03:52Hundreds of Hindu devotees flocked to Sri Mahalakshmi Temple to participate in the annual Aadi Perukku festival, notable for a symbolic ritual of breaking coconuts over adherents' heads in Mettu Mahadanapuram on Sunday.
Footage shows worshippers sitting in rows and waiting for a priest to come, with the priest cracking coconuts over their heads and coconut water splashing around. Some believers could be seen injured and treated by doctors after the ceremony.
"This is our family deity, and for the last 25 years we have been attending this festival and breaking coconuts on our heads," shared Swaminathan, a devotee, noting that attending the festival makes their family 'blessed with good health and wealth throughout the year'.
During the festival, believers pray to Mariamman, also known as Amman, a Hindu goddess of the weather who is mostly worshipped in South India's rural areas, to ask for the blessing of world peace, wealth, and joy upon all people.
"God is giving us everything and protecting our family, and due to that, we are helping a lot of people," shared Gnanasekaran, another devotee, emphasising that "mother will fulfil all your wishes if you pray to her, and because of her divine power, there is happiness in our lives."
The ritual held at the Sri Mahalakshmi temple aims to symbolise the act of letting go of the past, while the festival itself is a way of expressing gratitude for the life-sustaining qualities of water following the monsoon rains.
Coconut smashing has drawn criticism from Tamil Nadu human rights activists. Nevertheless, the festival is popular every year and attracts a large number of worshippers from all over southern India.
Smashing fun! Hundreds break coconuts over their heads in bizarre Hindu ritual
Hundreds of Hindu devotees flocked to Sri Mahalakshmi Temple to participate in the annual Aadi Perukku festival, notable for a symbolic ritual of breaking coconuts over adherents' heads in Mettu Mahadanapuram on Sunday.
Footage shows worshippers sitting in rows and waiting for a priest to come, with the priest cracking coconuts over their heads and coconut water splashing around. Some believers could be seen injured and treated by doctors after the ceremony.
"This is our family deity, and for the last 25 years we have been attending this festival and breaking coconuts on our heads," shared Swaminathan, a devotee, noting that attending the festival makes their family 'blessed with good health and wealth throughout the year'.
During the festival, believers pray to Mariamman, also known as Amman, a Hindu goddess of the weather who is mostly worshipped in South India's rural areas, to ask for the blessing of world peace, wealth, and joy upon all people.
"God is giving us everything and protecting our family, and due to that, we are helping a lot of people," shared Gnanasekaran, another devotee, emphasising that "mother will fulfil all your wishes if you pray to her, and because of her divine power, there is happiness in our lives."
The ritual held at the Sri Mahalakshmi temple aims to symbolise the act of letting go of the past, while the festival itself is a way of expressing gratitude for the life-sustaining qualities of water following the monsoon rains.
Coconut smashing has drawn criticism from Tamil Nadu human rights activists. Nevertheless, the festival is popular every year and attracts a large number of worshippers from all over southern India.
Hundreds of Hindu devotees flocked to Sri Mahalakshmi Temple to participate in the annual Aadi Perukku festival, notable for a symbolic ritual of breaking coconuts over adherents' heads in Mettu Mahadanapuram on Sunday.
Footage shows worshippers sitting in rows and waiting for a priest to come, with the priest cracking coconuts over their heads and coconut water splashing around. Some believers could be seen injured and treated by doctors after the ceremony.
"This is our family deity, and for the last 25 years we have been attending this festival and breaking coconuts on our heads," shared Swaminathan, a devotee, noting that attending the festival makes their family 'blessed with good health and wealth throughout the year'.
During the festival, believers pray to Mariamman, also known as Amman, a Hindu goddess of the weather who is mostly worshipped in South India's rural areas, to ask for the blessing of world peace, wealth, and joy upon all people.
"God is giving us everything and protecting our family, and due to that, we are helping a lot of people," shared Gnanasekaran, another devotee, emphasising that "mother will fulfil all your wishes if you pray to her, and because of her divine power, there is happiness in our lives."
The ritual held at the Sri Mahalakshmi temple aims to symbolise the act of letting go of the past, while the festival itself is a way of expressing gratitude for the life-sustaining qualities of water following the monsoon rains.
Coconut smashing has drawn criticism from Tamil Nadu human rights activists. Nevertheless, the festival is popular every year and attracts a large number of worshippers from all over southern India.