Alappuzha: The chief priestess of Mannarasala Nagaraja Temple, Umadevi Antharjanam, respectfully called ‘Valiya Amma’ has passed away. She was 93. Umadevi Antharjanam served as the chief priestess of the ancient Mannarasala Nagaraja Temple situated at Haripad.
Umadevi Antharjanam married into the Mannarasala family as the wife of MG Narayanan Namboothiri. She became the chief priestess of the famous snake temple of Mannarasala after the former chief priestess Savitiri Antharjanam became Samadhi on October 24, 1993.
Valiya Amma began conducting rituals at the temple from March 1995 onwards. She had continued the age old tradition of women leading the rituals at Mannarasala temple since then.
The Mannarasala Nagaraja Temple at Haripad is one of the rare temples where the temple rituals are led by females. Usually the eldest female in the family are destined to lead the temple rituals after the previous Valiya Amma attains Samadhi.
The temple is steeped in history, legends and mystery and is one of the major temples dedicated to the worship of Nagaraja.
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