pilgrimage
Malapandaram Featured by the Indian Press
In the middle of March, two major Indian newspapers published articles about the Malapandaram of Kerala. The New Indian Express published an analysis of the conditions in some colonies near Sabarimala on March 9 and the Times of India weighed in covering mostly the same people and colonies on March 12. This peaceful society is […]
Impact of Street Protests on the Malapandaram
When the annual pilgrimage season to Sabarimala got under way in early November, protests by devotees of the Hindu god Ayyappan were threatening to disrupt the lives of the Malapandaram people along the way. The issue is that the Supreme Court of India had ruled that the ancient custom of prohibiting women and girls of […]
Malapandaram React to Controversy over Temple Restrictions
Lord Ayyappan, the popular Hindu deity, is a confirmed celibate. As a result, until a few weeks ago, women of menstruating age, 10 – 50, have been rigidly excluded from participating in the massive pilgrimages to his temple complex at Sabarimala, in southern Kerala. But women devotees of the god, many from southern India, began […]
New Facility Planned for the Malapandaram
A group dedicated to assisting devotees of Lord Ayyappa announced last week plans for a major pilgrim assistance center near Sabarimala, India, that will be combined with a facility for supporting tribal peoples, primarily the Malapandaram. The new facility will be built at Koonamkara, located on highway 67, the Perinad-Pampa main trunk road, just 22 […]
Tragedy in Kerala and the Malapandaram
During the annual pilgrimage season which just ended, more than 30 million Hindu devotees visited the temple of Lord Ayyappan at Sabarimala, India, almost without incident, the Times of India reported on Friday. One source points out that the Hindu rituals at the Ayyappan temples, in the forested hills of Kerala state, represent the largest […]
