Coimbatore : As part of the Vijayadashami, a section of Telugu speaking Devanga Chettiyar community Tuesday organised a procession in which nearly 500 devotees slashed themselves with knives and swords.

The annual ‘Para Kathi festival, was organised on Vijayadasami day, where the community people take nearly five km long procession carrying the deity Sowdambikai Amman, arranged in a pot made of dough, through the main thoroughfare of the city, amid tight police security.

The devotees chant “Vesko Thalli Theesko Thalli “(my offer to you Mother. Please accept) and slash all over the bodies with knives and sharp weapons and bleeding all the way.

The bleeding will stop after applying turmeric along with a mix of 20 herbs, all over the body, without any further damage or wounds.