Thiruchendur Murugan Temple - Priestly Communities
The worship in the principal shrine of Subrahmanya is
conducted by turns by a set of twelve potris of the Madhva Adwaita sect drafted
from Mangalapuram area of Mangalore in South Canara. Their spoken dialect is
Tulu. The ritualism is tantric governed by Kumara Tantra. The worship by the
potris came to be introduced in this temple probably by Maharaja Marthanda
Varma (1729-1758 A.D.), the king of Kerala in the 18th century or by Dalavoi
Ramappayyan, the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of Thirumalai Nayak
(1623-1659 A.D.) the Nayaks having brought Malabar under their sway in the 17th
century and entrusted the principal worship to the Potris.
The rituals are guided by a Tantric of the Nambudiri
clan of Malabar. The Potris receive a monthly payment from the Devasthanam,
besides other emoluments pertaining to that Office. They are also lodged in a
separate Potri Madam, an enclosure of houses, and specially cared for.
The worship in the Shanmukha and other sanctums is being
performed by turns by another community of twelve Sivacharyas or Gurukkals.
Besides these two, the Potris and Sivacharyas, a third, the Mukkanis or
Triswatantra Brahmins also perform certain other services at the temple. The
ancestors of the latter, of about 2,000 families, are said to have been brought
over here by Subrahmanya after vanquishing Surapadma. There are about four
hundred families at present.
"Distinguished by top knots of hair, which are very
much like the Malayalis," they train to fall, above their foreheads. They
may be seen journeying in almost any part of the country, either to collect
subscriptions for the temple festivals or fees from their tardy patrons. There
is no doubt that the business is remunerative; they are generally well-to-do
and lead a comfortable existence.
"Their functions" in the temple “consist
mainly in making offerings and performing religious ceremonies Kattalais as
such services are called on behalf of absentee worshippers", and in taking
votaries to the temple for worship and attend to their conveniences.