Fifty-five-year-old Shanthamma made a solitary four-hour journey from her village near Pirayiri in Palakkad to Kodungallur Kurumba Devi Temple on March 19.
A clerk in a lower primary government school, Shanthamma had gone to Kurumba Devi as a penitent, seeking forgiveness. She will not be at the temple for 'kaavutheendal' ritual on March 27, 'meena bharani' day.
She said she could not bear to utter a word in front of the Devi but still managed to whisper: “I can't come to you this time. They say there is a virus out here that loves crowds. Forgive me.” She then placed a sum of Rs 501 as 'adimappanam' (penalty) at the Devi's feet and left.
During the past 31 years she was one of the thousands of oracles (velichappadukal) who would move around the Devi temple on 'meena bharani' day shaking their red-attired bell-studded bodies and their long-handled sickle-shaped swords as if possessed by the deadly Goddess herself.
Even male oracles dress like women, in red silk sarees and, if rich enough, choked in the most showy gold jewellery.
Swordsmen's dilemma
For the first time in known history, hundreds like Shanthamma, both male and female oracles, will not come to Kodungallur for the annual 'kaavutheendal' ritual. “Even before the chief minister spoke about reducing the crowd at Kodungallur, thampuran (head of the erstwhile Kodungallur royal family) had told us about the need to keep things to a minimum,” said Shibu Velichappad, the general secretary of Kodungallur Bhagavathy Velichappad Sangham, which has over 5,000 members.
The Sangham has already informed its members of the need to avoid crowd during the time of COVID-19. “It is heartbreaking for us not to be at Kodungallur for 'kaavutheendal'. This is the only day we transform into oracles, the only day the Devi speaks through us. We cannot even think of missing the opportunity,” Shibu said.
Bloody frustration
A member of the Velichappad Sangham, a 65-year-old male has reportedly banged his head on the sharp edge of a wooden door frame in his house until he bled. “I know this man and I understand what made him do it,” oracle Shathamma said. “He must have done this more out of frustration than faith and so would have been in deep agony,” she said.
No amount of turmeric or coconut oil, the usual first aid when an oracle bleeds, worked and the 65-year-old oracle had to be rushed to the hospital.
It is usual for komarams (oracles) to hit their forehead with the curved portion of their sword till blood flowed like water from a crack in a water tank. “When we are possessed by the Devi, no pain is felt. We don't even remember the things we do or speak in these moments when the drumbeats of some mighty force keep pounding and pounding and pounding inside our heads,” Shanthamma said.
Though spiritually devastating, Sangham general secretary Shibu is conscious of the larger material threat. “We should also realise that if something bad happens, it is our Devi who will get a bad name,” he said.
Oracle's big fat journey
Kodungallur oracles come mostly from North Kerala. It is from Palakkad that the largest number of oracles reach Kodungallur. Sizeable numbers come from Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram, too.
Their journey itself is dangerous in the time of the outbreak. Like kings, oracles do not travel alone. They tag along a mini crowd with them. In some cases an entire village accompanies the local oracle. Even the poorest oracle will carry her family with her. Shanthamma had planned to come with nearly 100, which included close relatives, friends and locals.
Imagine 10,000-odd oracles and each of their fat groups coming together within an area measuring around two acres. At a time when the virus is waiting for the faintest chance, this is recipe for disaster.
Price to be paid
“We have given out the message in our WhatsApp group. Our members have found this hard to take but I think they have understood the gravity of the issue. Many have visited Kodungallur alone and placed the 'adimappanam' (penalty) at the Devi's feet, each according to their means. Those who cannot come will pray at their local temples,” Shibu said.
Shanthamma said she did not tell anyone, even her husband, that she was travelling to Kodungallur to seek forgiveness from the Devi. It was also the first time in her life she was travelling alone. “If I had told my husband, he wouldn't have been able to bear it,” she said.
Calming a Devi, and a virus
Nonetheless, on March 27, it will not be as if the hallowed temple grounds would be fully free of oracles. The Devi's fury has to be assuaged, and only the oracles can do that. “The plan now is to have a very small group at the temple. We have also told that those leaving for Kodungallur should have only a very small team with them,” Shibu said.
Lore has it that even after killing the demon Darikan on 'meena bharani' day, Kurumba Devi would still be baying for blood. If the Goddess has to calm down, the belief is blood should start spilling from the temples of oracles gathered around her abode.
If a ferocious Goddess could be calmed, oracles feel the blood they spill could perhaps even prompt a virus to shed its virulence.
