Elephants in Kerala culture 2639465 224029655 2008-07-07T00:20:55Z Hey jude, don't let me down 3600820 some copyediting {{Copyedit|date=April 2007}} {{POV-check|date=December 2007}} [[Image:Thrippunithura-Elephant4 crop.jpg|right|thumb|An elephant named ''Sri Hari'' during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival, [[Thrippunithura]].]] [[Image:Mahout1 crop.jpg|right|thumb|[[Mahout]]s helping an elephant to take a bath, [[Thrissur]], [[Kerala]]]] [[Image:Mahout2 crop.jpg|right|thumb|[[Mahout]] helping an elephant to take a bath, [[Thrissur]], [[Kerala]]]] [[Image:Elephant and Mahout.JPG|right|thumb|Mahout and his elephant [[Guruvayoor]], [[Thrissur]], [[Kerala]]]] The '''[[Elephant]]s of Kerala''' are an integral part of the daily life in [[Kerala]], [[South India]]. These [[Indian elephant]]s are loved, revered, groomed and given a prestigious place in the state's culture. Elephants in Kerala are often referred to as the 'sons of the ''[[Sahyadri|sahya]]''.' The elephant is the state animal of Kerala and is featured on the emblem of the [[Government of Kerala]]. ==Elephants in festivals== [[Image:Mahout3 crop.jpg|left|thumb|a [[mahout]] with his elephant, [[Thrissur]], [[Kerala]]]] [[Image:ThrissurPooram-Kuda.jpg|thumb|right|Elephants standing during [[Thrissur pooram]] festival in [[Kerala]] state of [[south India]].]] Almost all of the festivals in Kerala include at least one richly caparisoned elephant. Elephants carry the deity during annual festival processions and ceremonial : circumambulations in the temples. The [[temple elephants]] are decorated with gold plated caparisons ([[nettipattom]]), bells, and [[necklace]]s. People mounted on the elephants hold tinselled silk parasols ([[muthukuda]]) up high, swaying white tufts ([[venchamaram]]) and peacock feather fans ([[aalavattom]]) to the rhythm of the orchestra. Most of the [[Hindu temples]] in Kerala own elephants, most of which are donated by devotees. The most famous [[Guruvayur temple]] in Kerala has more than 60 domesticated elephants, thus the Presiding Deity, Guruvayurappan, is said to be the owner of the world's largest number of domesticated elephants. The world's only Elephant Palace is constructed in [[Punnathur Kotta]], 3 km from the temple, to house the temple's elephants. A famous elephant, named [[Guruvayur Keshavan]], was an elephant of this temple. Seventeen elephants are engaged for the daily ceremonial rounds to the accomplishment of [[Panchari Melam]] in the [[Koodalmanikyam Temple]]. The headgear of seven elephants are made of pure [[gold]] and rest of pure [[silver]], which is unique to this temple. Some famous festivals in Kerala are: *[[Edakkunni Uthram Vilakku]][http://www.edakkunnitemple.org ] * [[Arattupuzha pooram]] * [[Chinakkathoor pooram]] * [[Nemmara Vallangi Vela]] * [[Trichur Pooram]] * [[Uthralikavu Vela]] * [[Tripunithara Vrischikolsavam]] == Elephants as Legends== [[Image:Thrippunithura-Elephant-end-of-pooram-2 crop.jpg|thumb|right|Caparisoned elephants during ''[[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]]'' festival.]] [[Image:Thrippunithura-Elephant1 crop.jpg|thumb|left|Caparisoned elephants during ''[[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]]'' festival. [[Mahout]] with his ''thotti'' (hook).]] Many elephants are featured in the legends of the land. [[Aithihyamala]] (or a garland of historical anecdotes) by [[Kottarathil Sankunni]] has a few stories about elephants and their legends. *[[Aranmula Valiya Balakrishnan]] *[[Guruvayur Keshavan]] *[[Paramelkavu Parameshwaran]] *[[Thiruvambadi Chandrashekharan]] *[[Edakkunni Arjunan]] ==Elephants in captivity== Kerala has more than 700 elephants in captivity. Most of them are owned by temples and individuals.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} They are used for religious ceremonies in and around the temples. A few elephants work at timber yards. ==Caring for elephants== [[Image:Thrippunithura-Elephant-Climbing-1 crop.jpg|right|thumb|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival, [[Thrippunithura]].]] Each elephant has three [[mahout]]s, called [[pappan]] in the [[Malayalam language]]. The most important duty of the mahouts is to bathe and massage the elephant with small rocks, and [[husk]] of [[coconut]]s. In the [[monsoon]], the elephants undergo [[Ayurvedic]] [[rejuvenation]] treatments which include [[decoctions]] with herbs, etc. It is called [[Sukha Chikitsa]] in the [[Malayalam language]]. Mahouts may be classified into three types, called in the [[Sanskrit language]]: * ''Reghawan'': Those who use love to control their elephants. * ''Yukthiman'': Those who use ingenuity to outsmart them. * ''Balwan'': Those who control elephants with cruelty. ==Ornaments used for elephants== [[Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants8 crop.jpg|right|thumb|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival, [[Thrippunithura]].]] One of the famous families in [[Trichur]] district of Kerala, the [[Venkitadri family]], has made ornaments for three generations, especially for the famous [[Thrissur pooram]] or festival. They make gold plated caparisons, umbrellas, '' alavattam '', ''venchamaram'', and necklaces. They decorate 150 elephants with ornaments for temple festivals. ==Woman mahout in Kerala== [[Image:Thrippunithura-Elephant6 crop.jpg|left|thumb|Elephants in Kerala are trained not to move when Valiya kol (long pole) is kept on him.]] [[Nibha Namboodiri]] is the first woman mahout in India. She is a zoologist from Kerala state. Now she is moving into the field of elephant welfare.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} ==Devices used to control elephants in [[Kerala]]== In [[India]], and especially in [[Kerala]], mahout use three types of device to control elephants. ''Thotti'' (hook) which is 3.5 feet in length and 3 inches thick, ''Valiya kol'' (long pole) which is 10.5 feet in length and 5.5 inches in thickness and ''cheru kol'' (short pole). ==Books to read== ''[[Hasthyaayurvedam]]'' (Encyclopaedia of Elephants and Their Treatment). This book is an encyclopaedia of elephants and their treatment. The original book is in [[Sanskrit]] but [[Vaidyamadham Cheriya Narayanan Namboodiri]] (present Chief Physician of [[Vaidymadham Vaidysaala]]) has translated [[Paalakaapyam]] (Hasthyaayurveda) from Sanskrit to Malayalam. ==See also== *[[Kerala]] *[[Thrissur Pooram]] *[[Guruvayoor Temple]] *[[Temple elephants]] ==External links== *[http://www.elephantcare.org.in Association of elephant lovers to protect elephants]. *[http://www.elephantcare.org/mancont.htm [[Mahout]] manual]. <gallery> Image:aana3.jpg|[[Pooram]]. Image:Pooram Elephant 1.jpg|An elephant carrying ''Thidambu'' during [[Thrissur Pooram]] festival, [[Kerala]], [[south India]]. Image:Elephant Saluting.jpg|An elephant saluting [[Vadakkunathan Temple|Vadakkunathan]] during [[Thrissur pooram]]. Image:Aaanayoottu.jpg|Elephant feeding (Aaanayoottu) in from of [[Vadakkunnathan Temple]], [[Thrissur]]. Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants10 crop.jpg|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival. Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants11 crop.jpg|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival. Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants2 crop.jpg|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival. Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants4 crop.jpg|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival. Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants5 crop.jpg|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival. Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants6 crop.jpg|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival. Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants7 crop.jpg|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival. Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants8 crop.jpg|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival. Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants9 crop.jpg|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival. Image:Thrippunithura-Elephants-Panchavadyam-1 crop.jpg|Caparisoned elephants during [[Sree Poornathrayesa temple]] festival. </gallery> [[Category:Elephants]] [[Category:Culture of Kerala]]