About 12 miles from Kannur, in a hamlet called Parssinikadavu, on the banks of the Valapatanam River in sylvan surroundings, is the Muthappan Temple. The presiding deity there is Muthappan, an avatar of Lord Siva also known as the Hunter God of Malabar. The staple diet of the deity is fish and toddy.
The temple was built to commemorate and honour a boy, adopted by a Brahmin couple, who took to hunting and partying with friends with copious quantities of alcohol, but also performed miraculous deeds. The boy’s circle of friends had included persons from all walks of life and religion and the temple was built in the essence of Vasudaiva Kudumbam — the world is one family. The Muslims who plied their trade in the river were ardent disciples of Muthappan and made generous donations to the temple.
Theyams are held twice a day — at the crack of dawn and at sunset. During the ritual the oracle consumes a large quantity of alcohol. He has a sword that is held erect in front of him and he prances around reciting his incantations of slokas and mantras in a lilting fashion, alternating in very high and very low pitches.
There is heat transmitted by the countless number of oil lamps and the main pyre, combined with the overpowering fragrance of incense. Am orchestra, dominated by drums, is always in attendance and as the ritual enters into the last rites the drums dominate and the oracle dances with rhythmic hops and swirls, befitting the portrayal of the hunter god. The brisk movement at times turns light and soft, creating a mood of love and compassion. His dance slowly gains tempo and advances into a frenzy, consonant to the beating of the drums, until it climaxes into a crescendo when the oracle, in a trance, invokes and eventually embodies Muthappan.
He is then believed to be endowed with godly powers of clairvoyance and his devotees are welcome to seek His divine solution on any matter.
I remember, we were vacationing at Kannur once when our house was burgled. My grandmother sought the help of Muthappan who promised to restore at least a part of the lost gold. True to his promise a portion of the gold was recovered. She took all her little woes to him thereafter without achieving the same level of success.
Local people while on a visit to their hometown make it a point to visit the temple and then one of the many toddy shops close to the temple. It is also customary for locals to have the Muthappan ritual conducted in their homes; they believe it sanctifies the place. To the Gulf-returnee a Muthappan ritual conducted at home is a means to showcase his newly acquired wealth to his neighbours. After the ceremony the oracle prefers the ‘duty free’ to the local toddy.
Devotees residing elsewhere conduct the Muthappan ritual in their homes on the last Friday of every month. The offerings are pounded rice, green gram with pieces of coconut, dried fish and a glass of toddy! Where toddy is not available it is substituted by any other alcoholic drink. After the ritual all the offerings including the toddy or alcohol is considered duly ‘blessed’.
