Kambam Festival of Tamil Nadu
Name of Festival :Kambam Festival
Major Territory of Celebration
Kambam Festival is celebrated in villages of Tamil Nadu India
About Festival
Kambam Festival begins with flower offering to Lord Ayyanar and it is celebrated on the tuesday.Front side of the temple people planted the three-pronged branch of the Margosa plant. This branch is referred to as ‘kambam’. Men dance on each day of the following week around the ‘kambam’.
On the next Tuesday, the villagers cook pongal (sweet dish prepared from rice) in the temple premises. Next day (Wednesday) a lamb is sacrificed and its skin is used for decorating the chariot belonging to the deity. On this day women carry plates containing ‘mavilakku’ , mavilakku which is decorated with flowers of the Alari tree , to the temple and offer it to the deity. On that night, the deity is taken round the streets in a decorated palanquin. Fire works are displayed to add to the fun. The priest of the temple fasts for the final two days. On the day of Friday Kambam planted before the temple is up rooted taken ceremoniously around the streets and finally dropped into a well, during this procession the villagers spill coloured turmeric water on one another. The festival ends with a dance or drama performance in the night.
