Kalugumalai
| Kalugumalai கழுகுமலை |
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 India
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| State : | Tamil Nadu | ||
| District : | Thoothukudi | ||
| Sub-district : | Kovilpatti | ||
| Location : | 9 ° 9 ′ N , 77 ° 42 ′ E | ||
| Residents : | 14,738 (2011) | ||
Kalugumalai ( Tamil : கழுகுமலை Kaḻukumalai [ ˈkaɻɯɡɯmalɛi̯ ], also Kazhugumalai ) is a small town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu . The population is around 15,000 (2011 census).
geography
Kalugumalai is located in the Thoothukudi district around 60 kilometers north of Tirunelveli in southern Tamil Nadu. Administratively, the city belongs to the Taluk Kovilpatti of the Thoothukudi district . In Kalugumalai, a massive granite rock rises from the flat area. The place owes its name to this rock, which literally means "Geierberg".
population
88 percent of Kalugumalai's residents are Hindus , 11 percent Christians and 1 percent Muslim . The main language is Tamil , which is spoken by 96 percent of the population as their mother tongue. There is also a Telugu speaking minority.
history
During the British colonial era , Kalugumalai belonged to the Zamindar estate of Ettayapuram . These sponsored the Kalugusalamoorthy Temple in Kalugumalai. In 1849 the ruler of Ettayapuram transferred suzerainty over the place to the temple, which from then on received all tax receipts. He also had the processional streets laid out in front of the temple. In 1895 there were serious clashes between the Maravar and Nadar castes in Kalugumalai . The Nadar, who at that time held a very low position in the caste hierarchy, had previously been forbidden to carry out the processions on the streets in front of the Kalugasalamoorthy Temple. After the Nadar had succeeded in improving their social position through economic success in the 19th century, they resisted this ban, which in turn met with resistance from the dominant Maravar caste. The conflict escalated in a temple festival procession and violence broke out, killing ten.
Attractions
The most important temple of Kalugumalais is the Kalugasalamoorthy temple, located at the southern foot of the rock and dedicated to the Hindu god Murugan . The actual sanctuary is a cave temple carved into the rock with a pillared hall ( mandapa ) in front of it. A temple pond also belongs to the temple complex . In front of the temple is a rectangular road ring, consisting of the so-called Car Streets, on which processions are carried out on the occasion of temple festivals. The name Car Street comes from the temple floats that are pulled through the streets during the processions. In most of the southern Indian temple cities such processional streets lead around the temple, but in Kalugumalai this is not possible due to the topographical conditions, so the Kalugasalamoorthy temple is located outside the road ring.
In addition to the Kalugasalamoorthy Temple, Kalugumalai is home to a number of other culturally and historically significant monuments. On the eastern flank of the rock is the Vettuvan Kovil Temple, a monolithic temple structure that was carved directly out of the rock. It dates from the 8th century and is one of the few examples of early Pandya architecture . The temple has remained unfinished; Only the tower structure ( vimana ), which is decorated with rich figures, is fully worked out . Not far from the Vettuvan Kovil Temple there are Jain rock reliefs. Rows of standing Tirthankaras and the goddess Ambika are shown .
Kalugusalamoorthy Temple
Temple pond
Vettuvan Kovil Temple
Vettuvan Kovil Temple
Jain sculptures
Individual evidence
- ^ Census of India 2011.
- ^ Census of India 2011: C-1 Population By Religious Community. Tamil Nadu.
- ↑ Census of India 2001: C-16 City: Population by Mother Tongue (Tamil Nadu), accessed under Tabulations Plan of Census Year - 2001 .
- ↑ Anthony Good: "The Car and the Palanquin: Rival Accounts of the 1895 Riot in Kalugumalai, South India", in: Modern Asian Studies 33.1 (1999), pp. 23-65. ( doi: 10.1017 / s0026749x99003200 )
- ↑ George Michell: Southern India. A Guide to Monuments, Sites & Museums, New Delhi: Roli Books, 2013, p. 504.
literature
- Anthony Good: Worship and the Ceremonial Economy of a Royal South Indian Temple. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2004.
