Why Do Men In Kerala Dress Up As Women For Unique Chamayavilakku Festival?

India is celebrated for its rich diversity and vibrant array of festivals. Among them shines the Chamayavilakku festival of Kerala, where men joyfully set aside traditional gender norms and embrace femininity. They adorn themselves in women's attire, including sarees, makeup, jewelry, and flowers, in a spirited celebration of womanhood.

The Kollam district of Kerala hosts the Chamayavilakku, also known as the Kottankulangara Festival, a unique Hindu celebration held at the Kottankulangara Devi Temple. Notably, this temple is distinguished as the only one in Kerala without a roof over its sanctum sanctorum. The festival honors Goddess Bhagvathy on the 10th and 11th days of the Malayalam month of Meenam (mid-March to mid-April). During this time, men break free from stereotypes, defying gender norms by dressing as women, while women perform the traditional role of holding temple lamps.

Men Dress As Women In This Festival In Kerala: Chamayavilakku

This gender-bending festival is a two-day celebration that commences at 2 in the morning when men prepare the chariot of Goddess with flowers and later they dress up in feminine attire and line up at the gates of the temple holding the five-wicked lamps to worship and seek blessings from the deity inside the temple, Goddess Bhagvathy, an avatar of Durga. 

After preparing for the festivities themselves, which is often considered to be traditionally women's work, men who are often reluctant to shave their moustaches and beards shave off their facial hair and dress up clad in sarees, churidars, or any female attire, with jasmine flowers in their elaborate hair-dos, heavy makeup and jewels, making it hard to distinguish men from women. 

The tradition is far from just a frivolous act but is a symbolic expression of men's devotion and surrender to the presiding deity Goddess Bhavathy, who is believed to drop in her holy visit to the temple and men atone for their sins to a women deity to seek all their wishes coming true by the Goddess.

Apart from men, even young boys below the age of 10 participate in the festivities called Kakkavilakku which is held during the daytime. Through traditions and festivities, even young boys are taught to dress in dazzling attires of girls and worship the Goddess, inculcating the values of breaking stereotypes and gender norms and teaching respect and devotion from a young age.

Genesis of Chamayavilakku

The myths and folklore around the genesis of the festival state that earlier only women were allowed to worship goddesses, however, once two boys, in an attempt to break a coconut with a stone, discovered blood oozing out of the coconut instead of water, they took the incident to the village's priest, who advised the young boys two build a temple for the goddess they hurt as a form of repentance and pray to the deity in the form of coconut. However, only women used to offer prayers to goddesses in those times, so in order to offer their sincere repentance and prayers, these boys used to wear their lungis like sarees to offer prayers to the goddess. 

Another folklore hints that a group of cowherds, when offered prayers to a stone dressed up as women, experienced divine energy pouring out of the stone, and their lives transformed profoundly.

Why is it a symbolic celebration?

Regardless of its genesis, this vibrant festival not only adds more colour to Indian festivals but has religious significance as well. It has also become the largest space for the transgender communities of Kerala to celebrate their identities and worship their deities. But many straight men also embrace feminity in this festival, regardless of not belonging to the trans community.

Some also believe this festival commemorates the victory of women warriors by men reversing the roles as Goddess Bhagvathy, known as Mahishasur-Mardini (killer of Hindu mythological demon Mahishasur), is worshipped by men in this festival, a symbol of men worshipping a woman almighty and celebrating her victory in triumph.

Many others have also attributed the festival to being a social reform challenge to gender norms and a powerful symbol of breaking free from societal constraints and expressing devotion in an unwavering way that is often shameful and embracing feminity. 

This festival is not only a spectacle of dazzling displays of colours, music, and the unwavering devotion of men, but it also displays and lets many men celebrate their artistry in decorations as well as their make-up skills. Reportedly, there are even several green rooms around the temple set up to transform the men into women to become embodiments of feminine beauty. 

This centuries-old festival of inclusivity and 'reversed' gender roles has put the internet abuzz in recent years, which is unknown to the outside world. One can visit the state during this festival to rediscover themselves in this unique festival or absorb the energy of vibrant colours and divine sentiments.