In this post, I am going to share the rituals which are made for the children of the Nagavanshi Nair community. Many people have a misconception that the Kiriyathil and Illathu Nair castes don't have many rituals. It is mainly because those people, who want to destroy the actual culture of Kerala and want to bring theirs, fabricated many stories about the indigenous Keralite communities. As far as I have seen, the Sanātanis of Kerala, or the Keralites who follow Sanātana Dharma, follow a typical Himalayan culture. I have seen some similarities between Keralite Sanātani culture and the Sanātani culture of the Indian states which are in the Himalayan region. As I said before, the origin of Nāgavansha is from Kashmir. Here are the rituals which are made for children of the Nāgavanshi Nair community.
Irupaththiyettu (इरुपत्तीयेट्ट)
It is the naming ceremony in the Nagavanshi Nair community. It is conducted on the 28th day after the birth of the child. First, a day and time are fixed for this ritual. Those who believe in astrology visit the astrologer to fix an auspicious day and a time that is good to begin rituals. Then all relatives are invited to the ceremony. On the day of the ritual, all the relatives arrive with gold jewelry they have bought for the child. Arrangements are done in a room of the house where the ritual is going to be conducted. A traditional Kerala lamp is kept ready. A tray is kept which contains a small bowl of sandalwood paste and some jewelry that the child will be worn after naming. A mat is kept near the tray and lamp where the person who will name the child will sit. When the time for the ritual begins, the lamp is lit, and the person who is going to name the child sits cross-legged on the mat and puts the child on his lap. Then everybody gather around that person. The person applies a pinch of sandalwood paste on the child's forehead. Then he says the name of the child three on the child's both ears. After that, he/she puts Karilava (करिवळा), which are small black coloured bangles, on the child's wrists. Then the person puts, Thala (तळा), small round anklets, on the child's ankles. Then some other jewelry like gold bangles, gold necklace, and gold anklets are put on the child. Sometimes, if a person who is naming the child is a male, his female relative who is sitting next to him puts jewelry to the child. Then all the relatives put gold jewelry on the child one by one. After that, the child's family members serve Sadhya (a traditional Kerala meal) to all relatives.
Kaathukuththal (कातुकुत्तल्)
Kaathukuththal is a ritual of ear piercing for the girl child. Kaathu means ear and Kuththal means piercing. This ritual is done on the day of Irupaththiyettu. A few days before Irupaththiyettu the child's family visits a goldsmith and appoint him for the ear-piercing ritual. On the day of Irupaththiyettu, the goldsmith comes to the house and pierces the ears of the girl child in the middle of the ritual after a prayer. After that, he is given a small amount of money as Dakshina.
Choroonu (चोरूण)
This is a ritual of giving cooked rice to the child for the first time. This ritual is done when the child is six months old. Rice is the staple food of Kerala. Keralite Hindus respect rice a lot. Choroonu is conducted in a Hindu Temple. The rice for this ritual is cooked in the Temple kitchen. To conduct Choroonu in a Temple booking should be done and the amount for the ritual should be paid in advance at the booking counter of the Temple. Employees at the booking counter will give a receipt after booking. This receipt should be shown to those Temple employees who help the devotees with the ritual of Choroonu. After that, the employees will put a mat on the floor in front of the Sanctum Sanctorium of the Temple. The person who is going to give cooked rice to the child should sit on the mat with the child on his lap. Then the employees will put a banana leaf in front of the person and the child and serve cooked rice on it. Then the person first prays to God and gives the cooked rice to the child.
Pattukonakam Uduppikkal (पट्टुकोणकम् उडुप्पिक्कल्)
Konakam (कोणकम्) was an undergarment worn in ancient times in Kerala. Men, boys, and girls below the age of 5 used to wear Konakam as an undergarment. Girls used to wear Thāru as an undergarment from the age of five. In some languages, Konakam is called Langotti (लंगोटी). Pattu (पट्ट) means silk and Pattukonakam mean the Konakam of silk. This ritual, Pattukonakam Uduppikkal, was done for one-year-old children. In this ritual, a traditional Kerala lamp is lit and a Konakam of red-coloured silk is put on the one-year-old child.
Vidyārambham (विद्यारम्भम्) or Ezhuththiniruththal (एष्ज्युत्तिनिरुत्तल्)
This ritual is conducted when the child is three years old. This ritual is for the first time writing of the child. This ritual is mostly conducted in the Hindu Temples on the day of Vijayadashami of Sharad Navratri. Like Choroonu, To conduct this ritual in a Temple booking should be done and the amount for the ritual should be paid in advance at the booking counter of the Temple. Employees at the booking counter will give a receipt after booking. This receipt should be shown to those Temple employees who help the devotees with the ritual of Ezhuththiniruththal. The Temple employees will take the family to the place where this ritual will be performed. A photo of Goddess Shree Saraswathi is kept there and a traditional Kerala lamp is lit in front of the photo. First, the person who will help the child to write sits in that place, and then he/she makes the child sit on his/her lap. Then that person is given a plate full of rice by the Temple employees. Then that person holds the right hand of the child and gets the child to write a prayer on the tray of rice with the forefinger of the child's right hand. The prayer is, "हरी श्री गणपतये नम: अविघ्नमस्तु। (Hari Shree Ganapathaye Namah Avighnamasthu)." It means, Salutations to Lord Shree Vishnu (Hari), Goddess Shree Lakshmi, and Lord Shree Ganapathi, and may there be no obstacles. The word Shree also means prosperity. Therefore, Shree is also another name for Goddess Shree Lakshmi.
Thāru Uduppikkal (तार्र उडुप्पिक्कल् )
Thāru is an undergarment that thickly covers the body from waist to knees. It looks like a dhoti that is smaller in length. It was worn by Sanātani women in ancient Kerala. Thāru Uduppikkal was a ritual done for five-year-old girls. In this ritual, a traditional Kerala lamp was prepared, the five-year-old girl was made to stand near the lamp, then the lamp was lit and the mother or a female relative of the girl draped Thāru around the waist of the girl. After this ritual, Thāru was worn as an undergarment inside the Mundu. In the Sanātani community, men used to wear Konakam as the undergarment but the women used to wear Thāru as the undergarment from the age of five.
Kettukalyanam (केट्टुकल्याणम्)
Kettukalyanam was a ritual conducted for Nagavanshi Nair girls below the age of ten till the 1930s. The girls selected for this ritual were mostly six or seven years old. This ritual was done so that girls can put "Amma" as a suffix to their name. For this ritual, a day, a venue, and a time was fixed by the girl's family. They also selected a Nagavanshi Nair boy for this ritual. The girl's family also invited everyone they knew. On that day, the girl and the Nagavanshi Nair boy were brought to the venue. Then the boy was told to tie Thāli (ताली), the Keralite Mangalsutra, around the neck of the girl. After the tying of Thaali, the boy and the girl were told to give Pappadams to the people standing around them by throwing it. (Pappadam is a fried food item of Kerala. It is called Pāpad in Hindi and Appalam in Tamil.) After that, both boy and girl were taken to the girl's Tharavadu or house. There the girl's family members welcomed the girl and the boy by assuming both of them as Lord Shree Ganapathi. After welcoming them, the boy was taken back to his Tharavadu or house by his family members.
Pongalladi (पोङ्गल्लडि)
Pongalladi was a ritual performed by ten-year-old girls in some Temples of Goddess Shree Kaali. There is a set of traditional Keralite Kitchen equipment called "Ulakka and Ural." It is used to powder the uncooked grains. Ural is like a bucket with a hollow in the middle in which grains are kept. Ulakka is long, thick, and heavy stick which is used to powder the grains by hitting on the grains with it. For Pongalladi, Ulakka and Ural are brought in many numbers. After the girls, who want to perform this ritual, reached the Temple, a set of Ulakka and Ural were kept ready for each girl. Before beginning the ritual, some chicken meat with bones were put in each Ural. At the beginning of the ritual, every girl who is participating in this ritual was assumed as Goddess Shree Kali by all the devotees. One of the persons who officiated this ritual instructed the girls on the steps of this ritual. When the person said "Adikku (अडिक्कु, meaning: hit)", the girls hit once on the chicken meat that is kept in their Urals with the Ulakkas they are holding in their hands and they assume that they are hitting on the head of a demon called Dārikan. This is done more than once. That is, the person says "Adikku" many times, and every time he says the girls hit once on the chicken meat in their Urals.
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