No religion can be said to be predominant in this district. The different
religious groups of the state are more or less equally represented. A
characteristic aspect of Wayanad is a large Adivasi population. Though
they are in the Hindu fold, primitive forms of worship still prevail among
them. Ancestral worship and offerings to propitiate the spirits of
ancestors are still prevalent. Two deities commonly worshipped by the
Adivasis are Thampuratty and Vettakkorumakan. They are worship the Hindu
gods of various temples in the district. Adivasis do not have any temple
of their own. Paniyar, Adiyan, Kurichyar, Kurumar, Kattunaikar, Kadan and
Oorali are the different aboriginal tribes of Wayanad. The Kurichyar are
the most developed among them. They are small landowners, whereas the
members of other tribes are mostly laborers.
Some of the centuries old temples and
their Brahmin settlements suggest the earliest attempts that were made to
bring the Adivasis under the Hindu religious fold. The Thirunelly and
Valliyoorkavu temples which
are known outside Wayanad as the temples of Adivasis, are in fact run by
Hindu settlers with the help of Brahmin priests. Adivasis are allowed to
worship and participate in the festivals of these temples. More than
anything else, the myths woven around the temples including the one about
Sita, Rama’s consort and her two sons Leva and Kusa, have drown the
aboriginal mind to the Hindu system of belief.
Wayanad has a small Jain community
consisting of the Gounders who came from Karnataka. They have built
beautiful temples all over the district.
Almost all sections of Christianity are
well represented. The Syrian Catholics have their Bishop’s house at
Sulthan bathery and the Roman Catholics have their own at Mananthavady.
The Bishop’s house of the Jacobite Syrian Church is at Meenangadi. One
fourth of the population of Wayanad is constituted by Christians. They are
the largest religious groups in Wayanad. A section of Kurichyas of
Mananthavady has been converted to Chriatianity.
Muslims
constitute another one fourth of the population. They are Moplas who came from Malappuram and Kozhikode districts. A large number of
them are laborers. Muslim woman labourers are a usual sight here. Hindus
of different castes like Nairs, Thiyyas etc. who settled here from
different parts of Kerala, form the rest of the population.
