Peruvanam Pooram - History

History

The earliest historical reference to Peruvanam occurs in A.D. 583 ("Ayathu Shivalokam Nah" - kalivakyam denoting the starting of Peruvanam pooram as per Peruvanam Granthavari) which is also the first record of the oldest pooram festival. 108 temples coming under the Peruvanam Kshetra sanketham, which extended from Bharathapuzha in the north to Periyar in the south, used to assemble at Arattupuzha Shastha temple which was the venue of the gala pooram gathering. This was known as Peruvanam pooram or Peruvanam Pallivetta. Due to the detachment of the various temple participants later for various reasons, the pooram festival faltered some five hundred years back. Later, the now famous Thrissur Pooram was started by Sakthan Thampuran of Cochin, in eighteenth century overshadowing the Peruvanam pooram which is now an affair comprising only 23 temples.

The new version has been in existence now for 1431 years. It is held in the Malayalam month of Meenam (usually, April). The pooram consists of numerous Ezhunnallippu (Malayalam word which means taking out a temple deity atop a caparisoned elephant) with elephants totalling seven, to the accompaniment of traditional percussion ensembles like Panchari melam or Pandi melam. For the Peruvanam pooram, the first ezhunnallippu starts in the evening and stretches till dawn of the next day. The pooram has its highlight in the form of the four-hour Panchari melam starting at about 4am.

Although the more popular Thrissur Pooram can be accredited with bringing major changes to the conduct of Poorams in Kerala, the Peruvanam Pooram claims a rich history, and it has witnessed a lot of innovations/additions, some of which form the core of temple festivals in Kerala.The first performance of the Panchari melam is said to have been performed for the Pooram of Urakathamma Thiruvadi, at the Peruvanam Pooram. Caparisons for elephants, called "Nettipattams", were first introduced in the pooram of Cherpu Bhagavathy Temple, at Peruvanam Pooram.