A hilltop shrine and its living traditions

On the edge of the Western Ghats in Kodagu, atop a mountain, lies a small open-air shrine known as Malethirike. It stands near the villages of Karada and Palangala. The mountain, once called Chomamale, is now known as Somagiri, around 15 km from Kakkabe town.

The shrine is associated with bells, with hundreds adorning its premises. Devotees vow to offer bells upon the fulfillment of their prayers, which are then hung from overhead rods.

Like other traditional Kodava shrines, Malethirike has no walls or roof enclosing its place of worship. Five lingas are found at the base of large trees. A stairway in the forest leads to this location.

Legend 

According to local accounts, Tipu Sultan and his army once pursued the region’s militiamen, who retreated up the mountain to secure their position. As the troops advanced halfway, they were attacked by a swarm of wild bees and forced to flee, leaving behind weapons and ammunition. This cache later aided the locals in defending themselves. A sword with a large guard, its blade broken recently, and a cannonball are preserved as testimony to this episode.

The Manual of Coorg (1870) refers to ‘Maletambira’ of Chomamale as an elder brother of Igguthappa, another local deity. The shrine lies within a sacred grove (devara kadu or devara kad), traditionally left untouched by cultivation or hunting, as in other parts of Kodagu. The same Gazetteer describes this site, along with the Igguthappa Devarakad and others, as ‘reserved for the abodes or hunting grounds of deified heroic ancestors’. Such groves are often associated with Ayyappa, regarded as the patron of these ancestral hunter traditions.

Pattole Palame (1924), a compilation of Kodava folksongs, mentions the Male Thambiran deity — also known as Thumbe Male Devayya — several times. Its compiler, Nadikerianda Chinnappa, also composed a Kannada poem on this Somagiri deity.

Festival

There are a few small ponds on the peak near the temple. The temple is open from 10 am to around 2.30 pm. The temple priest performs the daily pooja and offers payasa, prepared from rice and jaggery. The annual festival is around March 14 every year.

Around March 1, the deva katt begins, during which families associated with the shrine observe restrictions. They refrain from cutting plants, harming any creature, or speaking ill of others, among other prescribed practices. During the festival, several designated families from the surrounding Kadiyatnad region carry bags of rice up the hill on oxen, whose horns and backs are adorned with colourful cloth. The rice is offered at the temple, where it is used to prepare payasa. 

Early in the morning, the designated families bring chakke para (jackfruit pickle) prepared in advance and cook kuyya kool — rice with nirenge leaves — on open fires using bricks and firewood, later serving it on kuvale leaves.

Around the time of the pooja, some devotees enter a trance. In the afternoon, payasa is served as lunch to all devotees and pilgrims.

The open-air sanctum sanctorum at Malethirike. Photo by author

Devotees ring bells at the open-air shrine at Malethirike atop Somagiri near Kakkabe in Kodagu. Photo by author

The open-air sanctum sanctorum at Malethirike. Photo by author