Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Festival
Each June or July, more than 100,000 pilgrims take the ferry to Nainativu island off Jaffna for the 16 day festival of the Nagapooshani Amman temple.
Nainativu is a small island off the Jaffna peninsula, and it is home to two famous shrines: the Hindu Nagapooshani Amman Temple and the Buddhist Nagadeepa Purana Vihara. The Amman temple is dedicated to the goddess Parvati in her form as Nagapooshani, and many Hindus consider it one of the 64 Shakti Peethas, the most sacred shrines of the goddess.
Its annual festival, the Mahotsavam, runs for 16 days in the Tamil month of Aani, which falls in June or July. Every day the deities are taken in procession around the temple, and the crowds grow toward the end. The biggest day is the chariot festival (Ther), when the goddess rides a carved wooden chariot about 35 feet high, which is pulled around the outer temple path by around a thousand devotees. Over the 16 days, more than 100,000 pilgrims make the trip to the island.
To get there, take a bus or drive from Jaffna across the causeways to Kurikadduwan (KKD) jetty, then a short ferry ride to Nainativu. During the festival extra boats run, but queues at the jetty can still be long, so start early. On the island, you can visit both the kovil and the vihara within a few minutes' walk.
Remove your shoes at both temples, dress modestly, and expect men to be asked to remove their shirts in the kovil's inner shrine. If you have time, Delft Island is reached by boat from the same jetty.
The temple has been rebuilt more than once. The Portuguese looted and destroyed the original in 1620, and tradition holds that the main image was hidden inside a tree trunk and survived. The present buildings date from the 18th and 19th centuries, and they have been expanded and repainted many times since.
The ferry crossing is part of the experience, but the boats are small and can be crowded during the festival, so wait for the next one rather than squeezing on, and keep your phone and belongings in a waterproof bag. There's little shade at the jetty, so bring a hat and water for the wait.
At a glance
- When: Usually in June
- Duration: 16 days (June or July)
- Venue: Nagapooshani Amman Temple, Nainativu island, Jaffna
- Organizer: Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple
- Entry: Free (ferry fare extra)