In connection with the religion of the Ilavars, the Rev. S. Mateer writes as follows.*[1] "Demon worship, especially that of Bhadrakāli, a female demon described as a mixture of mischief and cruelty, is the customary cultus of the caste, with sacrifices and offerings and devil-dancing like the Shānārs. Shāstāvu and Vīrabhadran are also venerated, and the ghosts of ancestors. Groves of trees stand near the temples, and serpent images are common, these creatures being accounted favourites of Kāli. They carry their superstitions and fear of the demons into every department and incident of life. In some temples and ceremonies, as at Paroor, Sarkarei, etc., they closely associate with the Sūdras. The Ilavar temples are generally low, thatched buildings ,with front porch, a good deal of wooden railing and carving about them, an enclosure wall, and a grove or a few trees, such as Ficus religiosa, Plumeria, and Bassia. At the Ilavar temple near Chākki in the outskirts of Trevandrum, the goddess Bhadrakāli is represented as a female seated on an image, having two wings, gilt and covered with serpents. Twice a year, fowls and sheep are sacrificed by an Ilavan priest, and offerings of grain, fruit, and flowers are presented. The side-piercing ceremony is also performed here. A temple at Mangalattukōnam, about ten miles south of Trevandrum, at which I witnessed the celebration of the annual festival on the day following Meena Bharani, in March or April, may be taken as a fair example of the whole. In connection with this temple may be seen a peculiar wooden pillar and small shrine at the top, somewhat like a pigeon-house. This is called a tani maram, and is a kind of altar, or residence, for the demon Mādan, resembling
- ↑ * Native Life in Travancore, 1883
