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Kannamaly is coastal suburb of Kochi situated near Chellanam in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. It comes under the Kochi taluk.[1] The place is well-known all over Kerala state for the St Joseph's pilgrim Centre and the feast along with 'nercha sadhya' (votive meal) on March 19th that attract massive crowds every year.[2]

Kannamaly കണ്ണമാലി
Village
Kannamaly
Kannamaly Map showing Kannamaly
Coordinates: 9.97°N 76.28°E / 9.97; 76.28
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Ernakulam district
Taluk	Kochi
Grama Panchayat	Chellanam
Time zone	IST

Geography

Kannamaly is situated in the coast of Arabian Sea. The village shares its boarder with Arabian sea in west, Kannamali kayal in east, Kandakadavu in south and Cheriyakadavu in north.

History

This place was a seaport in ancient times. There were telescopes in the highest points of the seaport for detecting the ships arriving to the port.

Feast of St Joseph

Kannamaly celebrates St Joseph's Feast on March 19th every year with a massive communal meal. On that day many hundreds of thousands gather at Kannamaly to pay respects to St Joseph and to take part in the 'nercha sadhya' (solemn meal). The shrine of St Joseph is attached to St Antony's Parish Church. The custom dates back to the early 1900s when an outbreak of Cholera epidemic in the area killed a large number of people. It is believed that the custom of a communal meal got started in 1905, when the epidemic came to an end with a similar meal on March 19th.[3]

Etymology

The word Kannamaly is a combination of two words Kannu and Maly. The word Kannu means eye and maly means seaport.

References

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