: Petta Thullal, the ritualistic sacred dance to celebrate the victory of good over evil in the legend of Lord Ayyappa who killed the demon princess Mahishi, was held with traditional gaiety at Erumeli on Sunday, denoting the beginning of the last leg of the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage season this year.
The Ambalappuzha team led by septuagenarian Sammoha Periyon Kalathil Chandrasekiharan Nair performed the Petta Thullal first. The team comprising more than a 1,000 devotees started the ritualistic dance after sighting the kite in the skies at 12.20 p.m., from the Kochambalam at Petta junction. The team danced its way into the Nainar mosque across the road to pay obeisance to Lord Ayyappa’s trusted lieutenant, Vavar. They were formally received by the Erumeli Mahallu Jamaat committee leaders who later accompanied them to the Sree Dharma Sastha Temple (Valiambalam) nearly a kilometre away where the Ambalappuzha team and the Jamaat leaders were received by the Travancore Devaswom Board president M.P. Govindan Nair.
The ceremonial dance by the Alangad team began in the afternoon after sighting the star in the daylight sky. The team comprising nearly 1,000 devotees was led by A.K. Vijayakumar, their samooha pariyon. The two teams after an overnight stay at the Valiambalam would trek to Pampa to participate in the Pampa Sadya and later in the Makaravilaku festival at the Sannidhanam.
