Sullia: Identity of Mysterious Power Remains Closely Guarded Secret
 
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Sullia (PS/SP)
 
Sullia, Mar 18: It is a temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. However, thousands of hens and roosters get dedicated to the deity there on every Meena Sankramana day. These birds are then taken by the devotees into the adjoining thick forest, and sacrificed to a mysterious deity, identity of which is kept a closely guarded secret since long. Only one individual knows about the identity, and where the seat of the divine power is located.

In a celebration held amidst the thick forest located in Kodagu district on Meena Sankramana day, people, mostly belonging to either Kodava or Malekudia communities, participate. They sing and dance together overnight to satisfy their god at Ayyappa temple and then proceed by foot into the forest with the hens and roosters in their hands, after the sun rises.
 
To reach this Arekallu Ayyappa temple, one has to go to Sampaje at the border of Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts. From Sampaje, the temple is located about seven kms inside the thick forest. The temple has a history of over 700 years, and lord Shiva is the deity predominantly worshipped here. God is worshipped here only on the day of Sankranthi every month. In addition to Lord Ayyappa and Lord Shiva, deities like Vishnu, Nedampady Naga, Poovathmaar, Chamundeshwari among others are also worshipped here. Normally, only those belonging to Malekudia and Kodava communities offer worship here. The temple is believed to be founded by people belonging to Pandira lineage.

The ritual which catches one’s attention here, is the sacrifice of hens and roosters. The people from surrounding regions have followed the practice of sacrificing them to an unseen and unknown deity once every year, since long. Customarily, the sanctity and cleanliness of the areas around the deities like Ayyappa, Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Chamundeshwari are maintained strictly. For this reason, hens are sacrificed at a place called ‘Devara Kadu’, about eight kms away from the temple, located amidst the forest. As per a custom handed over generations, these birds are tethered to a pillar till worship procedures are completed. Before that, the priest who initiates the puja procedures, lets out a cry into the forests, signalling an invitation for a hen to arrive from inside the forest. A hen that comes to the spot from the thick forest is the first one to be fastened to the pole. At the same time, another small hen is released into the forest by the priest, duly instructing it to come back next year on this day. Nobody visits this temple on any other time, except on the day on which the puja is offered once a month. This forest is frequented by elephants.
 
The people who gather there, sing songs in Kodava language, which are like Paddhanas sung during ‘Bhootharadane’ in Dakshina Kannada district. The songs mainly illustrate the history of their gods. Devotees believe that whatever the priest utters on the occasion can never go wrong. Already many have found solutions for their problems through this method, people claim.
 
This annual feast continues throughout the night. After the distribution of Prasadam by the priest, hens are taken into the forest till they reach ‘Devara Kadu’. Here, no one else is permitted to enter except those belonging to Kodava and Malekudia communities.  After they tread about eight kms into the forest, they sacrifice their hens and soak a sacrificial rock there with the blood of birds. At the same time, the chief priest, who goes with these people, walks further deep into the forest, leaving others behind, and offers pujas to an unknown divine power. No one knows about the identity and spot where the power is located, and in what form. No one wants to know these details, as they believe that unwanted curiosity attracts wrath of the power, and risks their lives. The priest returns after head of the devotees shouts to him to come back, after all the birds are sacrificed.

The people are barred from discussing among themselves about where the priest goes or what he does there. It is said that a priest who revealed about these details, had died because of this blunder. As a result, people continue to worship a divine power, without knowing about its identity, location, or form.