In the highlands of
Kerala's southern state, around 70 miles north of Trivandrum, there is a temple
and holy spot (tirtha).
Shabari Malai is known for the temple dedicated to Aiyappa,
a local deity who has been absorbed into the greater pantheon as the son of the
gods Vishnu and Shiva; he is born when Vishnu assumes the appearance of the
enchantress Mohini.
The annual month-long pilgrimage of Shabari Malai takes
place between the middle of December and the middle of January, with the
precise dates chosen by astrological calculations.
This pilgrimage is mostly undertaken by males, since the
place is banned to women of reproductive age, according to the charter myth.
The pilgrimage is a highly planned ritual practice in and of
itself.
Pilgrims prepare for the trek by practicing their spiritual
discipline in well-defined village groups, each led by a local leader who
monitors their stringent religious discipline.
Their preparatory vows begin 45 to 60 days before the actual
voyage and include rigorous celibacy and avoidance of female company,
distinctive clothes, a restriction on shaving and wearing shoes, a strict
vegetarian diet, daily devotion, and the eradication of all social and rank
inequalities among members.
In essence, the men preparing for the journey live as
renunciant ascetics for a period of time before resuming their regular lives.
The pilgrimage age is a strenuous and demanding trek across
the Periyar Hills' twisting slopes, during which pilgrims symbolically divest
themselves of their egos in order to be replenished with God's love.
See E. Valentine Daniel's Fluid Signs, 1984, for a
first-hand description of the Shabari Malai pilgrimage.
