Kuthiyottam is a ritual youth dance. It takes place during the Pongala festival celebrations at some Hindu temples. It is dedicated to a warrior goddess. Young teenage boys are an essential part of this ritual.
They wear ascetic clothes, abstain from meat, and eat simple food, take part in daily prayers within the temple. They also dress up in ceremonial clothes and perform as singers and dancers under the guidance of an asan (conductor). They synchronize these dances with the legends of the goddess.
These dances are highly energetic, paced to the beat of drums, with singers, and have traditional costumes. In a very land where poverty continues to rage her populace, the Chooral Muriyal ritual, a subset of the Kuthiyottam ritual, involves the sacrifice of young boys hoping to get wealthy. This particularly affects children who are at the underside of the social ladder.
This tradition is famed to possess begun when a king appealed to the goddess Bhadrakali for wealth and fame. To grant the request, the goddess told him to sacrifice an informed 10-year-old child with no blemish. Thus began this age-long practice. Male children between the ages of eight and 12 are bought and offered to the god at the Chettikulangara temple within the month of Kumbham.
To perform this ritual, they pierce the midribs of the kids with bamboo or gold strings. they make the kids bop to the temple to the rhythm of instruments being played with their hands raised up. While this can occur, they pour coconut milk on the crying children to ease their pain. Some taking part adults also use their hands to fan the blood seeping out.
They do these acts to forestall contamination of the soon-to-be holy child. The sacrifice entails the ostracisation of the chosen child from society. Once a baby is obtainable as a sacrifice, he’s considered evil and must not be related to the conventional children in any gathering.
