Kalam –pots for kalam pooja, conducted on makam, pooram, uthram days, are brought to Kottiyoor from the villege Nallur; Four families – Nellooranmaar – hailing from kulalaya – caste engaged in making pots – have this right by birth.156 pots bound together with strips from plants growing wild , in bundles of 12 each are brought in a procession. 12 people form the procession. They reach Kottiyoor after dusk.
Before reaching Akkere kottiyoor, they remove their cloths and put on leaves instead.Rites demand, that by the time they reach Akkare Kottiyoor, the ‘Sannidhanam’ – temple premises should be in pitch darkness. All the settlements should have shut their doors, and the people inside should sit in the dark.
Pannoor Sthanikan Brahmin, binds his eyes and sits with his back turned on the Manithara. After offering the pots, the pot bearers on reaching the Manithara are given prasadam from the back. The pots are kept in the settlement of karimbanekkal Chathoth.ll except Nellooral sthanikan, then return. 142 pots are used in pooja. Its at night, sacred and secret, these poojas cannot be witnessed by anyone. Kala pooja takes place on Pooram or Uthram at night.
