Parassini Madappura Sree Muthappan Temple

01The god who hunts and drinks

Muthappan, the elder father, is worshipped in north Malabar as a single deity uniting Shiva, as Thiruvappana, and Vishnu, as Vellattam. The local account tells of a child found by a childless Namboothiri woman of Eramam, who grew up hunting, eating meat and keeping company with the poor and with dogs, and who revealed himself as divine and went to the hills. At Parassinikadavu the shrine, the Madappura, belongs to a Thiyya family, and the priests and the theyyam performers are from that community. Offerings include toddy and dried fish, and dogs, Muthappan’s companions, wander freely and are fed first.

02Theyyam every morning and evening

Unlike most theyyam shrines, which hold their performance once a year, Parassinikadavu has the Muthappan theyyam every day, at dawn and at dusk, in its two forms. The performer, painted and crowned, becomes the deity, and devotees stand before him one by one to tell their troubles and receive his word and a pinch of rice. Every visitor is given tea and boiled green gram, and meals. The temple stands on the bank of the Valapattanam river, and a ferry and boat rides start below it.