Machattu Mamangam

Machattu Mamangam is the annual festival of Thiruvanikkavu temple at Vadakkancherry in Thrissur district of Kerala. This festival is a grand event which runs for five days. On the final day of the festival, huge decorated statues of horses called “kuthirakolams” are brought to the temple by devotees in grand processions. Music performances of traditional percussion orchestra makes the event more colorful and vibrant. The positive music of chendamelam ,a drum ensemble, keeps the devotees and visitors in high state of mind during the procession and on its assumption at the temple yard. Many cultural programs are held on all the festival day to enhance the mood of the festival. The Machattu Mamangam in Kerala is an annual extravaganza which is celebrated with full fervor and is attended by thousands from Kerala.

The place for the festival is fixed at the Machattu Thiruvanikavu Temple at Vadakkancherry in Thrissur district.The five day long celebration involves massive crowd, exhilarating entertainment and great pageantry. The main ritual of the celebration takes place on the last day with a heavily decorated Kuthirakolams which is the motifs of the horses being taken out by the people.The five day celebration continues with loads of enjoyment with the last day scheduled for the main events when huge images are heavily decorated with ornaments and other materials are taken out for processions. The temple, becomes the center for attraction is the place where the Machattuvela festival is staged and followers with great passion and devotion participate.

The Kuthirakolams, motifs of horses are something to watch for as they are heavily decorated and beautifully made with wood.These motifs of horses represent different villages of the region. As myth will have it the Goddess Bhagavathy leaves the temple to visit the homes of the devotees all around and accepts the offerings in turn showers blessings on them. The procession also attends the elephants which are a real feature of Kerala dressed up in royal fashion along with the Chendamelam, traditional percussion music making the event a real pleasure to the visitors.