“Kambham” is a type of firework in Kerala using big bamboo stems.
It is not just a type of firework it represents the culture of the natives.
Bringing the bamboo to the temple is an adventurous task; hundreds of people in the village will go to the Walayar forest in search of the perfect bamboo.
The Sunday before the festival is the day where the adventurous journey starts. The volunteers will provide betel leaves to the people who are going to the forest.
They will chew the betel leaf before they leave the temple; this ritual is the start of this traditional journey.
The temple is located in the heart of Pudussery, there is a distance of 28 kilometers from the temple to Walayar forest. We cannot calculate the distance which they are going to walk inside the forest because we never know where will be the perfect bamboo located for the rituals.
Before entering the forest they will break a coconut in front of the Walayar temple. This is a tradition followed to ensure the safety of the devotees who are entering the forest.
People will climb the mountains of the Walayar forest in search of bamboo. They are the Western Ghats mountain range which connects Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
They have to climb one mountain to another in search of the bamboo, once they find the bamboo they will cut it down and bring it back to the valley. They will cut some bamboo stems to carry the big bamboo. They will tie the “Kambham” (big bamboo) to the bamboo stems in order to carry it on the shoulders of the volunteers.
The journey again resumes from Walayar to Pudussery by walk. The people will gather around to see the “Kambham” and pray to it.
From Walayar to Pudussery, there will be several stops in order for the native people who want to worship the “Kambham”.
The journey will take place the whole night, there will be people coming to see the “Kambham” until it reaches the temple in the early morning.
In the early morning on Monday, the Khambam will reach the temple carried by the devotees all the way. All the people of the village will be gathered along with elephants to receive them.
There will be a huge crowd to receive the devotees, once the “Kambham” enters the temple, people will gather around it to pray and worship.
The rituals will go on and they will start filling gunpowder to the “Kambham” the whole night. On Tuesday morning the “Kambham” will stand as tall as the temple.
They will light the “Kambham” before the Sun comes up, and the whole village will be there to witness the fireworks. Apart from the natives, lots of outsiders will be gathered there to see the visual treat.
