Chandanapally

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Chandanapally is a small village in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, India.

The village is famous for its annual Chandanappally Valiyapally festival, which culminates in a Chembeduppu ceremony.

Chandanapally is famous for ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHURCHES IN SOUTH INDIA (St:George Orthodox Church).

The first church in Chandanapally was built in 1810. It was renovated in 1875 and consecrated by his holiness Mar Abdullah, the Patriach of Antioch. The wooden planks for the new church was brought from the kodumon forest. The logs of teak and sandalwood could not be carried to the work site as the big stream of ACHENKOVIL RIVER connecting kodumon and chandanapally had dried up. Miraculously the stream began to run full to brim in a torential rain that lasted for days and the heavy logs could easily be carried to the spot in no time.

This rare ritual has a history of its own. When the old church was built two centuries ago, Hindu devotees brought rice from different places to feed hundreds of voluntary laborers. They cooked this rice on the bank of the stram and ceremoniously served it to the volunteers. It is in memory of this event that the "Chempeduppu" is celebrated every year.