smallest infant to very old people come here dressed as females to fulfil their desires for Devi's blessings. Men who come here for the Chamayavilakku dress up in all sorts of costumes but the favourite is the saree and also the traditional Kerala settu mundu. Younger people also don modern dresses such as skirts and jeans. Some men can even be seen dressed in dance costume. Due to Internet and various websites, this festival has come to be known to all cross dressers and is commonly known as the CD Festival of Kollam. Kollam, also known as Quilon, is located 72 kms from Thiruvananthapuram, and is the centre of the country's cashew trading and processing industry. Once of the oldest ports on the Malabar coast, Kollam was once the port of international spice trade. Kollam came into prominence in the 9th century AD. As cited by some historians, the Malayalam era - called the Kollam era - was established by Marthanda Varma, the ruler of Kollam in 825 AD. This beautiful land is gifted with Kerala's very representative features - sea, lakes, plains, mountains, rivers, streams, backwaters, forest, vast green fields and tropical crop of every variety both food crop and cash crop.
-Mar 25, 2005