Entire Village in TN Leaves Their Houses for Fear of 'Evil Spirits'

Entire Village in TN Leaves Their Houses for Fear of 'Evil Spirits'

KRISHNAGIRI: A cleansing ritual to ward off evil spirits from a house or a person is common. But what is not so common is an entire village leaving their houses, with all their possessions and cattle, from dawn to dusk, to get rid off the ‘evil spirit’ they believe is haunting their village.

In this ritualistic exodus, nearly 200 families of Ammanari village, Krishnagiri, left the village early in the morning on Sunday and returned only in the evening after doing special pujas.

Apparently, the death of three youngsters in the village, within a month, caused the villagers to believe that an evil spirit was roaming their village.

When Express visited Ammaneri, which comes under Kooliyam panchayat,  there was not a single soul in the village. When a resident of Ombalakattu, a nearby village, was asked about the ritualistic exodus, she said Ammaneri residents vacated the village in the morning, with their belongings and cattle and returned only in the evening.

“It is believed that this ritual will take away all their worries and ward off evil spirits from the village. People in the surrounding villages of Savulur, Sembadamuthur, Ammaneri, Ombalakattu also perform the ritual at times of crisis like this. It was performed in our village about three years ago,” said Sala (30).

Upon reaching the village entrance, Express team found that the road was blocked with an old tree smeared with ashes to ‘prevent the evil spirit from entering the village.’

Besides, 15 men from nearby villages were deputed to guard the village border, each carrying a long stick. The ‘guards’ warned that no one could enter the village till evening.

Express met Ammaneri residents a few km away from their village.

Mari (60) told Express that she has seen the ritual about four times, done once in 10 years.

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