Kadammanitta Padayani

Kadammanitta is a village in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, and this festival is related with this village. It is located quiet a far away from Pathanamthitta. This place is famous for its religious unity and festivals and rich heritage.Kadammanitta village has three Christian Churches and two Temples. Kadammanitta village is now being proposed as a Cultural Village Padayani Gramam by the state government of Kerala.

Padayani or Padeni in informal speech is one of the most colorful and spectacular folk arts associated with the festivals of certain temples in Southern Kerala like Alappuzha, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam. The word Padayani literally means military creations or rows of army, but in this folk art, a series of divine and semi-divine impressions wearing huge masks or Kolams of different shapes,colors and designs painted on the stalks of area-nut leaves. The most important of the Kolams usually presented in a padayani performance are Bhairavi (Kali),Kalan (God of Death), Yakshi (Fairy), Pakshi (Bird), Kuthira (Horse), Marutha (Mother Goddess), etc. The Kolam consists primarily of a huge head gear with many projections and devices with a mask for the face or a chest piece for cover the breast and abdomen of the performer.

The ten-day long Padayani Performances conducted as part of the Festival attract a lot of tourists. Padayani is showed in the month of April during Vishu the New Year according to Malayalam Calendar. The most important day is the eight day when all the Kolams come to life. One of the famous festivals in Kerala, the Kadammanitta Padayani is celebrated on the first day of the month of Medam according to the Malayalam calendar or when the sun is in the constellation of Aries according to western calendars. The ceremony, which is a decorative display of skills, ornament, traditions and color, is a fun filled event which takes place for ten days.