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Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Rewind: when fisherfolk pulled the chariot . . .

One of the customs followed at the festival in the days past was that of fishermen pulling the ther. 

It is believed that the temple may have invited fishermen to help with the pulling of the ther because of their association with Lord Shiva. But the tradition was discontinued a long time ago.

A Sivachariar scholar said that fishermen used to drink before pulling the ther, and sometimes, they would run amok, and even leave the 'ther' somewhere along the way. 


Today, the ther is pulled by devotees. Irrespective of caste, or creed, thousands of devotees pull the ther around the four Mada streets.

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