Summary
After a festival lasting ten days, the "Vela," meaning procession, marks the festive rivalry between two villages, Nenmara and Vallenghi (in Kerala in southern India), to pay homage to the goddess Sri Nellikulangara Bhagavati, who freed them from the demon king Dharika.
The climax and close of the festival, a procession, preceded by an oracle and consisting of ten splendidly caparisoned elephants, leads the divinity of each village toward the temple of the goddess shared by both places, to the rhythm of a village orchestra (nagarvadyam) and a "classical" orchestra (panchavadyam).
The climax and close of the festival, a procession, preceded by an oracle and consisting of ten splendidly caparisoned elephants, leads the divinity of each village toward the temple of the goddess shared by both places, to the rhythm of a village orchestra (nagarvadyam) and a "classical" orchestra (panchavadyam).
