Thottumkara Bhagavathi
Thottumkara Bhagavathy Theyam is an important Theyam belonging to the category of Mother Gods. Thotumkara Bhagwati is a woman who was killed by the brutality by the ruling class and later reincarnated as a God. Thottumkara Bhagwati, which is very beautiful in appearance, has a very rough movements.
This is the legend of Thotumkara Bhagavathy. A woman who lost her husband and children used to read Ramayana constantly to get some relief from that grief. The lady who was reciting the Ramayana beautifully caught the eyes of the rulers of Kolathu Kingdom. The story of the beautiful woman reached the ears of the king of Kolathu Kindom. The rulers summoned the woman to the palace and demanded undesirable things.
But the woman said that she was not interested in anything, that my husband and children had died and I was in such a state of anguish that I should not be harmed. The woman’s reply angered the rulers. The rulers ordered the woman to prove it if she was so sad.
The woman asked for a pot and some rice to show her sincerity, and the attendants delivered it as per the woman’s request. After putting the rice in the pot, the pot was kept aside and after some time, the rice became cooked (aval, pori). The woman said that due to the heat of her emotional pain, the paddy became cooked. Seeing the power of the woman, the rulers of Kolathiri were terrified, and the rulers ordered to kill this talented woman.
According to the orders of the rulers, his servants stripped the woman of her clothes and left her in a single piece of clothing, burning fireballs on her head and waist. Unable to bear the pain, the woman screamed and ran away. After a while, she saw the water in the stream called Kakaratu Kadav(small river) and jumped into it and extinguished the fire. She was naked with burns all over her body. She ran to a nearby house. The name of that house was Mullapally Taravad(family). The matriarch of that house gave the woman clothes to wear and water to drink. She put on the clothes given by matriarch and quenched her thirst by drinking water. But she was burnt all over and died instantly. The family members of Mullapally cremated the woman, whose age and name were unknown.
Later, a lot of good things started happening in the Mullapally homestead where the woman was sheltered. But the palace of the rulers of Kolath Kindom was full of mischief. The verdict proved that the woman has become the God. Thus that woman’s Theyam began to be celebrated in Kolathu under the name Thotumkara Bhagavathy, which means the goddess who rose from the Thodu(small river). Thotumkara Bhagwati later established herself in various places in Kolathu Nadu.
