A priestess called Amma, and sacred groves over 16 acres near Haripad: the Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple

Background

The Ayilyam festival at the Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple falls on Monday, and the traditional Pooyam Thozhal was held the day before, with the temple opening at 4 a.m. The temple stands at Haripad in Alappuzha district and is one of Keralam's two most important centres of serpent worship, the other being the Vetticode temple. Its estate spans over 16 acres, nearly half of it dense sacred groves, or kaavus, and ten distinct groves lie inside the temple compound. The deities consecrated here are Nagaraja, after whom the temple is named, along with Sarpa Yakshi, Naga Yakshi and Naga Chamundi. The temple is headed by a priestess known as Mannarasala Amma, and the special rituals of the festival are led by the family head. Hindu families across Keralam maintain serpent groves called sarppakavus, each grove having a protector family, and the Nagayakshikaavu here holds serpent idols brought over the centuries from families across the State. The hymns sung for the serpent deities are the Pulluvan pattu, rendered by the Pulluva community on a strung pot called the Pulluva kudam. Legend ties the place to Parasurama, who is said to have sought the presence of the serpents to clear the salt from the land he raised out of the sea.