Vavarpalli: Gateway to Sabarimala

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Standing tall with a majestic facade in the center of the Erumely is the Vavarpalli which is part of legends & folklore acting as a symbol of harmony among different religious faiths. The Vavarpalli is dedicated to Vavar who was a feared warrior & said to have lived during the times of Ayyapan himself. His existence is based on the relation of his with the Lord himself. 

The mosque one sees today has been reconstructed many times. The earliest place of worship was a simple thatched hut built by the Pandalam king upon the request by Ayyapan himself who wanted his devotees to understand the importance of love irrespective of what faith they believed in. The mosque today has a large prayer hall which is used by Muslims to offer prayers daily. Only Muslims are allowed to enter the main hall while all the other devotees can walk around the central corridors & pray to Vavarswami. The main offer to the mosque is black or green pepper which symbolises prosperity. One can also view the majestic sword of Vavar at the mosque. 


One can't find a lot of written scripts of who Vavar was and where he came from but archaic information suggests that he was from Arabia & possibly a pirate who came to the shores in search of trade. He was good at ship building & was good in warfare. The Kayamkulam petty king, afraid of being defeated by Vavar's men, sought the help of Pandalam king who sent the young prince - Ayyapan to fight. Seeing the young prince, Vavar is said to have laughed & called names belittling the Pandalam Kings for entrusting a young boy to save them. Ayyapan was a great warrior & Vavar soon realised that he was up against a divine being. The battle ended in Vavar being defeated, realising his mistake he fell to the Lord's feet and asked for forgiveness. Ayyapan is said to have hugged Vavar, called him his friend for life & thus began a brotherhood between two adversaries. Vavar being a devout Muslim still prayed to Ayyapan the rest of his life.. They continued to fight together against the enemies in the mountains. Apart from the mosque at Erumely devotees who take the pilgrimage to Sabarimala can find the Vavarswami temple in the hills where a muslim priest is seen performing daily rituals. Devotees pray to Vavarswami before ascending to the sanctum of Ayyappa. 


The mosque also signifies a great event in mythology as Erumely is the place where Ayyapan is said to have killed the Rakshasi Mahisi. All the devotees who undertake the Sabarimala pilgrimage for the first time are needed to visit Erumeli Kochambalam & perform the Pettahthulal dance to be Ayypan who did the same after killing the demon. Pettahthulal is a folk dance where the devotees dance bare-footed with colors around them carrying Bow & Arrow. Once they finish the dance, they enter the mosque to pray to Vavar. The Vavarpalli is possibly the only mosque in the world which allows devotees to break coconuts as a ritual inside its sanctum which is an offering of Hindu devotees to God. The devotees then end the dance at the Dharmashastha temple opposite the mosque. It is necessary for all first time devotees to perform the Pettahthullal dance before going to Sabarimala, all other devotees just need to visit the mosque on their pilgrimage. The mosque thus is the gateway to Sabarimala.



The mosque today is frequented by all who come to pass Erumely. The place is kept well by the mosque community & even women are allowed to pray inside. The best time to see the colors & rituals at the mosque is during the annual pilgrimage season of December - January when devotees from all over descend at the mosque to be blessed by the most loved Vavarswami.


Location: Erumeli, Kerala, India

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