This annual festival held at a temple in Kerala, India, sees men dressing up as women during a special ritual.

During the Kottankulangara Chamayavilakku festival, the males dressed as females hold traditional lamps whilst walking in procession to the Kottankulangara Devi temple.

Men of all ages gather at the temple each year in female attire, holding a lamp with five wicks lit in order to please the goddess Bhagavathy.

The Chamayavilakku procession falls on the 10th and 11th of the Malayalam month Meenam (mid-March). The annual eleven-day festival starts at 1st of Meenam.

The annual festival held at the Kottankulangara Devi temple in Kollam is a unique one. Called the Kottankulangara Chamayavilakku, this festival is marked by the presence of a group of beautiful women moving together in the temple premises on the festival night. But here, you may have to take a closer look to find out the real identity of these beautiful ladies. You would be surprised to find that they are men dressed up as beautiful ladies as part of a special temple ritual during the festival at Kottankulangara.

During the festival night, these ‘women’ holding traditional lamps walk in procession to the temple to the accompaniment of the traditional orchestra. The Chamayavilakku procession falls on the 10th and 11th of the Malayalam month Meenam (Mid-March). The annual eleven-day festival starts at 1st of Meenam.

According to one of the local beliefs surrounding the existence of the temple, a group of cowherd boys, dressed as girls, used to play around a stone, which they considered as God. To their surprise, one day, the Goddess herself appeared before them from the stone. Soon, the news of this incident spread in the village, and a temple was erected to enshrine the stone, considering it divine will. That is how, perhaps, the tradition of men dressing themselves in female attire took birth. Now, men of all ages, throng the temple each year in womanly garb, holding chamayavilakku (a lamp lit up with five wicks) in order to please the presiding deity and earn her favour.