Ettumanoor Festival Arattu : Thulabharam Ritual

Ettumanoor arattu :Ettumanoor is located 12 Kms north-east of Kottayam town. The ancient Siva temple here has brought glory and fame to the place. Myths have it that the Pandavas and the sage Vyasa had worshipped at this temple. The name of the place had its origin from the word 'manoor', which means the home of deer.

The present temple building, with its gopuram and the fortress around it, was reconstructed in 717 ME (1542 AD). The mural paintings on the walls inside and outside the gopuram are quite famous. The images of Balagopalam and other Devas are painted with high artistic ingenuity. The golden flag staff inside the temple is a beautiful sight. On the top of it is the image of a bull surrounded by a small bells and metal leaves of the banyan tree. The temple roofs are covered with copper sheets and it has 14 ornamental tops. Bhagavati, Sastha, Ganapathy and Yakshi are installed here as subordinate deities. It is believed that the great philosopher, Sankaracharya wrote the 'Soundaraya Lahari' staying in the temple.

The arattu festival of this temple is celebrated on a grand scale on the Thiruvathira day in Kumbham (February-March) every year. Large number of people flock to this temple on the 8th and 10th day of the festival when seven and a half elephants made of gold (nearly 13 Kgms) will be held in public view. The temple, the wealthiest Devaswom in Kerala, has many valuable possessions.

Thulabharam

The Thulabharam is one of the important rituals of this temple. People make offerings to God for favours received. In a balance, the child or man for whom offerings were promised to God, is weighed against offerings ranging from gold to fruits. Ettumanoor is an important pilgrim Centre of Hindus, it is on the highway between Kottayam and Kochi.