Masi Magam: The Irular Community Festival in Mahabalipuram

Every year during the full moon of the Tamil month of Masi, thousands of people from the Irular community travel across Tamil Nadu to gather on the shores of Mahabalipuram for the Masi Magam festival. For several days, the beach transforms into a temporary settlement where families live, cook, worship, and reconnect with their ancestral traditions.

At the center of the gathering is the worship of Kanniamman, the clan deity believed to protect the community. Rituals unfold through fire-lit ceremonies, offerings, trance, drumming, and acts of devotion performed under the open sky and by the sea.

This photographic project documents the rhythms of the festival — from intense night rituals to quiet moments of prayer and community life. The work explores how faith, collective memory, and indigenous traditions continue to shape the cultural identity of the Irular people in contemporary Tamil Nadu.