Many of us do not approve sacrificing even animals and birds as a prayer commitment to the deities. Their argument is that would Gods demand lives.  Muthukuzhi Amman alone knows the mystery as She holds the destiny of people in Her hands.

Muthukuzhi Mariamman cures prolonged illnesses of any grave nature and grants child boon to the devotees.

People observe intense fasting during the ‘Kuzhi Attru’ festival being observed once in five years on the second Wednesday following the Aadi Amavasya day, (after the new moon day in July-August).  From day one of Aadi month, people do not wear chappals, do not use tobacco products, stop smoking and drinking liquor.

Children and elders identified for the prayer commitment are brought to their maternal uncles’ houses.  The temple pujari visits such houses with the pit making tool (Manvetti) and spill turmeric water on these people.  They go unconscious then. If any one fails to go unconscious on spilling turmeric water, he/she is rejected from the prayer commitment.  The unconscious children are wrapped in wet turmeric cloth by the uncles and taken to the temple.

The Pujari digs a pit of 2 feet deep to suit the child body, lower them in the pit and close it with sand and thorny bush on the surface.  The child is kept for 45 seconds to 90 minutes.  After the signaling of the pujari, the children are taken out from the pit and spilled with the turmeric water again and sacred ashes for regaining the consciousness.  Even male children are considered as female children only for the purpose.  They are buried with jewels as bangles, anklets etc.

For offering this prayer commitment, the male should not have been married.  In case of girls, they should not have attained puberty.  These are the rules of the prayer commitment.

The power and the grace of Muthukuzhi Amman is being experienced for the past 400 years of about 8000 persons offered for this bone chilling commitment and there was not a single instance of any mis-going, according to the public of this place.

400 years ago, there was just a tree only in the place where the temple now exists.  A woman prayed to Amman to save the child from small pox it was suffering from.  But the child did not survive.  The woman buried the child and turned back with grief.  At that that time, woman who was possessed by the Goddess told the mother, that Amman would never disappoint Her devotee and asked her to check the pit and get back the child.  The woman was surprised to get back her child alive from the pit.  The present commitment came into being then and is being practiced  since that day.