Then, so the story goes, they heard a groaning from within and hurriedly made a check of their number to see if someone had recklessly entered. Lacking any fire-fighting apparatus, the stunned villagers could only stand helplessly and watch their beloved church burn. In 1250 in the mountain village of Kosti in northern Thrace the little church of St. The Anastenaria of the Greeks in Thrace and Macedonia is a good example of fulfilling a vow by means of a firewalk. If performed as an honor to an individual, it takes place annually on the clay dedicated to him. It may be performed to honor some deceased saint or holy man, to commemorate a miracle once performed on the spot where the firewalking takes place, or in fulfillment of a vow. The motivation for firewalking is nearly always a religious one. Today, firewalking is performed in India, Greece, Spain, China, Japan, Bulgaria, Ceylon, Thailand, Fiji, Tibet, and many other parts of the world. Whatever the facts of its provenience, the virtually worldwide distribution of the practice of firewalking and its persistence in a period as materialistic and as science-oriented as the present are both indisputable and striking. 21), Virgil (70-19 B.C.), and other early writers.

23-79) tells us, “at the yearly sacrifice to Apollo, performed on Mount Soracte, walk over a charred pile of logs without being scorched and who consequently, under a perpetual decree of the Senate, enjoy exemption from military service and all other burdens.” This event has been described also by the geographer Strabo (63 B.C.-A.D. In Europe the practice can be traced back to an ancient Roman family, the Hirpi, who, so Pliny the Elder (A.D. Although this claim may very well be true, it is impossible of substantiation. According to some firewalkers, it had its beginning in Central Asia, the ancient birthplace of mankind. Where and how the practice originated can only be a matter of conjecture. At other times, you’ll hear ancient devotional hymns from the Tevaram.Of all phenomena, the ability of certain individuals to walk barefoot through fire without being burned is perhaps the most spectacular and unquestionably the most puzzling. On Friday nights before the temple closes, during a particularly elaborate puja, Nataraja is carried on a palanquin accompanied by music and attendants carrying flaming torches and tridents. If you have the time the best way to tackle the complex is to work slowly inwards from the third enclosure in clockwise circles.įrequent ceremonies take place at the innermost sanctum, the most popular being at noon and 6pm, when a fire is lit, great gongs are struck and devotees rush forward to catch a last glimpse of the lingam before the doors are shut. The oldest parts now standing were built under the Cholas, who adopted Nataraja as their chosen deity and crowned several kings here. Its huge gopuras, whose lights are used as landmarks by sailors far out to sea in the Bay of Bengal, soar above a 55-acre complex, divided by four concentric walls. Sabhanayaka Nataraja Templeįor south India’s Shaivites, the Sabhanayaka Nataraja Temple, where Shiva is enthroned as Lord of the Cosmic Dance (Nataraja), is the holiest of holies. The town also has a large student population, based at Annamalai University to the east, a centre of Tamil studies. Other local festivals include fire-walking and kavadi folk dance (dancing with decorated wooden frames on the head) at the Thillaiamman Kali (April/May) and Keelatheru Mariamman (July/ Aug) temples respectively.Ĭhidambaram revolves around the Sabhanayaka Nataraja Temple and the busy market area that surrounds it, along North, East, South and West Car streets.

For exact dates (one is in May/June, the other in Dec/Jan), contact any TTDC tourist office and plan well ahead, as they are very popular. The two most important are ten-day affairs, building up to spectacular finales: on the ninth day of each, temple chariots process through the four Car streets in a car festival, while on the tenth there is an abhishekham, when the principal deities in the Raja Sabha (thousand-pillared hall) are anointed. Few of the fifty mathas (monasteries) that once stood here remain, but the temple itself is still a hive of activity and hosts numerous festivals.

Glimpses ancient firewalking ritual