Several hundreds witnessed the mayana pooja, an annual ritual at Masaniamman temple, at Chokkampudur, as part of Sivarathri celebrations, where the head priest held a human bone in his mouth, supposedly the thigh bone of a woman, and engaged in the ritual of searching for the mango buried in the body of Goddess Masaniamman done up in mud at the burial ground.

According to temple authorities, it is believed that devotees gathered in large numbers to witness the ‘rebirth’ of their Goddess who was put to death by a king for plucking a mango from his garden.

Prayers are offered through the night. The only thing missing nowadays is the mayana kollai or mayana suraiyadal, where devotees earlier resorted to nibbling human bones dug out of the graveyard, after the Supreme Court banned it.

According to Mr T. Loganathan, a source at the temple, for generations, devotees have prayed through the night and also walk on fire.

This ritual was practised by the Kalayar community which belongs to the 24th Manai of Telugu Chettiyars.

The pooja is usually performed on Mahasivarathri day at the temples of Angalamman, the consort of Lord Shiva, starting 9 pm and even women throng the graveyard, he asserted.

Following the hue and cry by human rights activists, the poojas at the burial ground are performed under police bundobast, sources added.

It is said Nannan, a Cheran king who ruled this part of Tamil Nadu, gave death sentence to a girl for plucking mangoes from his orchard.

The devastated people prayed and she is believed to have reincarnated at 12 midnight.

The yearly ritual is believed to bring goodness and prosperity to her devotees. After the Goddess comes back to life, as believed, the mud deity is destroyed.