Ritual Umbrellas/ Kovil Kodais of Chintadripet, Tamil Nadu

The art of making temple umbrellas, also known locally as kovil kodais is practiced since generations in the village of Chintadripet in Tamil Nadu. The village has 20 active artisan families engaged in the crafting of these ritualistic umbrellas. These artisan families belong to the Saurashtra weaving community. Their ancestors migrated to the city 250 years ago.

The process involves preparing the frame of the umbrella with cane. The frame is then encased with cloth. This cloth is embroidered with zari, sequins and thread for an added appeal to the kovil kodai. These umbrellas can be spotted in the procession on the streets of temple raths and chapparam.  The structure of the rathis decorated with the brightly embroidered umbrellas. The embroidery consists of specific motifs and colors suitable for religious purposes. Motifs of Nandi,lingam etc are embroidered onto the multi-hued chattris of Siva, his consort and Ganesha as well as Murugan etc. On the other hand the umbrellas of Vishnu and his avatars are in white and brown color combination. Motifs such as shankha, naamam, chakra etc are embroidered onto them.