Thursday 29 November 2007

"Mahouts"



Kerala has more than 700 elephants in captivity. Most of them are owned by temples and individuals.They are used for religious ceremonies in and around the temples. A few elephants work at timber yards.Each elephant has three mahouts, called "pappan" in the Malayalam language. The most important duty of the mahouts is to bathe and massage the elephant with small rocks, and husk of coconuts.
In the monsoon, the elephants undergo Ayurvedic rejuvenation treatments which include decoctions with herbs, etc. It is called Sukha Chikitsa in the Malayalam language.
Mahouts may be classified into three types, called in the Sanskrit language:
Reghawan: Those who use love to control their elephants.
Yukthiman: Those who use ingenuity to outsmart them.
Balwan: Those who control elephants with cruelty.

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