KANNIGASALAM POOJAI

 History
Kannigasalam goes back to ancient Sadir times. Devadasis were servants of God. Most were women, but some were transsexuals. There is a thin line between the cultural practices of both genders. But basically who were the davadasis? The devadasi tradition (தேவதாசி; “servant of god”) was a religious tradition in which girls and transsexual women are “married” and dedicated to a deity (deva or devi) or to a temple and includes performance aspects such as those that take place in the temple as well as in the courtly and mujuvani [Telegu] or home context. Dance and music were essential part of temple worship. Originally, in addition to this and taking care of the temple and performing rituals, these women learned and practiced Sadir (Bharatanatya), Odissi and other classical Indian artistic traditions and enjoyed a high social status.

During British rule in the Indian subcontinent, kings who were the patrons of temples and temple arts became powerless. As a result, devadasis were left without their traditional means of support and patronage. During colonial times, reformists worked towards outlawing the devadasi tradition on grounds that it supported prostitution. Recently the devadasi system has started to disappear, having been outlawed in all of India in 1988.
However, devadasis still exist in India today, as shown in a 2004 report by the National Human Rights Commission of the Government of India. According to this report, “after initiation as devadasis, women migrate either to nearby towns or other far-off cities to practice prostitution” (p200). A study from 1990 recorded that 45.9% of devadasis in one particular district were prostitutes, while most of the others relied on manual labour and agriculture for their income.

Devadasis are also known by various other local terms, such as jogini. Furthermore, the devadasi practice of religious prostitution is known as basivi in Karnataka and matangi in Maharastra. It is also known as venkatasani, nailis, muralis and theradiyan.

Devadasis were sometimes referred to as a caste in India, so were the Hijras of the north and the Thirunangais of the south.

The Ceremony’s Origin

From the late medieval period until 1910, the Pottukattu or tali-tying dedication ceremony, was a widely advertised community event requiring the full cooperation of the local religious authorities. It initiates a young girl or transsexual into the devadasi profession and is performed in the temple by the priest. In the Brahminical tradition marriage is viewed as the only religious initiation (diksha) permissible to women. Thus the dedication is a symbolic "marriage" to the temple's deity, not a physical marriage like men and women.
In the sadanku or puberty ceremonies, the devadasi-initiate consummates her marriage with an emblem of the deity borrowed from the temple as a stand-in 'bridegroom'. From then onward, the devadasi is considered a nitya sumangali: a woman eternally free from the adversity of widowhood.
She would then perform her ritual and artistic duties in the temple. The puberty ceremonies were an occasion not only for temple honor, but also for community feasting and celebration in which the local elites also participated. The music and dance and public display of the girl or transwoman also helped to attract patrons.

For the transsexuals, they practice the Kannigasalam Poojai which is similar to the pottukattu but has a higher level of dedication and slightly different than a girl devadasi. Kannigasalam is not the same as the Catholic methods of becoming and being a nun. The transsexuals patronize the goddess Bahuchara who is the essence of fertility. Thus, when a transsexual is “touched” by Bahuchara, she will be led by the deity to fulfil her destiny.

In simple words, Kannigasalam is to become the daughter of the respective deity. The Catholic nuns practice averageness, obedience and chastity in order to serve God. But this is different for the transsexual women as they do not experience the same puberty changes as biological women. But the similar Hindu nuns as in the Catholic principles would be the Brahmacharinis (who were Kanniyastris, not Kannigashtris).

To become a Kannigashtri, you should have three main intentions, to serve the deity as her daughter, to preach her teachings and to assist all who come to you in her name. It is a choice to remain celibate because celibacy was to ensure you were not distracted from your duties for God.

The Ceremonial Procedure

The kannigastri will first undergo physical purification by doing the Jalem Pooja. After the Yagna (sacrificial fire offering) and Maha Pooja to the deity, the deity will be bathed in the Kumbham holly water and with other abhishega ingredients such as milk, turmeric water, attar, rose water, and abhishega koote. The bath water is reserved into a pail and the kannigastri is later bathed in it by her mother, grandmother, or sisters. She is later dressed and adorned with accessories just the same as how the deity is prepared.

Before the kannigasalam pooja, the deity’s Kala Graha Kundalam Pooja is performed. The deity now presides as a young maiden and the kannigastri will sit in front of the deity. The gurukal takes responsible of the process towards the deity and his assistant will perform the same towards the kannigastri.

The floor the kannigastri sits will become the Puniya Stalam. It is decorated with the kolam made of turmeric paste. A stool is placed in the centre of the kolam and the kannigastri sits there. Then it is the nalenggu process where mothers, grandmothers and aunts spread turmeric paste on the arms of the kannigastri, the kumkum (saffrom powder) is placed on the arms in a red dot and one on the forehead and temple.

Prior to the pooja, the mangalyam or thali is prepared, and it is the same as the dasis. The thali is in the shape of two pottus side by side as 1 (double pottu thali). A yellow thali string is used to weave them together and it may be complimented with the mango pendant and others.

The time is observed by the priest to ensure all goes well within the heavenly timings. At the right time, the mangalyam is tied around the neck of the kannigastri and the deity by the gurukal and his assistant simultaneously. Next the aarathi is taken to ward of the evil eye and the kannigastri lives to serve the deity.

If she chooses marry, the groom has to be bound to the deity as well, but this has to come from him naturally and not by force. The deity will be observed for the first year and in this duration there will be many challenges and unfortunate incidents. IF she has a suitor, on the second year, the annual yagna is performed and the yellow string that is tied from the sacrificial flames to the deity acts as the new thali string.

On the third year, if all is still well with the blessings of the deity, the groom prepares 2 sets of the same double pottu thali. The yellow string is used to hold the set which would be tied for the kannigastri. The yagna is performed and the first ritual is repeated but this time the wedding will be similar to the Meenakshi thirukalyanam whereby the hand of the kannigastri will be given to ther groom by anyone who is related to her as an elder brother. The thali is tied for both the kannigastri and the deity simultaneously. This bond is called the Sokkan-thamotharanam. Goddess Meenakshi did perform kannigasalam before being married to Shiva as Sokkanathan.

The marriage will be blessed to last for eternity and when the kannigastri meets her end (even if her husband leaves her first), she will be buried or cremated as a sumanggali with her thali. Her mangalyam is never taken away from her and she descends to the feet of God.

Traditionally, no stigma was attached to the devadasi or to her children, and other members of their caste received them on terms of equality. The children of a devadasi were considered legitimate and devadasis themselves were outwardly indistinguishable from married women of their own community.

Furthermore, a devadasi was believed to be immune from widowhood and was called akhanda saubhagyavati ("woman never separated from good fortune"). Since she was wedded to a divine deity, she was supposed to be one of the especially welcome guests at weddings and was regarded as a bearer of good fortune. At weddings, people would receive a string of the tali (wedding lock) prepared by her, threaded with a few beads from her own necklace. The presence of a devadasi on any religious occasion in the house of an upper caste member was regarded as sacred and she was treated with due respect and was presented with gifts.

Devadasis nurtured the arts - dance and music - to the high levels of today. They were torchbearers of these arts throughout the history of India under various rulers, passing on their legacy until the end of the 19th century. After that period the upper castes started learning these arts, taking away the devadasis' only means of subsistence.

Meenakshi Sokkanathan

Legend has it that the emperor Kulasekhara Pandyan was the founder of the ancient city of Madurai. He was succeeded by Malayadwaja Pandyan. Malayadwaja Pandyan and his consort Kanchanamala who did not have any children of their own, worshipped with the desire of obtaining progeny. During the course of their ceremonial prayer, a baby girl appeared in the sacrificial altarmiraculously.

The Royal couple brought up this child as their own and named her Tataatakai. An odd feature about the baby was that it had three breasts instead of two, and that a divine prophecy decreed that the third one would miraculously disappear, at the princess’s sight of her consort to be.

Tataatakai grew up to be a valorous queen; she was also known as Meenakshi, the one endowed with fish like eyes. Tataatakai embarked upon a DigVijaya or a tour of victory, across the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent. In the course of her travels she came to Mount Kailash where she encountered Shiva; upon standing in front of Shiva her third breast disappeared and a valorous warrior princesstransformed into a blushing bride.
Shiva directed Meenakshi to return to Madurai, and promised her that he would join her in eight days as her groom. Accordingly Meenakshi returned to Madurai, and at the appointed time, the divine wedding was celebrated with pomp and splendour. Maha Vishnu, believed to be the brother of Meenakshi is said to have given the bride away after her kannigasalam.

Legend has it that Meenakshi and Sundareswarar ruled over the city of Madurai for a long period of time.Sundareswarar also goes by the name Sundara Pandyan.Ugra Pandyan the son of the divine couple is believed to be none other than Subramanya.

The legend of Meenakshi Kalyanam brings together four of the six main streams in popular Hinduism i.e. the Saiva,Shakta, Vaishnava and Skanda faiths – and this grand culmination of faiths is still celebrated in great splendour today, in an enactment of Meenakshi Kalyanam each year