Seeking the forgiveness of Kanniamma at dawn by the seashore

On a full moon day in the Tamil month of ‘Masi’, Irulas, even those settled in far-off places, gather on Mamallapuram beach to perform their annual ritual to bring back their Goddess

It is not dawn yet and the eastern sky is yet to turn crimson. But tens of thousands of Irulas, camping on the Mamallapuram beach adjacent to the iconic Shore Temple, are up and about. They gear up for the most important day of their calendar — the Masi Magam.

On this full moon day in the Tamil month of ‘Masi’, Irulas, even those settled in far-off places, gather on the Mamallapuram beach to perform their annual ritual to bring back their Goddess Kanniamma, who they believe had left in anger three months ago, leaving them in misery.

Putting behind their tedious journeys to Mamallapuram and a night filled with traditional music and dance, men and women of all ages — from the newborns to the eldest — unite as families to make ‘pongal’ in earthen pots perched on firewood stoves.

In a unique ritual that unfolds at the dawn, almost every family arranges flowers, betel leaves, lemons, puffed rice, neem leaves, broken coconuts and bananas on the carvings made on the sand, resembling a ladder with seven rungs.

“The seven steps symbolise the seven kannigaiyar, whom the Irulas worship since time immemorial,” says S. Rani, one of the community leaders. Some include the portraits of ‘Kadal Kanniamma’ and heap the sand in cone form to represent the Goddess. One of the family members wails that their beloved Goddess had left them in pain three months ago and yearns for bringing her back from the sea for good. On their tearful prayers, the angry Goddess is believed to “descend” on one of the family members, who is seen rushing towards the sea, but pacified to return.

“We will know that our Kanniamma forgave us when she eats from the offerings made to her,” believes Ravichandran, a daily-wage labourer in a casuarina grove at Koramangalam in Tiruttani in Tiruvallur district.