Kottayam (Kerala), Jan 11 (PTI) Thousands of Lord Ayyappa devotees took part in the ceremonial 'Petta thullal' -- a ritualistic dance which marks the culmination of the two month long annual Sabarimala pilgrimage -- at Erumeli in Kottayam district of the State on Wednesday.

The dance was led by teams from Ambalapuzha and Alangad regions having devotional links with the deity.

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The huge procession of the Ambalapuzha team, accompanied by caparisoned elephants with umbrellas on top of them, commenced from Sri Dharma Sastha temple here at noon after sighting the 'Krishnaparunthu' -- an auspicious eagle -- in the sky.

Thousands of devotees, with foreheads and bodies covered in different colours and wearing gold coloured cardboard crowns, danced to the tune of drum beats all the way to the Vavar mosque.

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Similarly, in the afternoon at around 3 PM, the team from Alangad commenced their dance procession from the Sri Dharma Sastha temple to the mosque after sighting an auspicious star in the sky as per custom.

Both teams danced from the Dharma Sastha temple to the mosque to pay reverence to Lord Ayyappa's trusted Muslim lieutenant Vavar, who helped the deity to defeat demon king Mahishasur, and continued on their way to Valiambalam here. From there both teams will proceed to Sabarimala.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)