Celebrating Menstruating Goddess, This Kerala Temple Establishes Cultural Significance Of Periods In Modern World

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Menstruation! It’s a word that has been shot with nails of stigma and misconceptions. For the longest time, periods have been considered a ‘taboo’ in India. While a large canopy of the country still seems to be immersed in the belief that period blood is ‘impure’, there is a Kerala temple which celebrates it! The Mahadeva Temple is located in Chengannur in the district of Alappuzha. Famous all over the world for celebrating the menstruation festival, the temple stands by the western bank of the holy river Pamba in a vast complex. With Goddess Parvati as the deity, the celebration of menstrual blood marks its own significance. It is especially notable in the Indian cultural context because for the longest time women have been banished from entering the temples while they are on their periods.

The Celebration

The celebration is known as “Thripputhu Aaraatt” and it attracts devotees from all over the world. During the festival, some people come down for its religious significance while some to observe this unique tradition. The festival is said to begin when the Goddess in the sanctum who is Parvati, starts to bleed. Once the menstrual cycle of the Goddess begins, the sanctums are shut for a period of three to five days. It is said that if a devotee prays during this time in all honesty, all his wishes can come true. The last day of the menstrual cycle which is usually believed to be the fourth day, the deity is taken to the river for the holy ablution with a great pomp and show. After the ceremonial observance at the river, the deity is then carried back on an elephant. At this point even the idol of Lord Shiva is brought together in the procession which is celebrated exuberantly.

Cultural Significance

Every time a girl bleeds, she is considered “impure” and in many cases even isolated. Apart from the fractional few, menstruating women even now have to go through a number of cultural subjugation and prejudice. One of the many restrictive taboos involves being outrightly denied entry in the places of worship even within the household. These prejudices take a major toll on the overall esteem of a girl by reinforcing the taboo that they suddenly become less human when on their periods. When such a socio-cultural life of a woman is so manifest in reality even today, a spin back to the age old tradition of celebrating menstruation of Goddesses plays a major role in combating regressive practises.

The flipside

It is an acknowledged fact that everything must be looked at from the critical lens for an evolved understanding. People flock in large numbers to the Mahadeva temple that celebrates and embraces womanhood but somehow fail to acknowledge the same respect for women in real lives. What is, however, practiced in many households is the ablution part where it is made ‘obligatory’ for them to take a head bath on the last day of their periods to make them ‘pure’ again. It echoes the ablution of Goddess Parvati in the Mahadeva Temple on the fourth day or the last of the believed menstrual cycle.

In conclusion

Even today, excluding maybe a fractional percentage, women are ostracized from participating in activities that are considered “sacred”. The restrictive practices not just makes a woman feel ‘not enough’ but it also rips apart her social confidence in unimaginable ways. While it is true that It is still a long way from disinfecting menstruation from all taboos, this ancient Indian culture of worshiping menstruating Goddess sure comes off as an example that periods, if anything, are not ‘unholy’ and equally deserve respect and acknowledgement.

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As a kid my parents showered me with love. They would even shut anyone up mentioning to them,
“Tumhara gorapan nahi mila hai tumhari beti ko” or “Naak-naksha sahi hai beti ka, but rang thoda saawla hai”. The constant hush-hush comments on my skin-tone did affect me and my Mom knew this. She always told me that such shallow thoughts are just of a few people out there. The world outside is beautiful and I, being really small, believed it.

The next few years of school came as a shocker to me. In a crowd of unknown faces, if we students had to team up as partners – be it even for sharing the same bench, I would almost be the last one to be chosen by someone. It was as if there was almost a prejudice in everyone’s mind about dark-skinned people, almost like they could not relate to me.

God forbid I had an argument with any of my class-mates, it would always come down to saying things that hurt me most – calling me an African or Kaali or Raat-rani. And the sad part is that this was not limited to the young kids. Knowingly or unknowingly, the same reflected in the actions of a few teachers as well. I remember sobbing and telling my teacher that I was called ‘Amasvya ka Chand’ by one of my classmates. The first reaction that I got from her was a chuckle, almost an appreciation for the good analogy. And the saddest part was that she did not even realize how much that hurt me.

Then there was a selection for the annual year drama. Almost every year, when announcing the criteria for selection of the female lead, be it a Romeo and Juliet or Pride and Prejudice, the teacher always asked the fairest, prettiest girls to try out for the part. The dark-skinned ones did not even stand a chance, no matter how well their acting or speaking was. There were countless such instances – be it representing the school for events, being the Head Girl – the preference enjoyed by the fair-skinned counterpart, just marginal in some cases, always did exist.

It took a lot of support from family, some counseling, and a lot of will-power, to have the confidence, that whatever preconceived notions people I meet may have based on my color, I can change it once they get to know me. And today I am an independent, happy person, surrounded by family, friends, and colleagues that swear by me.

But not everyone may have that kind of support, not everyone would share their feelings with someone, not everyone may be that strong. I am lucky – not everyone is. Some may suffer from an inferiority complex that starts from school and stays all through their lifetime. Some may go into a shell, and never want to come out. It’s up to us to start the change to stop discriminating based on skin colour. Every skin colour is beautiful. It’s what inside you, that makes you beautiful, not the colour of your skin.