| Sree Kalleli Oorali Appooppan Kavu | |
| Deity: | Oorali Appooppan |
| Location: | Kalleli |
| District: | Pathanamthitta |
| State: | Kerala |
| Country: | India |
| Coordinates: | 9.1928°N 76.9033°W |
| Map Type: | India Kerala #India |
| Elevation M: | 173 |
| Governing Body: | Sree Kalleli Oorali Appooppan Kavu Samrakshana Samathi |
| Architecture Type: | Dravidian architecture |
| Festival: | Pathamudaya Mahotsavam |
The Oorali Appooppan Kavu is an ancient temple located on the banks of the Achankovil River in Kalleli in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, India.[1] The temple is situated on the KalleliAchankovil forest route, from the district headquarters in Pathanamthitta and from Konni. The presiding deity of the temple is, who is considered the lord of mountain gods.[2] The main festival of the temple is, commencing on Vishu in the month of in the Malayalam calendar.
The temple follows the traditions and rituals of early DravidaNaga tribes and is entirely different from the traditional tantric procedures and poojas held in regular Hindu temples.[3]
The main deities of the temple are or and .[4] Appooppan is considered as the lord of 999 (mountain gods) and Ammoomma is considered to be his mother.
The subordinate deities of the temple include Vadakkenchery Valyachan, Ganesha, Parashakti, Yakshiamma, Nagaraja, Nagayakshi, Raktharakshas, Kuttichathan, Kochukunju Arukala, Bharatha Poonkuravan, Bharatha Poonkurathi and Harinarayana Thampuran.
The main festival or Utsavam is the held in the Malayalam month of mēṭam (AprilMay). The 10-day festival begins on Vishu and ends on (10th sunrise after Vishu) with different pujas and rituals like . Another special occasion is the MandalaMakaravilakku festival, held from the Malayalam month of vr̥ścikam to makaram (mid-November to mid-January).[5]
Karkidaka Vavu Bali is one of the important rituals performed in the temple during the Malayalam month of kaṟkkiṭakam (JulyAugust). Other important rituals are (elephant feeding), (monkey feeding) and (fish feeding).
The traditional arts of the DravidaNaga tribes such as,,,, and are unique to the temple.[6] Ritualistic arts like Padayani and Mudi-āttam are also performed on special occasions.