Pooram

Pooram (malayalam:പൂരം, pronounced ) is an annual festival, which is celebrated in temples dedicated to goddesses Durga or Kali held especially in valluvanadu area and other adjoining parts of north-central Kerala (Present Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram districts) after the summer harvest. Most pooram festivals have at least one ornately decorated elephant being paraded in the procession taken out of the temple precincts. However, there are some well known poorams, such as Aryankavu Pooram near Shoranur and Machattu Thiruvanikavu Vela near Wadakkanchery that do not use the caparisoned elephant, instead go for stilted mannequins of horses or bullocks. Some like Chinakathoor Pooram (Chinakkathoor Temple) near Ottapalam, have both caparisoned elephants and mannequins of horses and bullocks. The most famous of all Poorams is the Thrissur Pooram. Some other well-known pooram festivals are Arattupuzha-Peruvanam Pooram, Nenmara Vallangi Vela, Uthralikavu Pooram, Mannarkkad Pooram and Thirumandhamkunnu Pooram.