Kadammanitta Devi Temple, Pathanamthitta, Kerala India

Kadammanitta is village eight kilometers away from pathanamthittais famous for 'Padayani', which is an important ritual art performed in the premises of the Kadammanitta Devi Temple. This art form is an offering for the Mother Goddess.
It is celebrated every year from the first day of Medam ( Malayalam era ) to the 10th day ( Pathamudayam ).

One of the famous festivals in Kerala, the Kadammanitta Padayani is celebrated on the first day of the month of Medam according to the Malayalam calendar or when the sun is in the constellation of Aries according to western calendars.

The ceremony, which is an elaborate display of skills, decor, traditions and color, is a fun filled event which takes place for ten days.

Kadammanitta is famous for the folk art Padayani. Padayani or Padeni in colloquial speech is one of the most colorful and spectacular folk arts associated with the festivals of certain temples in Southern Kerala (Alappuzha, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam). The word padayani literally means military formations or rows of army, but in this folk art, a series of divine and semi-divine impersonations wearing huge masks or Kolams of different shapes, colors and designs painted on the stalks of arecanut fronds. The most important of the Kolams usually presented in a padayani performance are 'Bhairavi (Kali), Kolam (God of Death), Yakshi (Fairy), Pakshi (Bird) etc. The Kolam consists primarily of a huge head gear with many projections and devices with a mask for the face or a chest piece for cover the breast and abdomen of the performer.

Padayani probably has its origin in ritual and religion, but today it can be viewed as a folk art with a genuine secular appeal. The whole performance consisting of the dancers or actors who wear the Kolams, the singers who recite a different poem for each Kola, and the instrumentalists who evoke wild and loud rhythm on their simple drum called thappu and cymbals, etc, takes the form of procession of Kali and her spirits returning after the killing of the Asura chief Darika. The Kolams are traditionally painted by the members of the Ganaka community and the dance is performed usually by Nairs, who in old times had regular physical exercises and elaborate training on the model of Kalarippayattu but without the use of weapons. The influence of Padayani may be clearly seen in the more famous theatrical dance drama of Kerala, viz. Kathakali.