Namakkal district’s annual government ceremony for King Valvil Ori began on Saturday, but no minister attended the event, with the absence linked to a long-standing local “sentiment” that participating could cost officials their positions.
Valvil Ori, who ruled from Kolli Hills, is remembered as one of the famed “Kadaiyezhu Vallalgal” and is celebrated for his prowess in archery. The festival is traditionally observed as a government function on Aadi Perukku.
The practice of marking the occasion dates back to 1975, when a statue of Valvil Ori was installed at Semmedu during the DMK regime on the instructions of then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. Karunanidhi inaugurated the statue on September 6, 1975, and the DMK government was dismissed on January 31, 1976—an episode that later fed the superstition.
Over the years, the belief strengthened after ministers and district collectors who garlanded the statue reportedly lost their posts, leading politicians and senior officials to avoid the ritual for nearly five decades.
This year, despite expectations that the three ministers from Namakkal in the current TVK government—Arunraj, Lokesh Tamilselvan and Vijayalakshmi—might attend and “break” the sentiment, none turned up. As in previous years, a village administrative assistant garlanded the statue instead.
