The mention of Koothandavar festival usually brings in memories of the annual transgender festival in Koovagam in Villupuram district. But not many are aware that the Koothandavar festival (also known as Aravan festival) is also held in Coimbatore annually, albeit in a wholly different manner, sans the participation of a large number of transgenders.
This year’s 18-day Koothandavar fest, orngaised by 7 communities, including Dalits, began at Singanallur on Friday midnight and went on till the wee hours of Saturday.
The festival has its roots in traditional belief based on the epic Mahabharata. In the epic, the Kauravas convince Aravan, the son of Arjuna, to offer himself on the day of the Amavasai (new moon) for the Kurukshetra war. On learning about this, the Lord, to help the Pandavas, through a celestial trick, makes Aravan sacrifice himself a day before Amavasai. Later to fulfill Aravan’s last wish that he should marry before his death, Krishna takes the form of Mohini and marries him. To commemorate the sacrifice of Aravan at Koovagam every year a large number of transgenders ‘marry’ Aravan and later snap the mangalsutra to mourn his death. Nothing happens like that in Kovai.
Explaining the intricate subtleties between Koovagam and Kovai events, R Kanagaraj, in-charge for the event, said, that here Lord Krishna as Mohini is replaced by a woman. “Here, Aravan marries Pongiyamman, who is usually drawn from the Pulava caste. On their first-night, he is informed about the Kalappali (sacrifice) before the dawn and therefore he leaves for the same. But before the Kalappali, Pongiyamman ends life by jumping into fire.”
While members of one of the 7 communities take the groom’s side and bring Aravan from the mappillai veedu (groom’s house), another community act as the pen veedu (bride’s side).
Singanallur, incidentally, has a separate temple for Aravan where he is symbolically represented by two pillars installed at the altar. But the uyir (life-force) of Aravan is kept in Neelikonampalayam and is brought in the form of a pillar of a milky tree from there and installed at the Aravan temple. Since here Pongiyamman dies before Aravan there is no thali arukkum (removing the mangalsutra) ritual, which in contrast is the most important part of the Koovagam festival. After Kalappali, the life-force of Aravan is again taken to Neelikonampalayam, making a full circle of festival events.