Thottam Pattu is a vocal ballad sung ritual relating to Temples in Kerala. Thottam Pattu is invocative. This is a mythological belief that by performing this ritual, the performer will be possessed by divine spirits. Thottam Pattu, the ritualistic songs which accompany the performance elaborate the legends related to the deities.
Thottampattu is a ritual conducted in Bhadrakali temples in south Kerala (Travancore region). After the second harvest, the spirit of Bhadrakali placed in the outside of the temple called pattambalam.
This is the song from the evening of Meenam month. The song is played on a specially made room with green palm. The floor of the pandal cleaned with cow dung. There is a ritual called ‘Kappukettukal’. It will only release after the end of Tottam Pattu.
In all the Bhadrakali temples, the song is performed in temples that are worshiped by devotees, the hair (mudi) of Goddess Bhadrakali. Hair is a tawdrily and plaque that looks like big crowns on their head. It is said that it has been engraved with many snakes as the hair of the Bhadrakali. In temples it is located away from the shrine and left in another room (Mudipura).
The song is composed by two half. In the first half of this period, Kali is celebrated as the daughter of Lord Shiva and the assassin of Asuran. But the second half is based on the spectrum of kannaki (Chilappathikaram).
