Palluruthy Pulavanibha Mela, shortly called as Pulavanibham, is a historical trade festival held every year since the late 1700's at Palluruthy in

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part o ...

in the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. The festival is a commemoration of Palluruthy Azhakiyakav Devi's entry into the temple as per the special proclamation of the King of Kochi in 1700's, when the lower

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

community was denied entry to the temple. Through this proclamation, the north side of the temple was opened to the

Pulaya The Pulayar (also Pulaya, Pulayas, Cherumar, Cheramar, and Cheraman) is a caste group mostly found in the southern part of India, forming one of the main social groups in modern-day Kerala, Karnataka and historically in Tamil Nadu. Tradition ...

people on the last Thursday of the month of Malayalam month Dhanu in every year. At that time, lower caste people from

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

and

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

used to travel for several days to reach here. They used to sell the products they made in the temple premises to pay for their travel expenses. But upper caste people called it as ''Pulavanibham'' (business by Pulayas). This objection was later accepted by the Pulayas and it is still celebrated every year on the last thursday of the month of Dhanu.

Origin

Legend is that a few kilometers away from the temple was the village of Pulayas. The village faced a

smallpox epidemic Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) cer ...

and the dying villagers were directed to appease the angry goddess of Azhakiyakavu. But they could not enter the temple due to the prohbition of entry into the temple for lower caste people. The Pulayas made a plea to the then Cochin Maharaja who granted them permission to enter from the North side of the Azhakiyakav temple on the last thursday of Malayalam month Dhanu. For centuries, Pulavanibham is held in front of the temple on the last thursday of the month of Dhanu. People come several parts in Kerala come at Palluruthy to do business and buy products from the fair.

References

{{reflist Anti-caste movements Indian caste movements Kingdom of Cochin History of Kerala